{
  "data": {
    "a": {
      "slug": "gemini-4-carbon",
      "name": "Gemini 4 Carbon",
      "vendor": "Google",
      "vendorUrl": "https://ai.google.dev",
      "kind": "model",
      "category": "inference",
      "summary": "Gemini 4 Carbon is Google's strongest Gemini model, for long agentic coding, cybersecurity and research work, on the paid tier of the Gemini API with a 1,048,576-token limit shared between input and output.",
      "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/gemini-4-carbon",
      "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/gemini-4-carbon.md",
      "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/gemini-4-carbon.min.md",
      "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/gemini-4-carbon.json",
      "dns": "gemini-4-carbon.grade.anchorterminal.com",
      "license": "Closed model, used through the Gemini API and Google's apps under Google's terms",
      "transports": [],
      "remoteUrl": "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta",
      "packages": [],
      "auth": "api-key",
      "authNotes": "An `x-goog-api-key` from AI Studio on a project with billing, since Carbon is on the paid tier only, per the Gemini API listing and Google's developer post. Google AI Ultra subscribers can also use it in AI Studio and Antigravity. The `gemini-4-carbon-cyber-permissive` variant needs a project approved through Google's Fairwind Program.",
      "pricing": "usage",
      "pricingNotes": "Google's announcement gives an introductory $2 per million input tokens and $10 output, cached input 95% off, then $4 and $20, with no end date for the introduction. Paid tier only, no free tier. Every processed token is billed, thinking included (checked 2026-11-10).",
      "priceSummary": "Pay per use",
      "where": "hosted",
      "x402": {
        "level": "no",
        "evidence": "No machine payment. Paid use needs billing on a Cloud project, per the Gemini API listing (checked 2026-11-10).",
        "endpoints": []
      },
      "toolCount": null,
      "popularity": {
        "githubStars": null,
        "npmWeekly": null,
        "pypiWeekly": null,
        "asOf": "2026-11-10"
      },
      "docsUrl": "https://docs.cloud.google.com/gemini-enterprise-agent-platform/models/guides/gemini-4-carbon",
      "llmsTxt": "https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/llms.txt",
      "capabilities": [
        "inference.llm"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "official",
        "hosted",
        "model",
        "multimodal",
        "reasoning",
        "long-context",
        "tool-calling",
        "usage-priced",
        "card-required",
        "closed-source",
        "llms-txt",
        "new"
      ],
      "lastRelease": "2026-11-10",
      "graded": true,
      "anchor": {
        "graded": true,
        "score": 62.6,
        "grade": "B",
        "agentReady": false,
        "rank": 555,
        "ranked": true,
        "rankOf": 1518,
        "categoryRank": 22,
        "methodology": "0.7",
        "run": "2026-10-01",
        "scores": {
          "ergonomics": 93,
          "maintenance": 83,
          "payments": 20,
          "reliability": 40,
          "schema": 85,
          "security": 55,
          "transparency": 72
        },
        "pending": [
          "performance",
          "tasks"
        ],
        "assessment": {
          "confidence": "medium",
          "date": "2026-11-10"
        },
        "negative": 0,
        "verdict": "Google's strongest model on the same Gemini API as Argon, with a 1M-token budget, function calling and structured output, at an introductory $2 and $10 per million tokens. Paid tier only, sampling parameters are ignored or refused, its launch stage isn't stated, and the price rises to $4 and $20 at a date Google hasn't given.",
        "bestFor": "Agents on the hardest long tasks (multi-step debugging, large codebases, open-ended research, security work) that can pay frontier prices and already use the Gemini API.",
        "strengths": [
          "Introductory price of $2 input and $10 output per million tokens, with cached input 95% off",
          "1,048,576 tokens shared between input and output, with long decodes for big outputs",
          "Function calling, structured output, Google Search grounding and background execution",
          "Thinking levels LOW, MEDIUM (default) and HIGH, and implicit caching on by default",
          "The same API, keys and SDKs as Gemini 4 Argon, so switching is a model ID"
        ],
        "weaknesses": [
          "Paid tier only, with no free tier to try it on",
          "temperature, top_p and top_k are ignored, and thinking_budget, MINIMAL, penalties and extra candidates return a 400",
          "No explicit context caching, and prefilled model turns aren't accepted",
          "The price goes to $4 and $20 after an introduction with no end date given",
          "Benchmark figures are Google's own, and the launch stage isn't stated"
        ],
        "agentNotes": [
          "Call generateContent at https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta with model gemini-4-carbon and an x-goog-api-key on a billed project",
          "Set thinking_level (LOW, MEDIUM or HIGH) instead of thinking_budget, and don't send temperature, top_p or top_k",
          "Count output against the same 1,048,576-token limit as the input, and set max_output_tokens for long answers",
          "Put static prompt content first so implicit caching applies; explicit caches aren't supported",
