MiMo-V2.5 vs Step 5 Preview
Xiaomi · China | StepFun · China · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick MiMo-V2.5 for native omnimodal — strong image and video understanding or very low cost (~half the inference of the pro tier). Pick Step 5 Preview for sparse moe architecture — 600b total parameters, only 27b active per token — built for long-horizon agentic work across large codebases and documents or 1m-token context window (64k max output) at $1/$2.70 per million tokens, among the cheapest frontier-scale context windows available. Choose MiMo-V2.5 if you need self-hosting or data privacy; Step 5 Preview if you want a managed API.
MiMo-V2.5 (Xiaomi) and Step 5 Preview (StepFun) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. MiMo-V2.5 is xiaomi's cheap omnimodal model — Pro-level agentic perception across image and video at a fraction of the cost. Step 5 Preview is stepFun's September 20, 2026 flagship preview — a 600B-parameter sparse MoE model (27B active) with a 1M-token context window at $1/$2.70 per million tokens, open weights promised for mid-October. They diverge most on price and open vs. closed weights — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
- ▸Price: MiMo-V2.5 is about 7.1× cheaper on input ($0.14/$0.28 per 1M tokens vs $1/$2.7 per 1M tokens) — a large enough gap that at scale it can be the single biggest line item in the decision.
- ▸Context window: both advertise 1M (~1,500 pages). Tie on paper — test on your own long inputs, since usable recall varies by model.
- ▸Recency: Step 5 Preview is the newer model by about 5 months (released September 20, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | MiMo-V2.5 | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Xiaomi (China) | StepFun (China) |
| Released | April 22, 2026 | September 20, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M (~1,500 pages) | 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $0.14/$0.28 per 1M tokens | $1/$2.7 per 1M tokens |
| Open weight? | Yes — self-hostable | No — API only |
| Modalities | text, image, audio, video, code | text, image, code |
| SWE-Bench Verified | Not published | Not published |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | Not published | Not published |
Who wins what
Native omnimodal — strong image and video understanding
MiMo-V2.5
Xiaomi's cheap omnimodal model — Pro-level agentic perception across image and video at a fraction of the cost — and it runs cheaper at $0.14/$0.28 per 1M tokens.
Very low cost (~half the inference of the Pro tier)
MiMo-V2.5
At $0.14/$0.28 per 1M tokens it undercuts Step 5 Preview ($1/$2.7 per 1M tokens), and that gap compounds at volume.
Agent-framework integration
MiMo-V2.5
Xiaomi's cheap omnimodal model — Pro-level agentic perception across image and video at a fraction of the cost — and its weights are open while Step 5 Preview is API-only.
Sparse MoE architecture — 600B total parameters, only 27B active per token — built for long-horizon agentic work across large codebases and documents
Step 5 Preview
StepFun's September 20, 2026 flagship preview — a 600B-parameter sparse MoE model (27B active) with a 1M-token context window at $1/$2.70 per million tokens, open weights promised for mid-October — and it is the newer of the two.
1M-token context window (64K max output) at $1/$2.70 per million tokens, among the cheapest frontier-scale context windows available
Step 5 Preview
Step 5 Preview lists 1M-token context window (64K max output) at $1/$2.70 per million tokens, among the cheapest frontier-scale context windows available among its strengths; MiMo-V2.5 does not.
67.7% on DeepSWE v1.1, ahead of open-weight rivals Kimi K3 (67.5%) and GLM-5.3 (66.9%)
Step 5 Preview
Step 5 Preview lists 67.7% on DeepSWE v1.1, ahead of open-weight rivals Kimi K3 (67.5%) and GLM-5.3 (66.9%) among its strengths; MiMo-V2.5 does not.
Lowest cost at scale
MiMo-V2.5
At $0.14/$0.28 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ MiMo-V2.5
At $0.14/$0.28 per 1M tokens it undercuts Step 5 Preview, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
A team with data-privacy or self-hosting needs
→ MiMo-V2.5
Open weights let you run it on your own hardware; Step 5 Preview is API-only.
Anyone whose priority is native omnimodal — strong image and video understanding
→ MiMo-V2.5
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is sparse moe architecture — 600b total parameters, only 27b active per token — built for long-horizon agentic work across large codebases and documents
→ Step 5 Preview
That is its strongest area.
MiMo-V2.5: where it fits
Xiaomi's cheap omnimodal model — Pro-level agentic perception across image and video at a fraction of the cost. Released April 22, 2026 by Xiaomi, it is built for native omnimodal — strong image and video understanding, very low cost (~half the inference of the Pro tier), agent-framework integration, and 1M context for full documents in one pass.
Its trade-offs are real: not the deepest reasoning tier (see V2.5-Pro), and limited Western tooling and support. At $0.14 in / $0.28 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
Step 5 Preview: where it fits
StepFun's September 20, 2026 flagship preview — a 600B-parameter sparse MoE model (27B active) with a 1M-token context window at $1/$2.70 per million tokens, open weights promised for mid-October. Released September 20, 2026 by StepFun, it is built for sparse MoE architecture — 600B total parameters, only 27B active per token — built for long-horizon agentic work across large codebases and documents, 1M-token context window (64K max output) at $1/$2.70 per million tokens, among the cheapest frontier-scale context windows available, 67.7% on DeepSWE v1.1, ahead of open-weight rivals Kimi K3 (67.5%) and GLM-5.3 (66.9%), and scores 44 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, ranking 27th of 653 models tracked.
Its trade-offs: trails closed frontier models on coding — 67.7% on DeepSWE v1.1 vs GPT-6 Astra's 74.1% and Claude Opus 5's 74.0%, open weights were promised for October 15, 2026 but hadn't shipped as of this writing — API-only for now despite the open-weight roadmap, a 'Preview' release, not StepFun's finished flagship — positioning and pricing may change once weights ship, and stepCodeBench and DeepSWE figures are StepFun's own reported numbers, not yet independently reproduced at scale. At $1 in / $2.7 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
The defining split here is open vs. closed. MiMo-V2.5 gives you weights you control — self-host it, fine-tune it, keep data in-house, pay only for hardware. Step 5 Preview gives you a managed, always-updated API with no infrastructure to run. Teams with GPUs, privacy requirements, or huge volume often favour the open model; teams that want zero ops and the latest capabilities favour the closed one. Capability is close enough that this operational question, not the benchmark, usually decides it.
Want both MiMo-V2.5 and Step 5 Preview without two subscriptions? LumiChats gives you these plus 40+ models under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day) — draft with one, cross-check with the other.
See pricingFrequently asked questions
Is MiMo-V2.5 or Step 5 Preview better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for either model, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, MiMo-V2.5 leans toward native omnimodal — strong image and video understanding while Step 5 Preview leans toward sparse moe architecture — 600b total parameters, only 27b active per token — built for long-horizon agentic work across large codebases and documents, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, MiMo-V2.5 or Step 5 Preview?
MiMo-V2.5 is open-weight, so self-hosting means no per-token fee (you pay for hardware instead), while Step 5 Preview is API-metered at $1/$2.7 per 1M tokens. For most teams without GPUs, the API model is cheaper to start; at very high volume, self-hosting can win.
Which has the bigger context window?
Both advertise 1M (~1,500 pages). Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.
Can I use both MiMo-V2.5 and Step 5 Preview together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you MiMo-V2.5, Step 5 Preview and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, MiMo-V2.5 or Step 5 Preview?
Step 5 Preview — released September 20, 2026, about 5 months after MiMo-V2.5.
Related comparisons
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.