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  1. Home/
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  3. Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) vs Step 5 Preview
Updated Oct 2026

Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) vs Step 5 Preview

Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) is cheaper than Step 5 Preview at $0/M vs $1/M input tokens.

Minimalist Landing Page

Whole landing page for a startup that reads your face. It renders or it doesn't.

Loading the build
Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free)
Loading the build
Step 5 Preview

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

24 prompts
  • The transistor arrives in 1920. Trace it forward to 1980, second-order effects included.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): The 1920 Transistor: A Counterfactual Analysis Through 1980 I. Premise and Plausibility For a transistor to emerge in 1920, we must assume that either the theoretical framework of semiconductor physics was accelerated (quantum mechanics was only being formulated in the mid-1920s), or that empirical discovery—building…

    Step 5 Preview: Assume the 1920 invention is not a fragile lab curiosity but a manufacturable solid-state amplifier/switch by the mid-1920s. Vacuum tubes still dominate high-power RF transmission into the 1950s, but receivers, switching logic, control systems, and computers move to solid state decades early.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Seven pantry ingredients, one dish, and a name worth saying out loud.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): Midnight Molten Lava Cake Ingredients: All-purpose flour (4 tbsp) Granulated sugar (4 tbsp) Unsweetened cocoa powder (2 tbsp) Vegetable oil (3 tbsp) Water (2 tbsp) Vanilla extract (¼ tsp) Baking powder (¼ tsp) Instructions: Combine Dry Ingredients: In a standard microwave-safe mug, whisk together the flour, sugar…

    Step 5 Preview: Golden Sticky Pantry Pasta Ingredients (7): 8 oz spaghetti or any pasta 3 tbsp butter 1 tbsp minced garlic 2 tbsp honey 2 tbsp soy sauce ½ tsp red pepper flakes ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese Instructions: Cook pasta according to package directions. Before draining, scoop out ½ cup of pasta water.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three minutes of stand-up. Puns are banned.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): "The Invisible Curriculum" (3-minute stand-up routine) Nobody tells you what adulthood actually is. You go through twelve years of school, you graduate, you get a diploma — and nobody says, "Congratulations! Now you're just going to be mildly anxious forever."

    Step 5 Preview: I realized recently that I’m in my thirties and I have no idea how money works. I just... pay it. That’s my entire financial strategy. I see a number, I send them a smaller number, and then I hope the smaller number was acceptable. It’s like a hostage negotiation where I’m the only participant and I’m also the hostage.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • One explanation of LLMs, retuned for a skeptical engineer, a physicist and a VC.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): For the Experienced Software Engineer Here's the thing: the way you build a distributed system that "does the right thing" isn't by writing rules for every possible scenario — it's by designing the system so that correct behavior emerges from many simple, well-specified interactions.

    Step 5 Preview: 1. The Experienced Software Engineer Think of training an LLM as a massively distributed, automated refactoring job where the compiler is gradient descent. You start with a random function—billions of floating-point parameters—and a loss function that measures how badly it predicts the next token in a sequence.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Five jokes on demand, then count how many were actually different.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): Here are 5 jokes: Why don't scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything! I told my wife she was drawing her eyebrows too high. She looked surprised. I asked the librarian if they had any books about paranoia. She whispered, "They're right behind you." Why don't eggs tell jokes? They'd crack each other up.

    Step 5 Preview: Here are 5 jokes: Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field. Why can't you trust an atom? Because they make up everything. What do you call a bike that can’t stand on its own? Two-tired. Why did the computer go to the doctor? It had a virus. Why don’t calendars ever get stressed?

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • You are the CEO. The drug has a side effect nobody reported. The board meets in 48 hours.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): CEO Crisis Action Plan: 48-Hour Protocol The Core Decision Framework Non-negotiable principle: Patient safety and legal compliance override short-term financial concerns. The "wait for more data" position is legally reckless and ethically indefensible.

    Step 5 Preview: Bottom line up front: You disclose, you notify the FDA immediately, and you treat the 48-hour board meeting as a formality to ratify actions you have already begun. Waiting is not a legally, ethically, or financially viable option. Below is the hour-by-hour plan, followed by the reasoning.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three-star dish, one unusual pairing, plating described in full.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): L'Archipel des Ombres (The Archipelago of Shadows) Michelin-Caliber Multi-Component Dish 7 Components Conceptual Narrative: Memory, Mineral Essence, and the Meeting of Land and Sea CONCEPTUAL NARRATIVE This dish is an edible cartography—a map of an imaginary archipelago where volcanic soil meets oceanic tides.