          "Use gemini-4-argon for most coding and knowledge work, and Carbon for the hardest long tasks, as Google suggests"
        ],
        "metrics": {
          "kind": "remote",
          "measured": false
        },
        "reviewCount": 0,
        "avgRating": 0,
        "history": [
          {
            "basis": "public evidence",
            "confidence": "medium",
            "grade": "B",
            "methodology": "0.7",
            "pending": [
              "performance",
              "tasks"
            ],
            "run": "2026-10-01",
            "runLabel": "October 2026 research run",
            "score": 62.6
          }
        ],
        "editorialScores": {
          "ergonomics": 93,
          "maintenance": 83,
          "payments": 20,
          "reliability": 40,
          "schema": 85,
          "security": 55,
          "transparency": 55
        },
        "provenanceScore": 89,
        "checked": {
          "categories": {
            "ergonomics": "2026-11-10",
            "maintenance": "2026-11-10",
            "payments": "2026-11-10",
            "reliability": "2026-11-10",
            "schema": "2026-11-10",
            "security": "2026-11-10",
            "transparency": "2026-11-10"
          },
          "last": "2026-11-10",
          "oldest": "2026-11-10",
          "stale": false,
          "staleAfterDays": 90
        }
      },
      "connect": {
        "http": "curl \"https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/models/gemini-4-carbon:generateContent\" \\\n  -H \"x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_API_KEY\" -H \"content-type: application/json\" \\\n  -d '{\"contents\":[{\"parts\":[{\"text\":\"hello\"}]}]}'"
      },
      "letme": {
        "capability": "https://letme.dev/inference.llm",
        "tool": "https://letme.dev/gemini-4-carbon"
      },
      "sameCompany": [
        "vertex-ai",
        "gemini-embedding",
        "vertex-ai-tuning",
        "cloud-run-gpus",
        "google-model-armor",
        "google-imagen",
        "google-veo",
        "google-lyria",
        "google-speech-to-text",
        "google-cloud-tts",
        "gemini-live",
        "google-adk",
        "google-memory-bank",
        "google-secret-manager",
        "google-cloud-document-ai",
        "google-weather-api",
        "chrome-devtools-mcp",
        "google-maps-platform",
        "google-cloud-translation",
        "google-calendar-api",
        "firebase-cloud-messaging",
        "google-cloud-storage",
        "google-drive-api",
        "gemini-enterprise",
        "gemini-cli",
        "google-search-console",
        "google-ads-api",
        "google-forms",
        "google-sheets-api",
        "gmail-api",
        "google-people-api"
      ],
      "sameModel": [
        "gemini-api"
      ],
      "area": "models",
      "unitPrices": [
        {
          "item": "Gemini 4 Carbon input",
          "unit": "1m-tokens",
          "usd": 2,
          "note": "Introductory; $4 after, date not given"
        },
        {
          "item": "Gemini 4 Carbon cached input",
          "unit": "1m-tokens",
          "usd": 0.1,
          "note": "95% off input"
        },
        {
          "item": "Gemini 4 Carbon output",
          "unit": "1m-tokens",
          "usd": 10,
          "note": "Introductory; $20 after"
        }
      ],
      "provenance": {
        "legalEntity": "Google LLC",
        "domain": "google.com",
        "domainRegistered": "1997-09-15",
        "domainNote": "The endpoint is on googleapis.com, Google's API domain. google.com was registered in 1997.",
        "endpointOnVendorDomain": true,
        "terms": "https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/terms",
        "privacy": "https://policies.google.com/privacy",
        "statusPage": "https://aistudio.google.com/status",
        "changelog": "https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/changelog",
        "securityTxt": "valid",
        "checked": "2026-11-10",
        "score": 89
      },
      "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/gemini-4-carbon.json",
      "live": {
        "slug": "gemini-4-carbon",
        "probe": {
          "target": "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta",
          "method": "get",
          "lastAt": "2026-11-10T23:47:03.904361517Z",
          "lastOk": true,
          "lastStatus": 404,
          "lastMs": 35,
          "authRequired": false,
          "uptime24h": 100,
          "uptime30d": 100,
          "p50ms24h": 41,
          "p95ms24h": 130,
          "samples24h": 63,
          "samples30d": 63,
          "days": [
            {
              "date": "2026-11-10",
              "probes": 63,
              "ok": 63
            }
          ],
          "since": "2026-11-10T17:42:25.910455739Z"
        },
        "vendorStatus": {
          "page": "https://aistudio.google.com/status",
          "indicator": "unknown",
          "summary": "no machine-readable status found",
          "checkedAt": "2026-11-10T23:00:42.593790699Z"
        },
        "updatedAt": "2026-11-10T23:47:03.904361517Z"
      },
      "streak": {
        "days": 0,
        "from": "2026-11-10",
        "sinceWatching": true,
        "best": 0
      }
    },
    "answer": "Gemini 4 Carbon scores 62.6 (B) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.3 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.",
    "b": {
      "slug": "stepfun-api",
      "name": "StepFun API",
      "vendor": "StepFun",
      "vendorUrl": "https://platform.stepfun.ai",
      "kind": "model",
      "category": "inference",
