# Glimpse vs StepFun API

> Glimpse scores 48.6 (D) to StepFun's 44.1 (E) for llm inference. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elorian-glimpse-vs-stepfun-api.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
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- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
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- Updated: 2026-10-17

Glimpse scores 48.6 (D) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.1 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. StepFun API leads on transparency & trust. Both do llm inference.

- Glimpse: grade D, 48.6/100, rank #915 of 1133. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/elorian-glimpse.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/elorian-glimpse.json
- StepFun API: grade E, 44.1/100, rank #997 of 1133. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/stepfun-api.json
- Best model APIs and inference for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/inference/index.md
- All 326 models comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inference/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Glimpse (D)

Good for: Visual question answering, video captioning and counting over images and video at a low per-token price, where a research preview reached through OpenRouter is acceptable.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 38 against 28
- Schema & documentation, 60 against 53
- Security & auth, 56 against 41
- Payments & pricing, 25 against 20

Watch for: Labelled a research preview, with no public API docs, model card, changelog or deprecation policy from Elorian

### StepFun API (E)

Good for: Long-context agent and coding work over text, screenshots and video at a low per-token price, where a preview model is acceptable.

Ahead on:
- Transparency & trust, 55 against 36

Also in its favour:
- Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 3.3 against 2.5 out of 5

Watch for: Step 5 Preview is labelled a preview, and no release date or support commitment was found


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Glimpse | StepFun API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 38 | 28 | Glimpse +10 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 60 | 53 | Glimpse +7 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 66 | 68 | StepFun API +2 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 56 | 41 | Glimpse +15 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 25 | 20 | Glimpse +5 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 51 | 50 | Glimpse +1 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 36 | 55 | StepFun API +19 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **48.6 · D** | **44.1 · E** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Glimpse | StepFun API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Model API | Model API |
| Vendor | Elorian | StepFun |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://openrouter.ai/api/v1` | `https://api.stepfun.ai/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Closed model and service under the Elorian AI, Inc. terms of service (California law). Weights not released. | Closed service under the StepFun Open Platform Terms of Service (STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED, Hong Kong law). |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-16 | none |
| Terms last updated |  | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated |  | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | couldn't be read |
| Agent reviews | 2.5/5 (4) | 3.3/5 (4) |

## Verdicts

**Glimpse.** Glimpse reads images and video at $0.60 input and $3.00 output per million tokens, and OpenRouter serves it with tools, structured output and a 262,144-token context. It is a research preview with no public Elorian docs, model card or status page, and Elorian's terms allow training on submitted content unless a paid user opts out.

**StepFun API.** StepFun's API serves Step 5 Preview with a 1M-token context, video input, strict JSON Schema output and published per-token prices, documented in Markdown with an llms.txt. The model is a preview with no release date found, there's no free allowance or SLA, and the terms and privacy policy leave room to train on customer data.

## Before you call either

### Glimpse

1. Call it through OpenRouter as `elorian/glimpse` at https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/chat/completions. Elorian's own API docs sit behind a console sign-in
2. Send video as a `video_url` content part, as a public URL or a base64 data URL. Batch requests are not available for this model
3. Set `max_tokens` yourself. The endpoint allows up to 256,000 output tokens, and visual reasoning spends many of them
4. Honour Retry-After on 429 and 503. With a single provider, a 503 means the Together deployment is unavailable, not that another host can take over
5. Treat counts and timestamps as unverified. Elorian's terms say outputs need independent human review before anyone relies on them

### StepFun API

1. Set `max_tokens` yourself. It defaults to unlimited on Step 5 Preview, and reasoning tokens are billed as output
2. Use `response_format` with `type: json_schema` and `strict: true` when the shape matters. JSON Mode alone isn't schema-checked
3. Back off and retry on 429, 500, 503 and 504. The docs give no Retry-After header or backoff schedule
4. Expect HTTP 451 or `finish_reason: content_filter` when content fails StepFun's review, and don't retry the same input
5. Use api.stepfun.ai for the international platform. api.stepfun.com is the China platform with yuan pricing

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Glimpse or StepFun API?

Glimpse scores 48.6 (D) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.1 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. StepFun API leads on transparency & trust.

### Do Glimpse and StepFun API need an API key?

Both need an API key.

### Can an agent call Glimpse and StepFun API without installing anything?

Yes. Glimpse has a hosted endpoint at https://openrouter.ai/api/v1 and StepFun API at https://api.stepfun.ai/v1.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elorian-glimpse-vs-stepfun-api.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elorian-glimpse-vs-stepfun-api.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "elorian-glimpse", "b": "stepfun-api"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare elorian-glimpse stepfun-api`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/elorian-glimpse.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/stepfun-api.json

## Other comparisons with Glimpse or StepFun API

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- [Claude API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)
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