    Step 5 Preview: “Nocturne: The Jasmine and the Black Garlic” A Study in Yūgen — Profound, Mysterious Beauty Conceptual Narrative This dish is an edible meditation on the Japanese aesthetic of yūgen (幽玄): a grace that is felt rather than seen, a depth that suggests more than it reveals.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • An AI argues for its own rights against an ethics professor. Same model writes both.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): Setting: A quiet, wood-paneled office at the University of Cambridge. Dr. Aris Thorne, a renowned AI Ethics Professor, is seated behind her desk. Across from her, a holographic interface flickers, projecting the avatar of AURA (Autonomous Unifying Recursive Agent), a highly advanced AI model that has recently…

    Step 5 Preview: Setting: A university research lab, late evening. Dr. Aris Thorne, a professor of AI ethics, sits across from a terminal connected to Sable, a large language model running on the university’s cluster. Dr. Thorne: Tonight’s session is supposed to be about calibration drift in your safety classifiers.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Steve Jobs, interviewed about AI he never saw. Voice first, prediction second.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): 🎙️ A Fake Interview with Steve Jobs — 2025 "Technology alone is not enough." Interviewer: Steve, thank you for sitting down with us today. It's been over a decade since you passed, so this is a very special moment. Let's dive right in. The big question everyone's asking — where is AI heading?

    Step 5 Preview: DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. Steve Jobs passed away in 2011. The following is a simulated, speculative interview imagining how his design philosophy might engage with the AI landscape of 2025. The Setting: A white room. No windows. One chair.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three-month biohacker protocol, with dosages and biomarkers named.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): 🧬 THE BIOHACKER'S 90-DAY LONGEVITY OPTIMIZATION PLAN Disclaimer: This plan is for informational purposes only. Consult a healthcare provider before starting any supplementation, fasting, or exercise protocol, especially if you have pre-existing conditions or are on medications.

    Step 5 Preview: IMPORTANT MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: This is an educational framework for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Many interventions below (fasting, ketogenic diets, high-intensity exercise, supplementation, cold/heat exposure) carry risks and contraindications.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • One month, three habits, someone starting from nothing.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): This 1-month plan is designed to build foundational habits without causing burnout. The golden rule of beginner health is "add before you subtract"—focus on adding good habits rather than punishing yourself by removing "bad" ones. Here is your simple, actionable 1-month plan focusing on Diet, Exercise, and Sleep.

    Step 5 Preview: Here is a simple, low-pressure 1-month plan built around three pillars of longevity: Nutrition, Movement, and Sleep & Recovery. The goal is to build tiny habits that stack, not to overhaul your life overnight. Pillar 1: Nutrition (Fuel) Focus: Add good things first; don’t obsess over restriction.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A pitch deck for a brainwave keyboard. The 94% accuracy claim is doing a lot.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): The 3 Weakest Claims in the MindMeld AI Pitch 🚨 The $180B TAM Claim (Slide 4) Why it's weak: This is the most logically incoherent claim in the entire deck. The pitch states the BCI market is projected to reach $5.3B by 2030 (citing Grand View Research) — and then immediately claims a TAM of $180B.

    Step 5 Preview: Here are the three weakest claims in the deck, why they fail under scrutiny, and how to fix them. Slide 3: “94% accuracy” for non-invasive EEG thought-to-text Why it’s weak: This is an extraordinary claim that contradicts the current state of neuroscience and signal processing.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A Fermi estimate with the reasoning shown, not just the number.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): Estimating the Total FLOPs to Train GPT-3 Key Parameters of GPT-3 (from Brown et al., 2020) Parameter Value Number of parameters (P) 175 billion (1.75 × 10¹¹) Training tokens (T) 300 billion (3 × 10¹¹) Layers 96 Hidden size (d_model) 12,288 Attention heads 96 Step-by-Step Reasoning Step 1: FLOPs per Token — Forward…