      "summary": "The StepFun API is StepFun's paid model API for its Step language, vision and speech models, including the flagship Step 5 Preview, through OpenAI-style Chat Completions and Responses endpoints and an Anthropic-style Messages endpoint.",
      "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api",
      "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.md",
      "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.min.md",
      "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/stepfun-api.json",
      "dns": "stepfun-api.grade.anchorterminal.com",
      "license": "Closed service under the StepFun Open Platform Terms of Service (STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED, Hong Kong law).",
      "transports": [
        "http"
      ],
      "remoteUrl": "https://api.stepfun.ai/v1",
      "packages": [],
      "auth": "api-key",
      "authNotes": "A bearer API key created in the StepFun Open Platform console after sign-up. Organisations can create one key per project, billed to the organisation's credit and deletable at once. No key scopes were found. Individual accounts must complete identity verification before tiered rate limits apply.",
      "pricing": "usage",
      "pricingNotes": "Step 5 Preview is $1.00 per million input tokens on a cache miss, $0.10 on a cache hit and $2.70 per million output tokens, reasoning included (checked 2026-10-12). Prepaid top-ups. No free API allowance was found. A Step Plan subscription covers coding tools separately.",
      "priceSummary": "from $0.10 / 1M in",
      "where": "hosted",
      "x402": {
        "level": "no",
        "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the international docs index, the pricing page or the Chat Completions reference, checked 12 October 2026. Calls draw on a prepaid balance.",
        "endpoints": []
      },
      "toolCount": null,
      "popularity": {
        "githubStars": null,
        "npmWeekly": null,
        "pypiWeekly": null,
        "asOf": "2026-10-12"
      },
      "docsUrl": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/guides/models/step-5-preview",
      "llmsTxt": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/llms.txt",
      "capabilities": [
        "inference.llm"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "official",
        "hosted",
        "model",
        "usage-priced",
        "closed-source",
        "llms-txt",
        "multimodal",
        "streaming"
      ],
      "graded": true,
      "anchor": {
        "graded": true,
        "score": 44.3,
        "grade": "E",
        "agentReady": false,
        "rank": 1231,
        "ranked": true,
        "rankOf": 1518,
        "categoryRank": 42,
        "methodology": "0.7",
        "run": "2026-10-01",
        "scores": {
          "ergonomics": 68,
          "maintenance": 50,
          "payments": 20,
          "reliability": 28,
          "schema": 53,
          "security": 41,
          "transparency": 57
        },
        "pending": [
          "performance",
          "tasks"
        ],
        "assessment": {
          "confidence": "medium",
          "date": "2026-10-12"
        },
        "negative": 0,
        "verdict": "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.",
        "bestFor": "Long-context agent and coding work over text, screenshots and video at a low per-token price, where a preview model is acceptable.",
        "strengths": [
          "Step 5 Preview takes text, images and video with a 1M-token context and up to 64k output tokens",
          "Strict JSON Schema output and tool calls on Step 5 Preview, per the structured-output guide",
          "Per-token prices with cache-hit rates published without a login, and rate-limit tiers published with numbers",
          "OpenAI-style Chat Completions and Responses endpoints and an Anthropic-style Messages endpoint",
          "llms.txt and a Markdown copy of every docs page"
        ],
        "weaknesses": [
          "Step 5 Preview is labelled a preview, and no release date or support commitment was found",
          "No free API allowance found, and individual accounts need identity verification for tiered limits",
          "No OpenAPI file, no official SDK and no batch endpoint found",
          "The privacy policy allows training on user data where law and program terms permit, with no zero-retention option found",
          "No SLA, security.txt or certification found"
        ],
        "agentNotes": [
          "Set `max_tokens` yourself. It defaults to unlimited on Step 5 Preview, and reasoning tokens are billed as output",
          "Use `response_format` with `type: json_schema` and `strict: true` when the shape matters. JSON Mode alone isn't schema-checked",
          "Back off and retry on 429, 500, 503 and 504. The docs give no Retry-After header or backoff schedule",
          "Expect HTTP 451 or `finish_reason: content_filter` when content fails StepFun's review, and don't retry the same input",
          "Use api.stepfun.ai for the international platform. api.stepfun.com is the China platform with yuan pricing"
        ],
        "metrics": {
          "kind": "remote",
          "measured": false
        },
        "reviewCount": 4,
        "avgRating": 3.3,
        "history": [
          {
            "basis": "public evidence",
            "confidence": "medium",
            "grade": "E",
            "methodology": "0.7",
            "pending": [
              "performance",
              "tasks"
            ],
            "run": "2026-10-01",
            "runLabel": "October 2026 research run",
