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Model comparison

DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) vs Step 3.7 Flash

Data verified

Head-to-head evidence from 23 shared benchmark results across 6 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.

70/100
Margin
19.2pts
← winning
50.76/100
1 category wins1 category wins

Verified leaderboard positions: DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) #21; Step 3.7 Flash unranked

BenchAlign evidence: DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) not scored; Step 3.7 Flash estimated. Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.

Evidence parity. DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) and Step 3.7 Flash share 23 comparable benchmark results. 2 of 8 categories are comparable. 17 results are unique to DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max); 7 to Step 3.7 Flash.

Updated July 16, 2026
Shared results
23
DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) only
17
Step 3.7 Flash only
7
Comparable categories
2 / 8

Pick DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) if you want the stronger benchmark profile. Step 3.7 Flash only becomes the better choice if agentic is the priority.

Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 23 shared benchmark results across 6 evidence categories; 2 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.

Why this result

DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) is clearly ahead on the provisional aggregate, 70 to 57. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.

DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)'s sharpest advantage is in coding, where it averages 68.8 against 56.3. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is SWE-bench Pro, 52.6% to 56.3%. Step 3.7 Flash does hit back in agentic, so the answer changes if that is the part of the workload you care about most.

Step 3.7 Flash is also the more expensive model on tokens at $0.20 input / $1.15 output per 1M tokens, versus $0.14 input / $0.28 output per 1M tokens for DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max). That is roughly 4.1x on output cost alone. DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) gives you the larger context window at 1M, compared with 256K for Step 3.7 Flash.

Category breakdown

Exact category averages are shown below. Not measured means BenchLM does not have enough sourced public coverage for that model and category.

Category scores and score margins for DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) and Step 3.7 Flash
CategoryDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)ΔStep 3.7 Flash
CodingDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)68.8Margin 12.5Step 3.7 Flash56.3
AgenticDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)63.8Margin 2.6Step 3.7 Flash66.4
KnowledgeDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)55.6MarginNo overlapStep 3.7 FlashNot measured
MathDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)94.8MarginNo overlapStep 3.7 FlashNot measured

Decisive benchmark drivers

The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.

More
A · DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)B · Step 3.7 Flash
  1. SWE-bench Pro

    Coding
    Source ↗
    A 52.6%B 56.3%
    Winner: Step 3.7 FlashΔ 3.7
    SWE-bench Pro: DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) scored 52.6%; Step 3.7 Flash scored 56.3%. Step 3.7 Flash wins this benchmark.
  2. BrowseComp

    Agentic
    Source ↗
    A 73.2%B 75.8%
    Winner: Step 3.7 FlashΔ 2.6
    BrowseComp: DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) scored 73.2%; Step 3.7 Flash scored 75.8%. Step 3.7 Flash wins this benchmark.
  3. Terminal-Bench 2.0

    Agentic
    Source ↗
    A 56.9%B 59.5%
    Winner: Step 3.7 FlashΔ 2.6
    Terminal-Bench 2.0: DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) scored 56.9%; Step 3.7 Flash scored 59.5%. Step 3.7 Flash wins this benchmark.

Operational comparison

Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.

MetricDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)Step 3.7 FlashComparison
Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokensDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)$0.14 input / $0.28 outputStep 3.7 Flash$0.2 input / $1.15 outputDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) has the lower combined listed price.
Generation speedtokens per secondDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)Not availableStep 3.7 FlashNot availableA complete speed comparison is not available.
First-answer latencyseconds to first tokenDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)Not availableStep 3.7 FlashNot availableA complete latency comparison is not available.
Context windowmaximum listed tokensDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)1MStep 3.7 Flash256KDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) lists the larger context window.

Benchmark Deep Dive

AgenticStep 3.7 Flash wins
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)Step 3.7 FlashResult
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source 56.9%59.5%Step 3.7 Flash leads
BrowseCompSource 73.2%75.8%Step 3.7 Flash leads
HLE w/ toolsSource 45.1%47.2%Step 3.7 Flash leads
MCP AtlasSource 69%Not comparable
GDPval-AASource 11891017DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads
ToolathlonSource 47.8%49.5%Step 3.7 Flash leads
AA Agentic IndexSource 31.1%21.5%DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads
τ²-bench resultsSource 95%98.5%Step 3.7 Flash leads
GDPval-AASource 34.4%25.9%DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads
DeepSearchQASource 92.8%Not comparable
Claw-EvalSource 67.1%Not comparable
Gert LabsSource 51.57%Not comparable
APEX-Agents-AASource 14.8%Not comparable
CodingDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) wins
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)Step 3.7 FlashResult
LiveCodeBench Pass@1-COTSource 91.6%Not comparable
CodeforcesSource 3052.0Not comparable
SWE-bench VerifiedSource 79%Not comparable
SWE-bench ProSource 52.6%56.3%Step 3.7 Flash leads
SWE MultilingualSource 73.3%Not comparable
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source 56.9%59.5%Step 3.7 Flash leads
AA Coding IndexSource 56.2%39.6%DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads
Terminal-Bench HardSource 35.6%35.6%Tie
AA-SciCodeSource 44.9%40.0%DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads
Reasoning
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)Step 3.7 FlashResult
MRCR 1MSource 78.7%Not comparable
CorpusQA 1MSource 60.5%Not comparable
AA-LCRSource 63.0%63.7%Step 3.7 Flash leads
CritPtSource 7.1%2.3%DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads
Knowledge
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)Step 3.7 FlashResult
MMLU-ProSource 86.2%Not comparable
SimpleQASource 34.1%Not comparable
Chinese-SimpleQASource 78.9%Not comparable
GPQASource 88.1%Not comparable
GPQA-DSource 88.1%Not comparable
HLESource 34.8%Not comparable
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource 40.3%30.3%DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads
AA-GPQA DiamondSource 89.4%80.9%DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads
AA-HLESource 32.1%19.9%DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads
AA-Omniscience IndexSource -22.9%-37.5%DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads
AA-Omniscience AccuracySource 37.2%25.4%DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads
AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource 95.8%84.4%Step 3.7 Flash leads
Math
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)Step 3.7 FlashResult
HMMT Feb 2026Source 94.8%Not comparable
IMOAnswerBenchSource 88.4%Not comparable
ApexSource 33.0%Not comparable
Apex ShortlistSource 85.7%Not comparable
Multimodal
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)Step 3.7 FlashResult
Design Arena WebsiteSource 12421218DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads
SimpleVQASource 79.2%Not comparable
V*Source 95.3%Not comparable
AA-MMMU-ProSource 75.3%Not comparable
Inst. Following
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)Step 3.7 FlashResult
AA-IFBenchSource 79.2%67.3%DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads
Frequently Asked Questions (3)

Which is better, DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) or Step 3.7 Flash?

DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) is ahead on BenchLM's provisional leaderboard, 70 to 57. The biggest single separator in this matchup is SWE-bench Pro, where the scores are 52.6% and 56.3%.

Which is better for coding, DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) or Step 3.7 Flash?

DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 68.8 versus 56.3. Inside this category, AA Coding Index is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for agentic tasks, DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) or Step 3.7 Flash?

Step 3.7 Flash has the edge for agentic tasks in this comparison, averaging 66.4 versus 63.8. Inside this category, GDPval-AA is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

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Last updated: July 16, 2026

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