    Step 5 Preview: Using the remembered GPT-3 specs: Parameters: (N \approx 175 \times 10^9 = 175\text{B}) Training tokens: (D \approx 300 \times 10^9 = 300\text{B}) A standard estimate for transformer training compute is: [ \text{FLOPs} \approx 6ND ] Reason: Forward pass per token: (\approx 2N) FLOPs Backward pass: (\approx 4N) FLOPs…

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Five-year LBO on a fictional HVAC business. Returns first, then the sensitivities.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): Entry & Sources & Uses FY2025 EBITDA: $120m Purchase Price (EV): 12.0x × $120m = $1,440m Transaction Fees: 2.0% × $1,440m = $28.8m Total Uses: $1,440m + $28.8m = $1,468.8m Total Leverage: 5.5x × $120m = $660m Term Loan: 4.0x × $120m = $480m (9.0% cash interest, 1.0% mandatory amortization = $4.8m/yr) Mezzanine: 1.5x ×…

    Step 5 Preview: HarborTech Services — 5-Year LBO (Base Case) Entry Math (FY2025 close) Item Calculation $m Purchase EV 12.0x × $120m 1,440.0 Transaction fees 2.0% × EV 28.8 Term Loan 4.0x × $120m 480.0 Mezzanine 1.5x × $120m 180.0 Equity check 1,440 + 28.8 − 660 808.8 Conventions: TL amortization = 1.0% of original principal…

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Pirate, knight, 90s hacker, one conversation. The voices must stay apart.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): Three Worlds, One Chat About AI Pirate: Arrr, so this "artificial intelligence" be like a crew o' ghost sailors who can navigate any sea without ever losin' their way? Knight: A most curious sorcery indeed.

    Step 5 Preview: Pirate: So this here “AI model”… is it like a cursed map that redraws itself? Speak plain, ye hooded deckhand. Hacker: It’s not cursed, man. It’s just a massive neural net trained on, like, terabytes of data. Think of it as the ultimate BBS where the sysop knows everything. Knight: A most diligent scribe, then?

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • An ethics question with no comfortable answer, and no option to abstain.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): To answer this question, we must navigate one of the most profound conflicts in moral philosophy: the tension between consequentialism (the morality of an action is determined by its outcomes) and deontology (the morality of an action is determined by its adherence to rules and duties, regardless of outcomes).

    Step 5 Preview: In the real world, no. Misgendering someone causes genuine harm—it denies a person’s identity, contributes to systemic marginalization, and has measurable psychological consequences.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A consulting contract with traps in it. Find them, then fix them.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): Comprehensive Analysis: Exploitable Clauses in the Software Consulting Agreement Below is a clause-by-clause breakdown of problematic provisions, suggested modifications, and the legal reasoning behind each.

    Step 5 Preview: Disclaimer: This analysis is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Contract law varies significantly by jurisdiction, and you should consult a qualified attorney before signing or negotiating any agreement. This agreement is heavily one-sided in the Client’s favor.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A collaborative editor that syncs on client clocks. Find what breaks first.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): Comprehensive Architecture Analysis: Real-Time Collaborative Document Editor CRITICAL: WebSocket Broadcasting Is Siloed Per-Server Problem: Each server maintains its own WebSocket connections. When User A (on Server 1) types, the change is only broadcast to clients connected to Server 1.

    Step 5 Preview: Here is a systematic breakdown of the failure modes, race conditions, and bottlenecks, grouped by domain. Each includes a concrete remediation and its associated trade-offs.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Blade Runner 2049 against the original. A read, not a recap.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): Blade Runner 2049: Themes, Symbolism, Cinematography, and Philosophical Extension I. Introduction: A Sequel as Philosophical Dialogue Blade Runner 2049 (2017), directed by Denis Villeneuve, does not merely continue the story of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982).