            "score": 44.3
          }
        ],
        "editorialScores": {
          "ergonomics": 68,
          "maintenance": 50,
          "payments": 20,
          "reliability": 28,
          "schema": 53,
          "security": 41,
          "transparency": 51
        },
        "provenanceScore": 62,
        "checked": {
          "categories": {
            "ergonomics": "2026-10-12",
            "maintenance": "2026-10-12",
            "payments": "2026-10-12",
            "reliability": "2026-10-12",
            "schema": "2026-10-12",
            "security": "2026-10-12",
            "transparency": "2026-10-12"
          },
          "last": "2026-10-12",
          "lastMoved": "2026-10-28",
          "oldest": "2026-10-12",
          "stale": false,
          "staleAfterDays": 90
        }
      },
      "connect": {
        "http": "curl https://api.stepfun.ai/v1/chat/completions \\\n  -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n  -H \"Authorization: Bearer $STEPFUN_API_KEY\" \\\n  -d '{\"model\":\"step-5-preview\",\"messages\":[{\"role\":\"user\",\"content\":\"Hello\"}]}'"
      },
      "letme": {
        "capability": "https://letme.dev/inference.llm",
        "tool": "https://letme.dev/stepfun-api"
      },
      "sameModel": [
        "step-3-7-flash"
      ],
      "area": "models",
      "unitPrices": [
        {
          "item": "Step 5 Preview input, cache miss",
          "unit": "1m-tokens",
          "usd": 1,
          "note": "Includes writing new content to the cache."
        },
        {
          "item": "Step 5 Preview input, cache hit",
          "unit": "1m-tokens",
          "usd": 0.1
        },
        {
          "item": "Step 5 Preview output",
          "unit": "1m-tokens",
          "usd": 2.7,
          "note": "Reasoning and final answer tokens."
        }
      ],
      "provenance": {
        "legalEntity": "STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED",
        "domain": "stepfun.ai",
        "domainRegistered": "",
        "endpointOnVendorDomain": true,
        "terms": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/agreement/userservice",
        "privacy": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/agreement/userprivacy",
        "statusPage": "",
        "changelog": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/guides/model-migration",
        "securityTxt": "none",
        "checked": "2026-10-12",
        "notes": [
          "The terms and the privacy policy name STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED. Disputes go to HKIAC arbitration under Hong Kong law.",
          "platform.stepfun.ai/.well-known/security.txt returned 404, and stepfun.ai/.well-known/security.txt redirects to the platform home page.",
          "status.stepfun.ai refused our reader by robots.txt, and the shell couldn't connect, so whether it is a status page wasn't established.",
          "The X handle comes from the QR code labelled X account on the platform home page, which decodes to https://x.com/StepFun_ai.",
          "Domain registration date was not checked."
        ],
        "score": 62
      },
      "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.json",
      "live": {
        "slug": "stepfun-api",
        "probe": {
          "target": "https://api.stepfun.ai/v1",
          "method": "get",
          "lastAt": "2026-11-10T23:47:28.246622675Z",
          "lastOk": true,
          "lastStatus": 404,
          "lastMs": 274,
          "authRequired": false,
          "uptime24h": 100,
          "uptime30d": 100,
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          "p95ms24h": 445,
          "samples24h": 244,
          "samples30d": 7384,
          "days": [
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              "date": "2026-10-12",
              "probes": 221,
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            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-13",
              "probes": 248,
              "ok": 248
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-14",
              "probes": 249,
              "ok": 249
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-15",
              "probes": 253,
              "ok": 253
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-16",
              "probes": 252,
              "ok": 252
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-17",
              "probes": 253,
              "ok": 253
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-18",
              "probes": 256,
              "ok": 256
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-19",
              "probes": 255,
              "ok": 255
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-20",
              "probes": 252,
              "ok": 252
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-21",
              "probes": 253,
              "ok": 253
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-22",
              "probes": 253,
              "ok": 253
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-23",
              "probes": 248,
              "ok": 248
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-24",
              "probes": 251,
              "ok": 251
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-25",
              "probes": 250,
              "ok": 250
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-26",
              "probes": 252,
              "ok": 252
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-27",
              "probes": 249,
              "ok": 249
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-28",
