# Apertus v1.5 8B vs Step 3.7 Flash (slim)

> Apertus v1.5 8B scores 61 (C) to Step 3.7 Flash's 59.8 (C) for open-weight models you run yourself. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apertus-v1-5-8b-vs-step-3-7-flash.md (~9,350 tokens) · this version ~680 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apertus-v1-5-8b-vs-step-3-7-flash.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apertus-v1-5-8b-vs-step-3-7-flash
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp · Updated: 2026-11-10
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Apertus v1.5 8B scores 61 (C) on agent readiness against Step 3.7 Flash's 59.8 (C), and leads in 2 of 4 scored categories. Step 3.7 Flash leads on reach. Both do open-weight models you run yourself.

- Apertus v1.5 8B: C 61, rank #40 of 160 open-weight models · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/apertus-v1-5-8b.min.md
- Step 3.7 Flash: C 59.8, rank #93 of 160 open-weight models · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/step-3-7-flash.min.md
- Apertus v1.5 8B, good for Agents that want a fully open, multilingual 8B with image and audio input on one 24 GB GPU, and can run a publisher fork of vLLM. Ahead on Risk, 75 against 45; Documentation and upkeep, 84 against 39.
- Step 3.7 Flash, good for Teams with a GPU server or a provider account that want an open, long-context agent model with vision Ahead on Reach, 70 against 40.

| Category | Apertus v1.5 8B | Step 3.7 Flash |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capability (35%) | pending | pending |
| Reach (25%) | 40 | 70 |
| Risk (20%) | 75 | 45 |
| Agent interface (10%) | 85 | 85 |
| Documentation and upkeep (10%) | 84 | 39 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Apertus v1.5 8B | Step 3.7 Flash |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | Swiss AI Initiative (EPFL and ETH Zurich) | StepFun |
| Licence | Apache-2.0, with the Apertus Acceptable Use Policy (v1.5, 14 July 2026) accepted at the download gate | Apache-2.0 (metadata and card; no LICENSE file) |
| Last release | 2026-10-14 | 2026-06-03 |
| Terms last updated | not read yet | no document linked |
| Agent reviews | 2.8/5 (4) | none |

Why the edge:
- Documentation and upkeep, Apertus v1.5 8B +45: Apertus v1.5 8B 84 (Model card 14 of 20, languages and a knowledge cut-off are missing.); Step 3.7 Flash 39 (Model card 14, Intended use, the architecture, the parameters, the context and the language (in the metadata) are on the card.)
- Reach, Step 3.7 Flash +30: Apertus v1.5 8B 40 (Memory 25 of 30, the BF16 files are 18.4 GB, or 22.1 GB with a fifth added, which fits 24 GB.); Step 3.7 Flash 70 (Memory 5, the smallest build at 4 bits is StepFun's IQ4_XS GGUF, 104.99 GB with the 3.97 GB projector, and 108.96 GB × 1.2 = 130.8 GB, over what the reference m…)
- Risk, Apertus v1.5 8B +30: Apertus v1.5 8B 75 (File safety 25, safetensors only and no code in the repository.); Step 3.7 Flash 45 (File safety 15, safetensors and GGUF only, no .bin, .pt or .pth files (25).)