StepFun
StepFun
★ #45 in Conversational AIProduct status: Status not recorded
No lifecycle review is recorded for this listing. Its inclusion in the directory does not confirm current availability; check the vendor before relying on it.
No status check date recorded
StepFun supplies hosted model APIs for dialogue and audio, alongside separately licensed open releases such as Step3.5 Flash. No lifecycle review is recorded for this listing. Its inclusion in the directory does not confirm current availability; check the vendor before relying on it.
Product preview
Decision notes
Official-document research
Based on the cited documentation. We did not use the product, purchase a plan, or run quality, speed or reliability tests in this review.
Consider it for
- Developers managing model and regional contracts
- Teams able to budget hosting or per-unit usage
Choose another approach if
- Assuming all Step models share Apache2 or a single free quota
- Requiring blanket no-training or China-only storage across channels
Pricing and conditions
Documented terms
International page quotes step-3.5-flash and2603 per1M tokens: $0.10 cache-miss input/$0.02 cache-hit input/$0.30 output; different models have different rates. Reasoning is billed as output. Search/file capabilities add call or GB/day charges; speech can bill tokens, characters, hours or cloned voice. The page does not establish ISO currency, tax inclusion or your regional total. Standard API prepaid balance/limits follow usage and cash top-ups; Step Plan monthly credits are separate, not unlimited API. Trials can expire and generally nonrefundable payments have contractual exceptions. Open releases have no license charge but hardware/operations are extra.
Pricing source read:
Pricing or terms sourceCode, model and service licensing
The platform's proprietary service rights are distinct from Apache2 on the named Step3.5 Flash code/weights; preserve license/notices and mark modifications, and check other releases and dependencies separately. International HK terms permit eligible18+ developer/end-user integrations, retain relative nonexclusive content rights, but grant a perpetual irrevocable broad Usage Data license expressly including training. Processor data follows the incorporated DPA/instructions with DPA priority and30-day post-termination deletion exceptions for law, disputes and abuse. International policy lists US servers and3-year IP logs; China policy's domestic storage applies to its regional operations, not all channels. No universal opt-out/ZDR was established.
Basis and limits of the recorded score
The original rating 4.3 is retained. Its underlying scoring rubric was not recorded; this documentation review does not rescore performance.
Overview
StepFun's platform offers hosted chat/reasoning and audio models with usage-specific APIs. Releases and channels differ: the international catalogue includes Step5 Preview, while Step3.5 Flash also has a separately downloadable Apache2 artifact. No single license or rate applies to the whole brand.
Use a pinned model and regional contract. China and international platforms name different operators and storage rules. The international terms grant broad usage-data training rights; the processor DPA has its own priority and instructions, not a universal no-training promise. Two named image APIs retired2026-10-10; this does not mean StepFun as a whole ended.
Sources
The factual claims in this review were read from the pages below. Each date is when an editor last opened the source, not when the product changed.
- Vendor site Checked 2026-10-15
- Vendor documentation Checked 2026-10-15
- Vendor documentation Checked 2026-10-15
- Vendor documentation Checked 2026-10-15
- Vendor pricing page Checked 2026-10-15
- Vendor documentation Checked 2026-10-15
- Vendor documentation Checked 2026-10-15
- Vendor documentation Checked 2026-10-15
- Vendor documentation Checked 2026-10-15
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Hosted dialogue and audio routes
- A named Apache2 model can be evaluated for self-hosting
Cons
- Models, regions and contracts must be distinguished
- Training rights and multiple billing units require review
Who it's for
Build a reviewed chat or audio integration
Evaluate the named open model on your own infrastructure
Bottom line
Compare the exact model, endpoint, data contract and total usage cost; open-release rights do not cover the hosted family.
Key Features
Tags
Frequently asked questions
Is StepFun currently available?
No lifecycle review is recorded for this listing. Its inclusion in the directory does not confirm current availability; check the vendor before relying on it.
What is StepFun?
StepFun is a Conversational AI tool developed by StepFun. StepFun supplies hosted model APIs for dialogue and audio, alongside separately licensed open releases such as Step3.5 Flash.
What costs and terms should I check for StepFun?
International page quotes step-3.5-flash and2603 per1M tokens: $0.10 cache-miss input/$0.02 cache-hit input/$0.30 output; different models have different rates. Reasoning is billed as output. Search/file capabilities add call or GB/day charges; speech can bill tokens, characters, hours or cloned voice. The page does not establish ISO currency, tax inclusion or your regional total. Standard API prepaid balance/limits follow usage and cash top-ups; Step Plan monthly credits are separate, not unlimited API. Trials can expire and generally nonrefundable payments have contractual exceptions. Open releases have no license charge but hardware/operations are extra.
Is StepFun open source?
The platform's proprietary service rights are distinct from Apache2 on the named Step3.5 Flash code/weights; preserve license/notices and mark modifications, and check other releases and dependencies separately. International HK terms permit eligible18+ developer/end-user integrations, retain relative nonexclusive content rights, but grant a perpetual irrevocable broad Usage Data license expressly including training. Processor data follows the incorporated DPA/instructions with DPA priority and30-day post-termination deletion exceptions for law, disputes and abuse. International policy lists US servers and3-year IP logs; China policy's domestic storage applies to its regional operations, not all channels. No universal opt-out/ZDR was established.
What are the best alternatives to StepFun?
Notable Conversational AI alternatives include ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini. Browse all 67 tools in our Conversational AI category for a full overview.
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Basic Info
- Pricing
- Paid
International page quotes step-3.5-flash and2603 per1M tokens: $0.10 cache-miss input/$0.02 cache-hit input/$0.30 output; different models have different rates. Reasoning is billed as output. Search/file capabilities add call or GB/day charges; speech can bill tokens, characters, hours or cloned voice. The page does not establish ISO currency, tax inclusion or your regional total. Standard API prepaid balance/limits follow usage and cash top-ups; Step Plan monthly credits are separate, not unlimited API. Trials can expire and generally nonrefundable payments have contractual exceptions. Open releases have no license charge but hardware/operations are extra.
- Editorial score
- ★ 4.3 / 5 How we score
- Platforms
- WebAPI
- Last verified
- Not recorded