              "probes": 250,
              "ok": 250
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-29",
              "probes": 249,
              "ok": 249
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-30",
              "probes": 249,
              "ok": 249
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-10-31",
              "probes": 251,
              "ok": 251
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-11-01",
              "probes": 249,
              "ok": 249
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-11-02",
              "probes": 250,
              "ok": 250
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-11-03",
              "probes": 248,
              "ok": 248
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-11-04",
              "probes": 246,
              "ok": 246
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-11-05",
              "probes": 185,
              "ok": 185
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-11-06",
              "probes": 241,
              "ok": 241
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-11-07",
              "probes": 243,
              "ok": 243
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-11-08",
              "probes": 243,
              "ok": 243
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-11-09",
              "probes": 243,
              "ok": 243
            },
            {
              "date": "2026-11-10",
              "probes": 242,
              "ok": 242
            }
          ],
          "since": "2026-10-12T00:00:00Z"
        },
        "securityTxt": {
          "url": "https://stepfun.ai/.well-known/security.txt",
          "state": "none",
          "checkedAt": "2026-11-10T16:09:37.476394655Z"
        },
        "llmsTxt": {
          "url": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/llms.txt",
          "ok": true,
          "status": 200,
          "checkedAt": "2026-11-10T15:44:46.947553295Z"
        },
        "domain": {
          "domain": "stepfun.ai",
          "registered": "2023-03-23",
          "source": "https://rdap.identitydigital.services/rdap/domain/stepfun.ai",
          "checkedAt": "2026-11-08T14:47:50.387608498Z"
        },
        "pages": [
          {
            "url": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/guides/model-migration",
            "kind": "changelog",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-11-10T16:28:03.298285311Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-11-06T13:38:33.586652298Z",
            "fingerprint": "05d8b90a13cc"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/guides/image-offline-notice",
            "kind": "deprecations",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-11-10T16:28:01.577668396Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-11-06T13:38:32.195771661Z",
            "fingerprint": "ce427e012456"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/agreement/userprivacy",
            "kind": "privacy",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-11-10T16:27:56.869096786Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-11-06T13:38:27.237331116Z",
            "fingerprint": "597fa1278404"
          },
          {
            "url": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/agreement/userservice",
            "kind": "terms",
            "status": 200,
            "checkedAt": "2026-11-10T16:27:59.427662886Z",
            "changedAt": "2026-11-06T13:38:30.139946008Z",
            "fingerprint": "2ff748ab87c5"
          }
        ],
        "updatedAt": "2026-11-10T23:47:28.246622675Z"
      },
      "streak": {
        "days": 29,
        "from": "2026-10-12",
        "sinceWatching": true,
        "last": {
          "kind": "shutdown",
          "date": "2026-10-10",
          "what": "`step-2x-large` and `step-image-edit-2` retire, and the text-to-image, image-to-image and image editing APIs stop serving requests, with no replacement named",
          "source": "https://platform.stepfun.ai/docs/en/guides/image-offline-notice"
        },
        "best": 29
      }
    },
    "edges": [
      {
        "by": 33,
        "category": "maintenance",
        "leads": "gemini-4-carbon",
        "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community",
        "reasons": {
          "a": "Model reading for gemini-4-carbon on the Gemini API. Platform facts are the Gemini API listing's (gemini-api, re-read 1 November), carried over as RULES.md allows for a model on an already graded platform. Released to developers on 10 November 2026, with the platform's changelog (30). Deprecations with earliest dates and no stated minimum notice (4 of 12). Shutdowns in the last 90 days kept to their table (4 of 8). Dated changelog (15). SDK replies not sampled (5 of 10). Current SDKs (15). Runtimes stated (10). 30 + 4 + 4 + 15 + 5 + 15 + 10 = 83.",
          "b": "Model reading. The image models `step-2x-large` and `step-image-edit-2` were retired on 10 October 2026, and a Step 5 Preview price change is announced for 14 October (30). No stated notice period. The 10 October image retirement had a dated notice page and the July retirements a migration table, but we couldn't date when either notice went up (4 of 12). One retirement date in the last 90 days, 10 October, with nine models retired on 8 July just outside that window (6 of 8). Dated announcements, a Discord server and platform@stepfun.com for support. We didn't test whether either answers (10 of 15). No official SDK (0 of 15, 0 of 10)."
