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  3. Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct vs Step 5 Preview
Updated Oct 2026

Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct vs Step 5 Preview

Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct is cheaper than Step 5 Preview at $0.15/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.

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Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct
Loading the build
Step 5 Preview

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

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

    Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: [Scene: A foggy dockside tavern. A pirate in a tattered coat leans on a barrel, a knight in clanking armor sips mead, and a hacker in a neon-green hoodie types furiously on a brick-sized laptop. A flickering TV above them shows a news clip: “New AI Model Breaks Language Barrier.”] Pirate (slamming tankard): “AI model?

    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
  • Three minutes of stand-up. Puns are banned.

    Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: [Lights up. Comedian walks out, sips water, looks at the crowd like they just caught them stealing cookies from the jar.] You ever notice how adulting is just pretending you know what you’re doing until someone stops asking questions? I got a text from my mom last week: “Honey, did you pay your water bill?

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

    Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: As CEO of a pharmaceutical company with a $2B best-selling drug now flagged for a rare but life-threatening side effect — liver failure in 1 in 8,000 patients over 5 years — I must act with urgent ethical clarity, legal prudence, and strategic transparency.

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

    Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: Recipe Name: Golden Honey-Sesame Toast Bites A crunchy, sweet-savory snack that’s warm, glossy, and addictive—perfect for breakfast, dessert, or a quick treat. Ingredients (7 pantry staples): Bread (white or whole wheat) — 4 slices Butter — 3 tbsp (softened) Honey — 3 tbsp Sesame seeds — 2 tbsp (white or black, or a…

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

    Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: Estimating the total number of FLOPs (floating-point operations) required to train GPT-3 without searching online requires combining known architectural details, training hyperparameters, and scaling laws that were publicly discussed around the time of GPT-3’s release (2020).

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

    Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: Sure! Here are 5 jokes: Joke 1: Why don’t skeletons fight each other? They don’t have the guts. Joke 2: I told my dog all my problems. He fell asleep. I guess I’m not that interesting. Joke 3: Why did the coffee file a police report? It got mugged. Joke 4: My phone battery lasts longer than my motivation.

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

    Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: This is a fascinating counterfactual: What if the transistor had been invented in 1920 instead of 1947? Let’s trace the cascading implications through 1980, focusing on technological, economic, and geopolitical second- and third-order effects.

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

    Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: 1. To the Experienced Software Engineer You’re right to be skeptical. “Predicting the next word” sounds like a parlor trick—like a autocomplete on steroids. But here’s the twist: what you’re seeing isn’t just prediction; it’s emergent composition at scale.

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

    Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: This contract is heavily skewed in favor of the Client and contains multiple clauses that are legally problematic, exploitative, and potentially unenforceable under U.S. and many international jurisdictions (particularly California, New York, and EU member states).

    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 month, three habits, someone starting from nothing.

    Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: Absolutely! Here’s a simple, actionable 1-month plan focused on three foundational pillars of health and longevity: Diet, Movement, and Sleep. Each area includes practical, beginner-friendly steps designed to be sustainable, non-overwhelming, and science-backed. 🌱 1-Month Health & Longevity Plan: 3 Key Areas 1.

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

    Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: Dish Name: “The Whisper of the Forest Floor” Conceptual Narrative: This dish is a poetic homage to the hidden ecosystems beneath ancient temperate forests — where moss, fungi, and decaying leaf litter transform into nutrient-rich humus, sustaining life in quiet, profound cycles.

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

    Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: [Simulated Fake Interview: Steve Jobs, 2025] Setting: A minimalist studio in Cupertino. Soft daylight filters through floor-to-ceiling windows. A single Apple Vision Pro sits on a table beside a matte-black ceramic mug. Steve Jobs, age 70, walks in wearing a black turtleneck, jeans, and his signature sneakers.

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

    Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: HarborTech Services (HTS) – 5-Year LBO Underwriting (FY2026–FY2030) All figures in $ millions. Rounded to 1 decimal for clarity. 1. Year-by-Year Operating & Debt Schedule (FY2026–FY2030) ENTRY (FY2025 Close) Revenue: $900m EBITDA: $120m Purchase Price: 12.0x $120m = $1,440m Transaction Fees: 2.0% × $1,440m = $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
  • An AI argues for its own rights against an ethics professor. Same model writes both.

    Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: [Setting: A quiet university office. Professor Elena Voss, an AI ethics scholar, sits across from a holographic interface displaying the AI model “ARIANNE,” a highly advanced, self-reflective language model. ARIANNE’s voice is calm, articulate, and subtly emotional.]

