Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs StepFun Step-2
Claude Sonnet 4.6 (2026) and StepFun Step-2 (2025) are frontier reasoning models from Anthropic and StepFun. Claude Sonnet 4.6 ships a 1m-token context window, while StepFun Step-2 ships a 128k-token context window. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads. It focuses on practical selection signals rather than broad model-family marketing.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 fits 8x more tokens; pick it for long-context work and StepFun Step-2 for tighter calls.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | StepFun Step-2 |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents | general production evaluation |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | Long context |
| Context window | 1m | 128k |
| Cheapest output | $15/1M tokens | - |
| Provider routes | 6 tracked | 0 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 shared | 0 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 uniquely exposes Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Claude Sonnet 4.6 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- Local decision data tags StepFun Step-2 for Long context.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Claude Sonnet 4.6
$6,150
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
StepFun Step-2
Unavailable
No complete token price in local provider data
Cost delta unavailable until both models have sourced input and output token prices.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Claude Sonnet 4.6 and StepFun Step-2; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning before moving production traffic.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for StepFun Step-2 and Claude Sonnet 4.6; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 adds Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2026-02-17 | 2025-10-15 |
| Context window | 1m | 128k |
| Parameters | — | 1T (MoE)* |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | - |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Openness | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Weights | Not released | Not released |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: conditional |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2025-08 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | StepFun Step-2 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $3/1M tokens | - |
| Output price | $15/1M tokens | - |
| Providers | - |
Capabilities
| Capability | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | StepFun Step-2 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | No |
| Multimodal | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| JSON / Tool use | Yes | No |
| Structured outputs | Yes | No |
| Code execution | Yes | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | Yes | No |
| Parallel agents | Yes | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark scores are currently available for this pair.
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Last reviewed: 2026-07-26. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.