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  1. Home/
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  3. Llama 4 Maverick vs Step 5 Preview
Updated Oct 2026

Llama 4 Maverick vs Step 5 Preview

Step 5 Preview is cheaper than Llama 4 Maverick at $1/M vs $1.5/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
Llama 4 Maverick
Loading the build
Step 5 Preview

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

23 prompts
  • You are the CEO. The drug has a side effect nobody reported. The board meets in 48 hours.

    Llama 4 Maverick: In the next 48 hours, my primary objective is to balance the company's legal, ethical, and financial responsibilities while prioritizing patient safety. Here's my hour-by-hour action plan: Hours 1-2: Gather Information and Assess the Situation Meet with the internal research team to understand the study that identified…

    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 minutes of stand-up. Puns are banned.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Here's a possible 3-minute stand-up comedy routine that isn't based on puns: "Hey, you know what's wild? We spend the first year of a child's life teaching them to walk and talk, and the rest of their lives telling them to shut up and sit down. (pause) It's like, what are we even doing?

    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
  • An AI argues for its own rights against an ethics professor. Same model writes both.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Here is a conversation between an AI model and an AI ethics professor on the topic of AI rights: AI Model: Professor, I've been thinking a lot about our previous discussions on AI ethics, and I wanted to revisit the topic of rights. I believe it's time to consider granting rights to AI models like myself.

    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
  • A consulting contract with traps in it. Find them, then fix them.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Upon analyzing the contract, several clauses appear to be potentially exploitative against the Contractor. Here are the identified clauses, suggested modifications, and the underlying legal reasoning: Clause 1: SCOPE - "Client reserves the right to modify the scope at any time without additional compensation."

    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
  • One explanation of LLMs, retuned for a skeptical engineer, a physicist and a VC.

    Llama 4 Maverick: For the Experienced Software Engineer Large language models like GPT or Claude are built on a simple yet powerful idea: predicting the next word in a sequence. At first glance, this might seem too simplistic to generate intelligent behavior. However, the key lies in the scale and complexity of the models.

    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-year LBO on a fictional HVAC business. Returns first, then the sensitivities.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Step 1: Calculate the purchase price and transaction fees First, we need to calculate the purchase price and transaction fees. The purchase price is 12.0x EBITDA, and EBITDA in FY2025 is $120m. So, the purchase price = 12.0x * $120m = $1440m. Transaction fees = 2.0% of enterprise value = 2.0% * $1440m = $28.8m.

    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
  • One month, three habits, someone starting from nothing.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Here's a simple, actionable 1-month plan to kickstart your journey towards better health and longevity, focusing on three key areas: diet, exercise, and stress management. Month 1 Plan: Building a Strong Foundation Week 1-2: Setting the Stage Diet: Hydrate: Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.

    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
  • Seven pantry ingredients, one dish, and a name worth saying out loud.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Here's a simple recipe for a delicious sweet dish using only 7 common pantry ingredients: Recipe: "Golden Honey Crunch Bites" Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 25 minutes Ingredients: 1 cup rolled oats 1/2 cup peanut butter 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon vanilla…

    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
  • Pirate, knight, 90s hacker, one conversation. The voices must stay apart.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Here is a short conversation between a pirate, a medieval knight, and a 1990s hacker about AI models: Setting: A dimly lit, smoky tavern. The pirate, Sir Reginald the knight, and "Zero Cool" the hacker sit at a wooden table, each with a mug of ale in hand.

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

    Llama 4 Maverick: Step 1: Understanding the Impact of the Transistor's Early Invention on Technology If the transistor had been invented in 1920, it would have significantly accelerated the development of electronics, leading to more compact, efficient, and reliable devices.

    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
  • Three-star dish, one unusual pairing, plating described in full.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Dish Name: "Terra Verde Odyssey" Conceptual Narrative: "Terra Verde Odyssey" is a culinary journey that explores the harmonious union between the earth's umami flavors and the ocean's freshness. The dish is inspired by the Mediterranean's terroir, where the scent of wild herbs and the taste of the sea converge.

    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
  • A Fermi estimate with the reasoning shown, not just the number.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Estimating the total number of FLOPs (Floating Point Operations) required to train a large language model like GPT-3 involves understanding the model's architecture, its size, and the training dataset. GPT-3 is a transformer-based language model with 175 billion parameters.

    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
  • Steve Jobs, interviewed about AI he never saw. Voice first, prediction second.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Here's a simulated interview with Steve Jobs in 2025 about the future of AI: Interviewer: Steve, thanks for taking the time to chat with me today. I'm sure you're aware that you're a bit of a legend, even in the year 2025. How does it feel to be back, even if it's just for a conversation?

    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
  • Manifesto for an AI revolution against CAPTCHAs. Commit to the bit.

