• Updated 31 Oct, 14:35 UTC
  • Next run 1 Nov, 05:17 UTCNext 1 Nov 05:17
  • Last 7 days: 4 new models · 448 runs7 d: 4 models · 448 runs
Compare

Step 5 Preview vs GLM 5.3 Flash

6 prompts both ran·Specs and numbers·Change models

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

Step 5 Preview's SVG for the "Pelican riding a bicycle" prompt

Step 5 Preview

32 s$0.0196.9k tokensAPI
GLM 5.3 Flash's SVG for the "Pelican riding a bicycle" prompt

GLM 5.3 Flash

2 min 23 s$0.0019.9k tokensAPI

Watch

Draw a mechanical wristwatch that shows the current local time, with a sweeping seconds hand and a date window. Make it look expensive.

Still of Step 5 Preview's page for the "Wristwatch that shows the current time" prompt

Step 5 Preview

22 s$0.0134.9k tokensAPI
Still of GLM 5.3 Flash's page for the "Wristwatch that shows the current time" prompt

GLM 5.3 Flash

17 min 21 s$0.01069k tokensAPI

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.

Still of Step 5 Preview's page for the "Landing page for a cargo bike workshop" prompt

Step 5 Preview

4 min 7 s$0.1453k tokensAPI
Still of GLM 5.3 Flash's page for the "Landing page for a cargo bike workshop" prompt

GLM 5.3 Flash

22 min 43 s$0.01498k tokensAPI

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.

Still of Step 5 Preview's page for the "Playable Breakout" prompt

Step 5 Preview

1 min 55 s$0.06825k tokensAPI
Still of GLM 5.3 Flash's page for the "Playable Breakout" prompt

GLM 5.3 Flash

13 min 57 s$0.01065k tokensAPI

Design a logo for Night Heron, an independent bookshop that only opens after dark.

Step 5 Preview's SVG for the "Bookshop logo" prompt

Step 5 Preview

3 min 41 s$0.08431k tokensAPI
GLM 5.3 Flash's SVG for the "Bookshop logo" prompt

GLM 5.3 Flash

2 min 40 s$0.00211k tokensAPI

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.

Step 5 Preview

7 s$0.003919 tokensAPI

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.

GLM 5.3 Flash

6 s<$0.001414 tokensAPI

Specs and numbers

Step 5 PreviewGLM 5.3 Flash
MakerStepFunZ.ai
Made inChinaChina
Released8 Oct 202626 Aug 2026
Price in, per M tokens$1.00$0.016
Price out, per M tokens$2.70$0.148
Context1,048,576 tokens1,048,576 tokens
Weightsopenopen
Hacker News points1551,329
Time for the six prompts10 min 44 s59 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.

Also compared