Particle-1 vs Step 5 Preview
Particle-1 took 7 min 13 s and $0.056 at list price, Step 5 Preview took 10 min 44 s and $0.33 at list price. Step 5 Preview took 1.5× as long and cost 5.8× as much.
Particle-1
Particle AI · $0.50/M out · 17 HN pts
Step 5 Preview
StepFun · $2.70/M out · 155 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 studio in Rotterdam dedicated to the repair and restoration of vintage synthesizers. We are engineers, musicians, and collectors who believe these instruments are not museum pieces but tools meant to be played, heard, and trusted on stage or in the studio. Our bench has seen everything from stubborn Moogs and fragile ARP boards to polysynths with corroded traces and keyboards that have traveled too many miles. We approach each repair with patience, documentation, and respect for the original design, while making sensible updates only where reliability demands them. Because we are a small team, you work directly with the person handling your instrument, from the first diagnosis to the final calibration. We also advise on maintenance, source hard-to-find parts, and help you decide when a repair is worthwhile. Patchbay exists to keep old synthesizers making new music.
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.
Specs and numbers
| Particle-1 | Step 5 Preview | |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Particle AI | StepFun |
| Made in | — | China |
| Released | 28 Oct 2026 | 8 Oct 2026 |
| Price in, per M tokens | $0.05 | $1.00 |
| Price out, per M tokens | $0.50 | $2.70 |
| Context | 1,048,576 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens |
| Weights | closed | open |
| Hacker News points | 17 | 155 |
| Time for the six prompts | 7 min 13 s | 10 min 44 s |
| List price of the six prompts | $0.056 | $0.33 |
Particle-1 was cheaper: $0.27 less at list price, and less on each of the 6 prompts. Particle-1 was faster: 3 min 31 s less in total, and faster on 4 of the 6 prompts.
In the recording, both Breakout games play.





