Alibaba vs 
StepFun
Verdict
- Alibaba's flagship leads: Qwen3.8 Max at 63.3 vs Step 5 Preview at 60.5.
- Alibaba has the better model in 3 of 4 price bands.
- Alibaba's fastest ranked model (Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct, 244 tok/s) beats StepFun's (Step 5 Preview, 229 tok/s).
- Alibaba publishes more open-weights models (48 vs 5).
- Alibaba ships more often: one model every 7 days against every 59.
Best model per price band
Each provider’s highest-index model below the price ceiling. Purple marks the winner of the band.
| Price band | Alibaba | StepFun |
|---|---|---|
| Under $0.50/M | Qwen3.8-Flash-Next 60.3$0.230/M | Step 3.5 Flash 53.7$0.150/M |
| Under $2/M | Qwen3.8-Flash-Next 60.3$0.230/M | Step 5 Preview 60.5$1.43/M |
| Under $10/M | Qwen3.8 Max max 63.3$3.00/M | Step 5 Preview 60.5$1.43/M |
| Any price | Qwen3.8 Max max 63.3$3.00/M | Step 5 Preview 60.5$1.43/M |
Line-up
| Metric | Alibaba | StepFun |
|---|---|---|
| Flagship index | 63.3 | 60.5 |
| Ranked models | 54 | 7 |
| Open-weights models | 48 | 5 |
| Cheapest ranked, $/M | $0.060 | $0.150 |
| Fastest ranked, tok/s | 244 | 229 |
| Release cadence, days | 7 | 59 |
| Last release | 17 Sept 2026 | 18 Sept 2026 |
| Next expected | 21 Sept 2026 – 26 Sept 2026 | 23 Oct 2026 – 9 Dec 2026 |