# Spark-X2.6-4B vs Step 5 Preview

> Side-by-side benchmark comparison for Spark-X2.6-4B and Step 5 Preview across agentic, coding, multimodal, knowledge, reasoning, multilingual, and math tasks.

- Canonical page: https://benchlm.ai/compare/spark-x2-6-4b-vs-step-5-preview
- Last updated: October 20, 2026

- Shared sourced benchmarks: 4
- HTML indexing: indexable
- Ranking lane: BenchAlign v5.8

## Quick Verdict

Step 5 Preview leads by point estimate. Conditional score ranges do not establish rank confidence. Choose using the category evidence and your own workload tests.

## Summary

- Step 5 Preview has the higher overall point estimate 69.67 to 40.14. Conditional score ranges do not establish rank confidence.
- The clearest category separation is in reasoning, where the averages are 48.8 for Spark-X2.6-4B and 82.5 for Step 5 Preview.
- The biggest single benchmark swing is BrowseComp in Agentic, with scores of 53.1% and 88.7%.
- Spark-X2.6-4B is the cheaper option on output tokens, which matters if you expect large responses or heavy interactive use.

## Model Snapshot

| Property | Spark-X2.6-4B | Step 5 Preview |
|----------|----------|----------|
| Creator | SparkLLM | StepFun |
| Type | Open Weight | Open Weight |
| Reasoning | Reasoning | Reasoning |
| Context | 1M | 1M |
| Overall Score | 40.14 | 69.67 |
| Benchmarks Covered | 20 | 24 |
| Pricing (input/output) | $0.00 / $0.00 | $1.00 / $2.70 |

## Category Breakdown

### Agentic

- Winner: Directional only
- Spark-X2.6-4B public-lane score: 33 (Estimated · #89/131)
- Step 5 Preview public-lane score: 65.3 (Estimated · #18/131)

| Benchmark | Spark-X2.6-4B | Step 5 Preview | Winner |
|-----------|-----------|-----------|--------|
| BFCL v4 | 71.8% | Coming soon | Coming soon |
| τ²-bench results | 86.9% | Coming soon | Coming soon |
| MCP Atlas | 62.4% | 85.6% | Step 5 Preview |
| BrowseComp | 53.1% | 88.7% | Step 5 Preview |
| HLE w/ tools | 36.9% | Coming soon | Coming soon |
| τ³-bench results | 34.7% | Coming soon | Coming soon |
| Claw-Eval | 69.9% | Coming soon | Coming soon |
| Terminal-Bench 2.1 | Coming soon | 85.0% | Coming soon |
| Terminal-Bench 4.0 | Coming soon | 33.30% | Coming soon |
| CyberGym | Coming soon | 84.7% | Coming soon |
| AutomationBench | Coming soon | 44.0% | Coming soon |
| Toolathlon-Verified | Coming soon | 74.1% | Coming soon |
| JobBench | Coming soon | 59.0% | Coming soon |
| APEX-Agents | Coming soon | 37.8% | Coming soon |
| DRACO | Coming soon | 83.3% | Coming soon |
| Agents' Last Exam | Coming soon | 29.5% | Coming soon |
| Hermes Index | Coming soon | 32.8% | Coming soon |
| Hermes Bench | Coming soon | 69.2% | Coming soon |

### Coding

- Winner: Directional only
- Spark-X2.6-4B public-lane score: 30.6 (Estimated · #95/152)
- Step 5 Preview public-lane score: 60.7 (Estimated · #20/152)

| Benchmark | Spark-X2.6-4B | Step 5 Preview | Winner |
|-----------|-----------|-----------|--------|
| SWE-bench Pro | 54.3% | Coming soon | Coming soon |
| SWE-bench Verified | 62.8% | Coming soon | Coming soon |
| SWE Multilingual | 64.7% | Coming soon | Coming soon |
| SciCode | 36.8% | 58.9% | Step 5 Preview |
| DeepSWE | Coming soon | 67.7% | Coming soon |
| Terminal-Bench 2.1 | Coming soon | 85.0% | Coming soon |
| ProgramBench | Coming soon | 80.5% | Coming soon |
| sweMarathon | Coming soon | 72.7% | Coming soon |
| MLS-Bench Lite | Coming soon | 40.5% | Coming soon |

