Side-by-side comparison of pricing, 12 benchmarks, and generation speed.
| Metric | DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Input ($/M tokens) | $0.27 | $0.1 |
| Output ($/M tokens) | $0.27 | $0.3 |
Data from Artificial Analysis API — 12 benchmarks
Step 3.5 Flash is cheaper overall. Its blended price (3:1 input/output ratio) is $0.15/M tokens vs $0.27/M for DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B.
Step 3.5 Flash wins 7 out of 12 benchmarks compared to 5 for DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B. See the detailed benchmark chart above for per-category results.
Step 3.5 Flash generates tokens faster at 93 tok/s vs 59 tok/s. DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B also has lower time-to-first-token (0.49s vs 3.48s).
Choose based on your priorities: Step 3.5 Flash for lower cost, Step 3.5 Flash for stronger benchmark performance, and Step 3.5 Flash for faster generation. For latency-sensitive apps, check the TTFT comparison above.