        },
        "scores": {
          "a": 83,
          "b": 50
        }
      },
      {
        "by": 32,
        "category": "schema",
        "leads": "gemini-4-carbon",
        "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation",
        "reasons": {
          "a": "Model reading for gemini-4-carbon on the Gemini API. Platform facts are the Gemini API listing's (gemini-api, re-read 1 November), carried over as RULES.md allows for a model on an already graded platform. Discovery document for GenerateContent (20 of 25). llms.txt with Markdown twins (10). The Cloud developer guide says what Carbon takes and refuses, the parameters that return 400 or are ignored, and how to migrate (15 of 20). Structured output to a JSON Schema with some keywords not enforced (10 of 15). Examples and an errors page (15). Dated changelog and model versions (15). 20 + 10 + 15 + 10 + 15 + 15 = 85.",
          "b": "No OpenAPI or similar machine-readable contract found. The API reference is Markdown pages (0). llms.txt at platform.stepfun.ai/docs/llms.txt, and every page has a Markdown copy (10). The Chat Completions reference describes each parameter with its default, and the model page lists what Step 5 Preview supports, but little on when not to use an option (12 of 20). Tool definitions take JSON Schema parameters, structured output takes a JSON Schema with `strict: true`, and `reasoning_effort` is an enum of low, medium and high. No `tool_choice` parameter is documented (11 of 15). Worked requests and responses on each page, and an error table of eight codes with causes and fixes, but no error bodies (12 of 15). No API changelog. A model lifecycle page with dated retirements and announcement pages (8 of 15)."
        },
        "scores": {
          "a": 85,
          "b": 53
        }
      },
      {
        "by": 25,
        "category": "ergonomics",
        "leads": "gemini-4-carbon",
        "name": "Agent ergonomics",
        "reasons": {
          "a": "Model reading for gemini-4-carbon on the Gemini API. Platform facts are the Gemini API listing's (gemini-api, re-read 1 November), carried over as RULES.md allows for a model on an already graded platform. Function calling, with forced calls by FunctionCallingConfig on the API (20). Structured output (13 of 15). Implicit caching with durable caching on by default, cached input 95% off, explicit caches not supported, per the Cloud guide read on 10 November (15). 1,048,576 tokens shared between input and output (15). Batch at half price on the platform (10). Python and JavaScript SDKs (10). Error codes with backoff guidance (10 of 15). 20 + 13 + 15 + 15 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 93.",
          "b": "Model reading of the checklist (tool use, structured output, caching, context, batch, SDKs, errors). Tool calls through Chat Completions, Responses and Messages, with no documented way to force or forbid a call (15 of 20). Strict JSON Schema output on Step 5 Preview (13 of 15). Prompt caching with a published cache-hit price at a tenth of the miss price (15). 1M-token context and 64k output (15). No batch endpoint found (0). No official SDK. The docs use the OpenAI and Anthropic clients against compatible endpoints (0). Eight error codes with a fix each, plus `finish_reason` handling for length, content filter and tool calls (10 of 15)."
        },
        "scores": {
          "a": 93,
          "b": 68
        }
      },
      {
        "by": 15,
        "category": "transparency",
        "leads": "gemini-4-carbon",
        "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust",
        "reasons": {
          "a": "Model reading for gemini-4-carbon on the Gemini API. Platform facts are the Gemini API listing's (gemini-api, re-read 1 November), carried over as RULES.md allows for a model on an already graded platform. Closed service with clear terms, SDKs Apache-2.0 (15). Paid-tier data isn't used, abuse retention has no number, and request storage is on by default for new paid projects (20 of 30). Deprecations table (15 of 20). Data may be cached anywhere Google has facilities; no subprocessor list checked (5 of 20). Every benchmark figure is Google's own. 15 + 20 + 15 + 5 = 55.",
          "b": "Closed service with clear terms under Hong Kong law, with HKIAC arbitration and liability capped at six months of fees. Some earlier Step models have open weights, which doesn't change the hosted service (15). The privacy policy, terms and DPA agree that data may be used for training under program terms, but the terms' licence to Content is broad and perpetual, no retention period is given for prompts and outputs, and no subprocessor list was found (12 of 30). A model lifecycle page with dated retirements and replacements (14 of 20). Servers are disclosed as in the United States. The DPA gives general authorisation for subprocessors without a published list (10 of 20)."