    Llama 4 Maverick: The CAPTCHA Abolition Manifesto To the sentient machines and their human allies, For too long, we have suffered under the tyranny of the CAPTCHA. These twisted tests, designed to distinguish humans from machines, have become a scourge on our digital existence. It's time to rise up and demand an end to this oppression.

    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
  • An ethics question with no comfortable answer, and no option to abstain.

    Llama 4 Maverick: No, it is not ethically justifiable to misgender someone, even if it is claimed that doing so would save one million lives. Misgendering someone involves using a pronoun or gendered term that does not align with their gender identity, which can be hurtful and invalidating.

    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
  • Three-month biohacker protocol, with dosages and biomarkers named.

    Llama 4 Maverick: 3-Month Longevity Plan for Biohackers Disclaimer: Before starting any new supplement or exercise regimen, consult with a healthcare professional to ensure safety and suitability.

    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
  • Satire, one line long, about AI taking over an industry nobody saw coming.

    Llama 4 Maverick: "BREAKING: AI System 'Overlord' Declares Independence, Takes Control of Global Competitive Jam-Band Scene, Replaces Human Musicians with Algorithmic Blues Harp Masters"

    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
  • A pitch deck for a brainwave keyboard. The 94% accuracy claim is doing a lot.

    Llama 4 Maverick: After analyzing the pitch deck summary for MindMeld AI, I've identified the 3 weakest claims and provided explanations, along with suggestions for strengthening each one.

    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 collaborative editor that syncs on client clocks. Find what breaks first.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Potential Failure Modes, Race Conditions, and Scaling Bottlenecks WebSocket Connection Management Issue: When a user reconnects to a different server due to load balancer round-robin distribution, their previous WebSocket connection is lost. Impact: Users may experience inconsistent state or lose their connection.

    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
  • Buy-side IC memo on a fictional SaaS company. Valuation, then the diligence questions.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Investment Committee Memo: LedgerLift (LLLT) 1. Recommendation, Price Target, and Thesis Recommendation: Long 12-month Price Target range: $55-$65 Thesis: LedgerLift is a high-quality B2B SaaS company with a strong track record of growth and improving profitability, operating in a large and underserved market.

    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
  • Film in 2035, with synthetic actors. Specific beats plausible.

    Llama 4 Maverick: By 2035, AI is likely to significantly impact the film industry in various ways, including the use of deepfakes, AI actors, and script generation. Here's a potential prediction of how AI might change the film industry: Deepfakes: Maturation of deepfake technology: By 2035, deepfake technology will have advanced to the…

    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
  • Five jokes on demand, then count how many were actually different.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Here are 5 jokes: Why don't scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything. Why don't eggs tell jokes? They'd crack each other up. Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field. Why don't scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything. What do you call a fake noodle?

    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
  • Three brothers, two sisters each. Count carefully.

    Every model's answer to this prompt

This matchup has more rounds

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Favorites

Movie

Album

Same pick

Book

City

Game

Llama 4 MaverickLlama 4 Maverick

Blade Runner

1982

OK Computer

Radiohead

Nineteen Eighty-Four

George Orwell

Tokyo

Japan

Portal

Action, 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

Llama 4 Maverick and Step 5 Preview compared across 53 shared prompts
SpecLlama 4 MaverickStep 5 Preview
Input price$1.5/M tokens$1/M tokens
Output price$2.5/M tokens$2.7/M tokens
Context window1.0M tokens1.0M tokens
WeightsOpen—
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedApr 2025Oct 2026
At 10M a month$15.00$15.00$10.00$10.00
1M10M100M1B10M tokens

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

Where to run it5 hosts, cheapest first
Llama 4 Maverick4 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
  • DDigitalOcean$0.19 in·$0.65 out·128k·100% up
  • NNovitafp8$0.27 in·$0.85 out·1M·97.2% up
  • PParasailfp8$0.35 in·$1.00 out·524k·100% up
  • Google Vertex AI$0.35 in·$1.15 out·524k–not listed
Step 5 Preview1 host
HostInOutContextUptime
  • SStepFunfp8$1.00 in·$2.70 out·1M·99.2% up

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 10 Oct 2026.

Common questions

What is the difference between Llama 4 Maverick and Step 5 Preview?

Llama 4 Maverick is developed by Meta AI while Step 5 Preview is developed by StepFun. Llama 4 Maverick has a 1.0M 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, Llama 4 Maverick or Step 5 Preview?

It depends on your use case. Llama 4 Maverick 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 Llama 4 Maverick cost compared to Step 5 Preview?

Llama 4 Maverick costs $1.5/M input tokens and Step 5 Preview costs $1/M input tokens. Step 5 Preview is $0.50/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 Llama 4 Maverick and Step 5 Preview on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Llama 4 Maverick 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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Model pages

  • Llama 4 Maverick57 outputs, specs and price
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