### Reasoning

- Winner: Not comparable
- Spark-X2.6-4B public-lane score: 48.8 (Unranked · 2 rankable rows)
- Step 5 Preview public-lane score: 82.5 (Unranked · 2 rankable rows)

| Benchmark | Spark-X2.6-4B | Step 5 Preview | Winner |
|-----------|-----------|-----------|--------|
| LongBench v2 | 53.3% | Coming soon | Coming soon |
| CritPt | Coming soon | 20.9% | Coming soon |

### Multimodal & Grounded

- Winner: Not comparable
- Spark-X2.6-4B public-lane score: Coming soon
- Step 5 Preview public-lane score: 74.6 (#24/55)

| Benchmark | Spark-X2.6-4B | Step 5 Preview | Winner |
|-----------|-----------|-----------|--------|
| OfficeQA Pro | Coming soon | 60.3% | Coming soon |
| MMMU-Pro | Coming soon | 76% | Coming soon |

### Knowledge

- Winner: Directional only
- Spark-X2.6-4B public-lane score: 43 (Estimated · #109/187)
- Step 5 Preview public-lane score: 68.8 (Supported · #22/187)

| Benchmark | Spark-X2.6-4B | Step 5 Preview | Winner |
|-----------|-----------|-----------|--------|
| GPQA-D | 77.1% | 93.5% | Step 5 Preview |
| HLE w/o tools | 17.9% | Coming soon | Coming soon |
| GPQA | 69.9% | Coming soon | Coming soon |
| HLE | Coming soon | 46.5% | Coming soon |

### Instruction Following

- Winner: Not comparable
- Spark-X2.6-4B public-lane score: 78.2 (#62/149)
- Step 5 Preview public-lane score: Coming soon

| Benchmark | Spark-X2.6-4B | Step 5 Preview | Winner |
|-----------|-----------|-----------|--------|
| IFEval | 93.6% | Coming soon | Coming soon |
| IFBench | 75.8% | Coming soon | Coming soon |

### Mathematics

- Winner: Not comparable
- Spark-X2.6-4B public-lane score: 76.4 (Unranked · 3 rankable rows)
- Step 5 Preview public-lane score: Coming soon

| Benchmark | Spark-X2.6-4B | Step 5 Preview | Winner |
|-----------|-----------|-----------|--------|
| AIME26 | 91.2% | Coming soon | Coming soon |
| HMMT Feb 2026 | 81.3% | Coming soon | Coming soon |
| IMOAnswerBench | 75.2% | Coming soon | Coming soon |

## FAQ

### Which is better overall, Spark-X2.6-4B or Step 5 Preview?

Step 5 Preview has the higher overall point estimate. Conditional score ranges do not establish rank confidence.

### Where is the biggest gap between Spark-X2.6-4B and Step 5 Preview?

The widest category gap is in reasoning, where the averages are 48.8 for Spark-X2.6-4B and 82.5 for Step 5 Preview.

### How many benchmarks does Spark-X2.6-4B cover on BenchLM?

Spark-X2.6-4B currently has 20 sourced benchmark scores on BenchLM.

### How many benchmarks does Step 5 Preview cover on BenchLM?

Step 5 Preview currently has 24 sourced benchmark scores on BenchLM.

## Related Comparisons

- [Spark-X2.6-4B vs Claude Opus 5.5](/compare/claude-opus-5-5-vs-spark-x2-6-4b)
- [Step 5 Preview vs Claude Opus 5.5](/compare/claude-opus-5-5-vs-step-5-preview)
- [Spark-X2.6-4B vs GPT-6.1 Sol](/compare/gpt-6-1-sol-vs-spark-x2-6-4b)
- [Step 5 Preview vs GPT-6.1 Sol](/compare/gpt-6-1-sol-vs-step-5-preview)

## Explore More

- [Spark-X2.6-4B profile](/models/spark-x2-6-4b)
- [Step 5 Preview profile](/models/step-5-preview)
- [Compare Pricing](/llm-pricing)
- [Alternative Finder](/tools/alternative-finder)
- [LLM Selector](/tools/llm-selector)
- [Overall Rankings](/best/overall)