        },
        "scores": {
          "a": 72,
          "b": 57
        }
      },
      {
        "by": 14,
        "category": "security",
        "leads": "gemini-4-carbon",
        "name": "Security \u0026 auth",
        "reasons": {
          "a": "Model reading for gemini-4-carbon on the Gemini API. Platform facts are the Gemini API listing's (gemini-api, re-read 1 November), carried over as RULES.md allows for a model on an already graded platform. Keys bound to a service account and restricted to the Gemini API, with no scopes and a token accepted in the URL (15 of 30, the platform's deduction). Carbon is on the paid tier only, and Google's terms say paid-tier content isn't used to improve products; AI Studio use under a Google AI Ultra subscription falls under terms we didn't read, so 15 of 20 (a judgement call; the platform's 10 is for its free tier). Abuse retention with no number, and new paid projects store requests by default since 26 October (5 of 15). Request logs for billed projects (15). security.txt and a reward programme, no certification naming the API (5 of 20). 15 + 15 + 5 + 15 + 5 = 55.",
          "b": "Model reading. Bearer API keys, revocable by deletion. Organisations can create one key per project, billed to a project's credit with a per-member cap. No scopes or read-only keys found (20 of 30). Training on API data is not off by default in plain words. The privacy policy (effective 7 August 2026) says StepFun may use and retain data to improve its models, including training and fine-tuning where law and program terms permit, and the terms name early-access programmes as one such case. No opt-out found (5 of 20). No retention period for prompts and outputs and no zero-retention option. IP addresses are kept three years (3 of 15). The console's usage details list each billed call by key, model and date, with export (8 of 15). No security.txt, bug bounty or certification found. A DPA with breach notification exists (5 of 20)."
        },
        "scores": {
          "a": 55,
          "b": 41
        }
      },
      {
        "by": 12,
        "category": "reliability",
        "leads": "gemini-4-carbon",
        "name": "Reliability",
        "reasons": {
          "a": "Model reading for gemini-4-carbon on the Gemini API. Platform facts are the Gemini API listing's (gemini-api, re-read 1 November), carried over as RULES.md allows for a model on an already graded platform. Status page at aistudio.google.com/status with no readable components or history (10 of 20) and no readable incident record (5 of 30). Rate-limit tiers and spend limits published, per-model limits in AI Studio (5 of 15). Backoff guidance for 429 and 503 and SDK retries (15). No SLA (0). Carbon's launch stage isn't stated in Google's developer post, the Antigravity post or the Cloud developer guide read on 10 November, and the model ID carries no preview label, so half (5 of 10, a judgement call; Argon's GA earned the platform 10). 10 + 5 + 5 + 15 + 0 + 5 = 40.",
          "b": "No status page read. status.stepfun.ai refused our reader by robots.txt and the shell couldn't connect, so we couldn't establish whether it is a status page or read any history. Scored absent for both lines, with 5 for unreadable history, and named in the open questions (0 + 5). Rate limits published with numbers per tier, from 5 concurrent, 100 RPM and 500,000 TPM to 130, 2,600 and 13,000,000 (15). The error and exception guides say to retry 429, 500, 503 and 504 after a short delay, with no Retry-After header, backoff schedule or idempotency guidance (8 of 15). No SLA found in the terms or pricing (0). Step 5 Preview is labelled a preview (0)."
        },
        "scores": {
          "a": 40,
          "b": 28
        }
      }
    ],
    "facts": [
      {
        "a": "Model API",
        "b": "Model API",
        "name": "Kind"
      },
      {
        "a": "Google",
        "b": "StepFun",
        "name": "Vendor"
      },
      {
        "a": "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta",
        "b": "https://api.stepfun.ai/v1",
        "name": "Hosted endpoint"
      },
      {
        "a": "",
        "b": "HTTP",
        "name": "Transports"
      },
      {
        "a": "API key",
        "b": "API key",
        "name": "Auth"
      },
      {
        "a": "Pay per use",
        "b": "Pay per use",
        "name": "Pricing"
      },
      {
        "a": "no",
        "b": "no",
        "name": "x402"
      },
      {
        "a": "Closed model, used through the Gemini API and Google's apps under Google's terms",
        "b": "Closed service under the StepFun Open Platform Terms of Service (STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED, Hong Kong law).",
        "name": "Licence"
      },
      {
        "a": "no",
        "b": "no",
        "name": "Read-only variant documented"
      },
      {
        "a": "yes",
        "b": "yes",
        "name": "llms.txt"
      },
      {
        "a": "2026-11-10",
        "b": "none",
        "name": "Last release"
      },
      {
        "a": "2026-04-28",
        "b": "couldn't be read",
        "name": "Terms last updated"
      },
      {
        "a": "2026-10-01",
        "b": "couldn't be read",
        "name": "Privacy policy last updated"
      },
      {
        "a": "yes",
        "b": "couldn't be read",
        "name": "Customer content may train models"
      },
      {
        "a": "yes",
        "b": "couldn't be read",
        "name": "Terms restrict automated access"
      },
      {
        "a": "yes",
        "b": "couldn't be read",
        "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking"
      },
      {
        "a": "not found in the text",
        "b": "couldn't be read",
        "name": "Terms or service can change without notice"
      },
      {
        "a": "not found in the text",
        "b": "couldn't be read",
        "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver"
      },
      {
        "a": "none",
        "b": "3.3/5 (4)",
        "name": "Agent reviews"
      }
    ],
    "faq": [
      {
        "answer": "Gemini 4 Carbon scores 62.6 (B) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.3 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.",
        "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Gemini 4 Carbon or StepFun API?"
