Is Recursive better than Stepfun?
It depends on the job: Stepfun offers the broader line-up (1 models vs 4), Stepfun the longest context (1.0M tokens). The workload table above shows which wins for chat, RAG, agents, batch jobs and long documents.
Recursive vs Stepfun
Recursive lists 1 models and Stepfun 4. Below: line-up, price tiers, the cheapest model for each capability, and what each costs for five real workloads.
At a glance
| Recursive | Stepfun | |
|---|---|---|
| Models listed | 1 | 4 |
| Models with published pricing | 1 | 4 |
| Typical price (median, 3:1 blend per 1M) | n/a | $0.44 |
| Cheapest paid model | n/a | StepFun: Step 3.5 Flash ($0.15) |
| Longest context | Recursive: Flint (free) (262K) | StepFun: Step 5 Preview (1.0M) |
| Free models | 1 | 1 |
| Newest model | Recursive: Flint (free) (2026-10-21) | StepFun: Step 5 Preview (2026-10-08) |
| Price changes in the last 90 days | 0 | 0 |
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What each costs for real workloads
For each workload: the cheapest model from each provider that can actually do it (fits the context window; tool calling required for the agent), and its monthly cost at list price.
| Workload (per month) | Recursive | Stepfun |
|---|---|---|
| Customer-support chatbot 50,000 conversations — each a 6-turn conversation | no suitable model | $13.50 with StepFun: Step 3.5 Flash |
| RAG search over documents 20,000 questions — each a question answered from ~8 retrieved passages | no suitable model | $15.00 with StepFun: Step 3.5 Flash |
| Coding / tool-using agent 2,000 tasks — each a multi-step task with tool calls and file context | no suitable model | $15.60 with StepFun: Step 3.5 Flash |
| Batch summarisation 10,000 documents — each a 6,000-word report summarised to a page | no suitable model | $9.80 with StepFun: Step 3.5 Flash |
| Long-document analysis 500 documents — each a 150-page contract or codebase read in one pass | no suitable model | $5.30 with StepFun: Step 3.5 Flash |
Cheapest model for each capability
| You need | Recursive | Stepfun |
|---|---|---|
| Any model | none listed | StepFun: Step 3.5 Flash ($0.15) |
| With tool calling | none listed | StepFun: Step 3.5 Flash ($0.15) |
| With image input | none listed | StepFun: Step 3.7 Flash ($0.44) |
| With reasoning mode | none listed | StepFun: Step 3.5 Flash ($0.15) |
| 128K+ context | none listed | StepFun: Step 3.5 Flash ($0.15) |
| 1M+ context | none listed | StepFun: Step 5 Preview ($1.43) |
Line-up by type and price tier
| Model type | Recursive | Stepfun |
|---|---|---|
| text+image+video->text | 0 | 2 |
| text->text | 1 | 2 |
| Price per 1M (3:1 blend) | Recursive | Stepfun |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 1 | 1 |
| Under $0.50 | 0 | 2 |
| $0.50 – $3 | 0 | 1 |
| $3 – $10 | 0 | 0 |
| $10 and up | 0 | 0 |
Frequently asked questions
Which has more models, Recursive or Stepfun?
Stepfun: Recursive lists 1 models and Stepfun lists 4.
Which provider has the longest context window?
Stepfun: Recursive's longest is Recursive: Flint (free) at 262K tokens; Stepfun's is StepFun: Step 5 Preview at 1.0M.
Do Recursive or Stepfun offer free models?
Recursive: 1 free model (e.g. Recursive: Flint (free)). Stepfun: 1 free model (e.g. StepFun: Step 3.5 Flash (free)).
Which provider has models that can read images?
Recursive: 0 of 1 models accept images. Stepfun: 2 of 4.