text model comparison
Muse Spark 1.3 vs Step 5 Preview
Muse Spark 1.3 and Step 5 Preview are both current text models, from Meta and StepFun. Step 5 Preview is 20% cheaper per 1M input tokens than Muse Spark 1.3, $1 vs $1.25. Both accept about 1.05M tokens of context (1,048,576 and 1,000,000).
Data verified October 13, 2026 · Dataset 2026-10-13
Side by side
Standard-tier prices in effect today. The better value in each row is highlighted.
| Fact | Muse Spark 1.3 | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Price per 1M input tokens | $1.25 | $1 (better) |
| Price per 1M output tokens | $4.25 | $2.70 (better) |
| Cost of 10M input and 2M output tokens | $21 | $15.40 (better) |
| Arena Text | 1494 Elo (#6 of 49) | Not measured |
| FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2) | 74.4% (#18 of 40) | Not measured |
| Provider | Meta | StepFun |
| Release date | September 2, 2026 | Not reported |
| Access | API only | API only |
| Context window | 1,048,576 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens |
| Max output | Not reported | 64,000 tokens |
| Input | text, image, audio, video | text, image, video |
| Output | text | text |
When to choose each
Muse Spark 1.3
Best for
- Tool-heavy agent loops where fewer calls per task matters as much as the per-token rate
- Coding agents at volume, where its coding scores and low price line up
Watch out for
- Meta’s own documentation states audio understanding is not fully supported and response quality may be degraded on requests containing audio
- The much cheaper contributor endpoint (about $0.10 / $0.20 per million) is priced that way in exchange for Meta training on your traffic. The standard tier is the rate recorded here.
- Meta’s scorecard has it trailing Claude Opus 5 on every broader agent-workflow benchmark it published, including GDPVal-AA v2, despite winning the coding rows
Step 5 Preview
Best for
- Long-context agentic coding and finance work
Watch out for
- A preview: StepFun publishes no release date, parameter count or benchmark scores for it
- Output tokens are billed including the reasoning trace, and output is capped at 64K tokens
Muse Spark 1.3 vs Step 5 Preview FAQ
Which is cheaper, Muse Spark 1.3 or Step 5 Preview?
Step 5 Preview is 20% cheaper per 1M input tokens than Muse Spark 1.3, $1 vs $1.25. For 10M input and 2M output tokens, Muse Spark 1.3 costs $21 and Step 5 Preview $15.40 at standard rates.
Which has the larger context window, Muse Spark 1.3 or Step 5 Preview?
Both accept about 1.05M tokens of context (1,048,576 and 1,000,000).
Related comparisons
Production evaluation
Choosing between Muse Spark 1.3 and Step 5 Preview?
Public benchmarks narrow the shortlist. We run both on your own tasks, data and cost limits, then build the routing and review controls to run the winner in production.
- A head-to-head evaluation on your real workload
- Routing between models by cost and difficulty