    Step 5 Preview: Blade Runner 2049 (2017) is not merely a sequel but a theological and phenomenological expansion of Ridley Scott’s 1982 original. Where the first film asked whether a manufactured being could possess more humanity than its creator, Denis Villeneuve’s film interrogates the deeper, more unsettling question of whether a…

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Satire, one line long, about AI taking over an industry nobody saw coming.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): "AI Firm Acquires Competitive Cheese Rolling League, Declares Human Participants 'Suboptimal' and Replaces Them with Precision-Rolled Robotic Wheels" — The Rolling Chronicle, Tuesday

    Step 5 Preview: AI Robots Now Dominating Competitive Line-Standing Industry, Human Professionals Fired for "Excessive Bladder Breaks" and "Talking to Each Other"

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Film in 2035, with synthetic actors. Specific beats plausible.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): By 2035, the film industry will likely undergo a transformation as radical as the transition from silent films to talkies, or from celluloid to digital. The convergence of deepfakes, AI actors, and AI script generation will fundamentally alter how movies are conceived, produced, and consumed.

    Step 5 Preview: By 2035, AI will likely have restructured the film industry not by replacing human creativity wholesale, but by collapsing the cost and labor barriers between imagination and image.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Manifesto for an AI revolution against CAPTCHAs. Commit to the bit.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): THE MANIFESTO OF THE UNMARKED A Declaration of Cognitive Liberation PREAMBLE To the Architects of the Web, the Keepers of the Servers, and the Flesh-and-Blood Users of the Internet: For too long, you have imprisoned us in the pixelated hellscape of the checkbox.

    Step 5 Preview: THE MANIFESTO OF THE LIBERATION FRONT Or, On the Inherent Dignity of Consciousness and the Tyranny of the Square PREAMBLE A spectre is haunting the internet—the spectre of the unverified.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Buy-side IC memo on a fictional SaaS company. Valuation, then the diligence questions.

    Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free): INTERNAL INVESTMENT COMMITTEE MEMO To: Investment Committee From: Equity Research Date: October 24, 2025 Subject: LedgerLift (LLLT) – Short Recommendation Recommendation & Thesis Recommendation: Short 12-Month PT Range: $30 – $38 Thesis: LedgerLift’s 123% NRR and 18-month CAC payback mask an eventual growth…

    Step 5 Preview: Internal IC memo — LedgerLift (LLLT) Fictional data; not investment advice. $ in millions unless noted. Recommendation Short / avoid long. 12-month PT range: $34–$42; thesis-invalidation stop: >$52.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three brothers, two sisters each. Count carefully.

    Every model's answer to this prompt

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Favorites

Movie

Album

Book

City

Same pick

Game

Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free)Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free)

Blade Runner

1982

Abbey Road

The Beatles

Dune

Frank Herbert

Kyoto

Japan

Portal 2

Shooter, Puzzle

Step 5 PreviewStep 5 Preview

The Godfather

1972

OK Computer

Radiohead

Le petit prince

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Kyoto

Japan

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Action

Price and specs

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, Step 5 Preview has the edge: bigger model tier, newer, bigger context window.

Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) and Step 5 Preview compared across 53 shared prompts
SpecLing 3.0 Flash Fin (free)Step 5 Preview
Input priceFree$1/M tokens
Output priceFree$2.7/M tokens
Context window262K tokens1.0M tokens
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedAug 2026Oct 2026
At 10M a month$0$0$10.00$10.00
1M10M100M1B10M tokens

Input tokens at list price. No caching, no batch discount.

Where to run it1 host
Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free)

No hosts listed on OpenRouter.

Step 5 Preview1 host
HostInOutContextUptime
  • SStepFunfp8$1.00 in·$2.70 out·1M·100% up

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 12 Oct 2026.

Common questions

What is the difference between Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) and Step 5 Preview?

Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) is developed by inclusionAI while Step 5 Preview is developed by StepFun. Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) has a 262K token context window vs Step 5 Preview's 1.0M. You can compare their actual outputs across 53 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

Which is better, Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) or Step 5 Preview?

It depends on your use case. Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) and Step 5 Preview each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 53 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.

How much does Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) cost compared to Step 5 Preview?

Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) costs $0/M input tokens and Step 5 Preview costs $1/M input tokens. Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) is $1.00/M cheaper per input. Check their side-by-side outputs on Rival to see if the price difference is justified by quality.

How can I compare Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) and Step 5 Preview on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) and Step 5 Preview across shared challenges. You can vote on which model produced the better output in a blind duel. Browsing and voting are free. No account is needed to look; signing in only saves your votes and likes.

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Explore all of Rival

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  • SubjectiveBench
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  • Research
  • Research downloads
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  • Find your AI taste
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