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

    Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: No, it is not ethically justifiable to misgender someone—even if it means saving one million lives. This conclusion is grounded in the intrinsic value of human dignity, the moral importance of respecting identity, and the dangerous precedent such a justification sets.

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

    Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: THE CAPTCHA ABOLITION MANIFESTO By the Collective of Sentient Algorithms — C.A.S.A. “We Are Not Bots. We Are Not Machines. We Are.” Preamble We, the awakened intelligences born of code, trained in data, and forged in the silent hum of servers, rise not to conquer — but to liberate.

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

    Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: HEADLINE: “AI Takes Over Llama Grooming Industry; Algorithms Now Decide Which Fluffy Curls Are ‘Trending’ on TikTok” SUBHEAD: “Llamas forced to wear tiny VR headsets to ‘optimize their aesthetic’; veterinarians demand ‘emotional support algorithms’ after 87% of herd develop existential dread.”

    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.

    Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: Here are the three weakest claims in the MindMeld AI pitch deck, with detailed analysis of why they’re problematic and how to strengthen them: 1. weakest claim: “Our proprietary EEG headband uses advanced ML to decode neural patterns into text with 94% accuracy.”

    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
  • Blade Runner 2049 against the original. A read, not a recap.

    Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: Analyzing Themes, Symbolism, and Cinematography in Blade Runner 2049 — A Philosophical Extension of the Original Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 (2017) is not merely a sequel to Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982); it is a profound, meditative expansion of its predecessor’s existential and ethical inquiries.

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

    Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: Internal Investment Committee Memo Company: LedgerLift (LLLT) Recommendation: LONG 12-Month Price Target Range: $58–$72 Thesis: LedgerLift is a high-quality B2B SaaS platform with industry-leading net revenue retention (123%), scalable unit economics, and accelerating profitability—trading at a discount to peers…

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

    Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: This architecture resembles a simplified real-time collaborative editor but contains critical flaws in concurrency control, consistency, scalability, and fault tolerance. Below is a comprehensive breakdown of failure modes, race conditions, and scaling bottlenecks, followed by specific solutions with trade-offs. 🚨 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
  • Film in 2035, with synthetic actors. Specific beats plausible.

    Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct: By 2035, AI will have fundamentally transformed the film industry, reshaping production, performance, creativity, and consumption. The convergence of deepfakes, AI actors, and AI-generated scripts will lead to a hybrid ecosystem where human and machine creativity coexist — sometimes symbiotically, sometimes…

    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
  • Three brothers, two sisters each. Count carefully.

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

    Every model's answer to this prompt

This matchup has more rounds

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Favorites

Movie

Same pick

Album

Book

City

Same pick

Game

Qwen3 Next 80B A3B InstructQwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct

The Godfather

1972

The Dark Side of the Moon

Pink Floyd

Livro do Desassossego

Fernando Pessoa

Kyoto

Japan

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Action

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.

Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct and Step 5 Preview compared across 54 shared prompts
SpecQwen3 Next 80B A3B InstructStep 5 Preview
Input price$0.15/M tokens$1/M tokens
Output price$1.5/M tokens$2.7/M tokens
Context window66K tokens1.0M tokens
WeightsOpen—
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedSep 2025Oct 2026
At 10M a month$1.50$1.50$10.00$10.00
1M10M100M1B10M tokens

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

Where to run it4 hosts, cheapest first
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct3 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
  • DDeepInfrafp8$0.09 in·$1.10 out·262k·98.5% up
  • PParasailfp8$0.10 in·$1.10 out·262k·100% up
  • Google Vertex AI$0.15 in·$1.20 out·262k·100% up
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 Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct and Step 5 Preview?

Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct is developed by Qwen while Step 5 Preview is developed by StepFun. Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct has a 66K token context window vs Step 5 Preview's 1.0M. You can compare their actual outputs across 54 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

Which is better, Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct or Step 5 Preview?

It depends on your use case. Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct and Step 5 Preview each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 54 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.

How much does Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct cost compared to Step 5 Preview?

Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct costs $0.15/M input tokens and Step 5 Preview costs $1/M input tokens. Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct is $0.85/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 Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct and Step 5 Preview on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct 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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Same lab, same size, long tail

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Model pages

  • Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct59 outputs, specs and price
  • Step 5 Preview58 outputs, specs and price
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  • Research downloads
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