• Updated 1 Nov, 10:02 UTC
  • Next run 2 Nov, 05:17 UTCNext 2 Nov 05:17
  • Last 7 days: 4 new models · 81 runs7 d: 4 models · 81 runs
Compare

Step 5 Preview vs Inkling

6 prompts both ran·Specs and numbers·Change models

Step 5 Preview took 10 min 44 s and $0.33 at list price, Inkling took 8 min 30 s and $0.21 at list price. Step 5 Preview took 1.3× as long and cost 1.6× as much.

Step 5 Preview

StepFun · $2.70/M out · 155 HN pts

Inkling

Thinking Machines · $4.05/M out · free route · 4 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
Inkling's SVG for the "Pelican riding a bicycle" prompt

Inkling

19 s$0.0092.3k 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 Inkling's page for the "Wristwatch that shows the current time" prompt

Inkling

3 min 43 s$0.07719k 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 Inkling's page for the "Landing page for a cargo bike workshop" prompt

Inkling

59 s$0.0338.0k 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 Inkling's page for the "Playable Breakout" prompt

Inkling

2 min 40 s$0.06817k 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
Inkling's SVG for the "Bookshop logo" prompt

Inkling

39 s$0.0174.2k 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 is a three-person repair studio in Rotterdam dedicated to vintage synthesizers. We work on analog circuits, replace failing capacitors and resistors, calibrate unstable oscillators, and restore instruments that have been silent for years. Our bench sees early Japanese mono synths, European string machines, American polys, and large modular systems. We treat each repair as a specific problem rather than a routine job, because these machines were built differently and fail differently. The studio grew out of our own need for careful, local repairs. Over time, musicians, collectors, and producers across the Netherlands started bringing us gear they could not trust elsewhere. We open every case with the same approach: diagnose the fault properly, use appropriate parts, and test the result thoroughly. We do not apply quick fixes or ignore underlying issues. Whether your synthesizer suffers from tuning drift, dead voices, noisy outputs, or an unknown electrical fault, we are in Rotterdam to find the cause and return it to reliable working condition.

Inkling

11 s$0.0051.2k tokensAPI

Specs and numbers

Step 5 PreviewInkling
MakerStepFunThinking Machines
Made inChinaUS
Released8 Oct 202617 Jul 2026
Price in, per M tokens$1.00free route (list $1.00/M)
Price out, per M tokens$2.70free route (list $4.05/M)
Context1,048,576 tokens524,288 tokens
Weightsopenopen
Hacker News points1554
Time for the six prompts10 min 44 s8 min 30 s
List price of the six prompts$0.33$0.21

Inkling was cheaper: $0.12 less at list price, and less on 3 of the 6 prompts. Inkling was faster: 2 min 14 s less in total, and faster on 3 of the 6 prompts.

In the recording, both Breakout games play.

Rebuild this screen experiment: Inkling's rebuild matched the screenshot at 51%; Step 5 Preview was not in it. Tea Garden experiment: Inkling's game passed 5 of 5 checks; Step 5 Preview was not in it.

Also compared