Model comparison
Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct vs Step 3.5 Flash
Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 41.7 to 38.8 on the Noometry Index.
Last verified . 16 shared benchmarks.
Allen Institute for AI (Ai2)
StepFunSummary
- They share 16 benchmarks with published results for both. Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct scores higher in 1 category and Step 3.5 Flash in 7 categories; 8 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in writing & preference, where Step 3.5 Flash leads 59.0 to 50.4.
Side by side
| Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 38.8 | 41.7 |
| Released | — | 2026-01-29 |
| Weights | Open | Open |
| Context window | — | 256K |
| Max output | — | 256K |
| Input $ / M tokens | — | $0.10 |
| Output $ / M tokens | — | $0.30 |
| Results tracked | 16 | 19 |
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Category by category
Coding Step 3.5 Flash leads
Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct: 38.9 (#154), Step 3.5 Flash: 41.7 (#106)
| Benchmark | Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1346 | 1436 |
Reasoning Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct leads
Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct: 25.4 (#131), Step 3.5 Flash: 21.2 (#202)
| Benchmark | Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1322 | 1411 |
| NYT Connections (extended) | — | 28.4% |
Math Step 3.5 Flash leads
Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct: 33.6 (#169), Step 3.5 Flash: 40.6 (#77)
| Benchmark | Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1305 | 1408 |
| MathArena Final-Answer Competitions | — | 66.8% |
Knowledge Step 3.5 Flash leads
Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct: 35.4 (#175), Step 3.5 Flash: 39.0 (#127)
| Benchmark | Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1307 | 1422 |
Multilingual Step 3.5 Flash leads
Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct: 42.8 (#185), Step 3.5 Flash: 50.7 (#115)
| Benchmark | Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1275 | 1386 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1304 | 1448 |
| LMArena French | 1328 | 1421 |
| LMArena German | 1283 | 1404 |
| LMArena Korean | 1206 | 1350 |
| LMArena Russian | 1268 | 1385 |
| LMArena Spanish | 1337 | 1419 |
| LMArena Japanese | — | 1353 |
Instruction Following Step 3.5 Flash leads
Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct: 68.8 (#182), Step 3.5 Flash: 73.3 (#119)
| Benchmark | Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1298 | 1385 |
Long Context Step 3.5 Flash leads
Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct: 39.9 (#161), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.8 (#112)
| Benchmark | Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1312 | 1402 |
Writing & Preference Step 3.5 Flash leads
Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct: 50.4 (#179), Step 3.5 Flash: 59.0 (#108)
| Benchmark | Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1311 | 1403 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1264 | 1357 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1309 | 1405 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct better than Step 3.5 Flash?
Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 41.7 to 38.8 on the Noometry Index.
Is Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct or Step 3.5 Flash better for coding?
Step 3.5 Flash scores higher on coding benchmarks: 41.7 versus 38.9 in the Noometry coding category.
How many benchmarks do Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct and Step 3.5 Flash share?
16 benchmarks have published results for both models. Olmo 3.1 32b Instruct has 16 scored results on Noometry and Step 3.5 Flash has 19.