Step 5 Preview vs GLM 5.3 Flash
Step 5 Preview took 10 min 44 s and $0.33 at list price, GLM 5.3 Flash took 59 min 10 s and $0.037 at list price. GLM 5.3 Flash took 5.5× as long, and Step 5 Preview cost 8.8× as much.
Step 5 Preview
StepFun · $2.70/M out · 155 HN pts
GLM 5.3 Flash
Z.ai · $0.148/M out · 1,329 HN pts
Pelican
Generate an SVG of a pelican riding a bicycle
Watch
Draw a mechanical wristwatch that shows the current local time, with a sweeping seconds hand and a date window. Make it look expensive.
Landing
Build the landing page for Lumen Cycles, a Copenhagen workshop that builds custom cargo bikes to order. Make it look like a real brand you would trust with 4,000 euros.
Breakout
Make a Breakout game I can play right now with the keyboard or the mouse. Give it several levels, a score and some juice.
Logo
Design a logo for Night Heron, an independent bookshop that only opens after dark.
About
Write the opening of the About us page for Patchbay, a three-person studio in Rotterdam that repairs vintage synthesizers. About 150 words.
Patchbay is a three-person workshop based in Rotterdam, dedicated to keeping vintage synthesizers alive and playable. We are technicians, musicians, and obsessive tinkerers who believe that classic analog instruments deserve better than silence. From temperamental Jupiter-8s to worn-out ARP Odysseys, we restore, repair, and maintain the machines that shaped the sound of modern music. Every repair starts with listening—both to the instrument and to the person who plays it. Whether you are chasing a rare fault, need a full calibration, or simply want your old synth to feel new again, our bench is open. We understand that no two synthesizers arrive with the same story, and we treat each circuit, slider, and key with the care its history deserves. At Patchbay, we are here to make sure the sounds of tomorrow are built on those that came before.
Patchbay began the way most repair shops do: with a broken synth, a stubborn owner, and a soldering iron that refused to stay idle. We're three people—Joris, Marit, and Tomas—working out of a small workshop on the back streets of Rotterdam-Noord, surrounded by oscilloscopes, spare parts, and instruments that sometimes arrive in worse condition than their owners admit.
Between us, we've spent decades repairing and restoring vintage synthesizers: Rolands, Moogs, Korgs, Yamahas, and machines whose manuals were never written in the first place. We don't sell anything. We fix things. That focus keeps us honest and keeps the work slow, careful, and done properly.
We believe old instruments deserve to keep making music, not gather dust in attics or fetch prices only collectors can pay. Whether it's a cracked keybed, a dying power supply, or a voice that's gone quiet, we'd like to help bring it back.
Specs and numbers
| Step 5 Preview | GLM 5.3 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | StepFun | Z.ai |
| Made in | China | China |
| Released | 8 Oct 2026 | 26 Aug 2026 |
| Price in, per M tokens | $1.00 | $0.016 |
| Price out, per M tokens | $2.70 | $0.148 |
| Context | 1,048,576 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens |
| Weights | open | open |
| Hacker News points | 155 | 1,329 |
| Time for the six prompts | 10 min 44 s | 59 min 10 s |
| List price of the six prompts | $0.33 | $0.037 |
GLM 5.3 Flash was cheaper: $0.29 less at list price, and less on each of the 6 prompts. Step 5 Preview was faster: 48 min 26 s less in total, and faster on 4 of the 6 prompts.
In the recording, both Breakout games play.