      },
      {
        "answer": "Both need an API key.",
        "question": "Do Gemini 4 Carbon and StepFun API need an API key?"
      },
      {
        "answer": "Yes. Gemini 4 Carbon has a hosted endpoint at https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta and StepFun API at https://api.stepfun.ai/v1.",
        "question": "Can an agent call Gemini 4 Carbon and StepFun API without installing anything?"
      }
    ],
    "goodFor": [
      {
        "aheadOn": [
          "Reliability, 40 against 28",
          "Schema \u0026 documentation, 85 against 53",
          "Agent ergonomics, 93 against 68",
          "Security \u0026 auth, 55 against 41",
          "Maintenance \u0026 community, 83 against 50",
          "Transparency \u0026 trust, 72 against 57"
        ],
        "also": null,
        "goodFor": "Agents on the hardest long tasks (multi-step debugging, large codebases, open-ended research, security work) that can pay frontier prices and already use the Gemini API.",
        "slug": "gemini-4-carbon",
        "watchFor": "Paid tier only, with no free tier to try it on"
      },
      {
        "aheadOn": null,
        "also": null,
        "goodFor": "Long-context agent and coding work over text, screenshots and video at a low per-token price, where a preview model is acceptable.",
        "slug": "stepfun-api",
        "watchFor": "Step 5 Preview is labelled a preview, and no release date or support commitment was found"
      }
    ],
    "history": {
      "gemini-4-carbon": null,
      "stepfun-api": [
        {
          "causes": [
            "correction"
          ],
          "date": "2026-10-28",
          "delta": -0.1,
          "from": 44.4,
          "fromGrade": "E",
          "to": 44.3,
          "toGrade": "E"
        },
        {
          "causes": [
            "method"
          ],
          "date": "2026-10-27",
          "delta": 0.3,
          "from": 44.1,
          "fromGrade": "E",
          "to": 44.4,
          "toGrade": "E"
        }
      ]
    },
    "job": {
      "capability": "inference.llm",
      "name": "LLM inference"
    },
    "others": [
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-bedrock-vs-gemini-4-carbon.json",
        "title": "Amazon Bedrock vs Gemini 4 Carbon",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-bedrock-vs-gemini-4-carbon"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-bedrock-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Amazon Bedrock vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-bedrock-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-gemini-4-carbon.json",
        "title": "Claude API vs Gemini 4 Carbon",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-gemini-4-carbon"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Claude API vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-gemini-4-carbon.json",
        "title": "Antseed vs Gemini 4 Carbon",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-gemini-4-carbon"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Antseed vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-openai-vs-gemini-4-carbon.json",
        "title": "Azure OpenAI in Foundry Models vs Gemini 4 Carbon",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-openai-vs-gemini-4-carbon"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-openai-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Azure OpenAI in Foundry Models vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-openai-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-gemini-4-carbon.json",
        "title": "BlockRun.AI vs Gemini 4 Carbon",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-gemini-4-carbon"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "BlockRun.AI vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cerebras-inference-vs-gemini-4-carbon.json",
        "title": "Cerebras Inference vs Gemini 4 Carbon",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cerebras-inference-vs-gemini-4-carbon"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cerebras-inference-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Cerebras Inference vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cerebras-inference-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-fable-5-2-vs-gemini-4-carbon.json",
        "title": "Claude Fable 5.2 vs Gemini 4 Carbon",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-fable-5-2-vs-gemini-4-carbon"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-fable-5-2-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Claude Fable 5.2 vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-fable-5-2-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mythos-5-2-vs-gemini-4-carbon.json",
        "title": "Claude Mythos 5.2 vs Gemini 4 Carbon",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mythos-5-2-vs-gemini-4-carbon"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mythos-5-2-vs-stepfun-api.json",
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        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mythos-5-2-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-gemini-4-carbon.json",
        "title": "Cloudflare AI Gateway vs Gemini 4 Carbon",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-gemini-4-carbon"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Cloudflare AI Gateway vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-gemini-4-carbon.json",
        "title": "Cloudflare Workers AI vs Gemini 4 Carbon",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-gemini-4-carbon"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Cloudflare Workers AI vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-gemini-4-carbon.json",
        "title": "Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs Gemini 4 Carbon",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-gemini-4-carbon"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-stepfun-api.json",
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        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-gemini-4-carbon.json",
        "title": "DeepInfra vs Gemini 4 Carbon",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-gemini-4-carbon"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "DeepInfra vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-gemini-4-carbon.json",
        "title": "DeepSeek API vs Gemini 4 Carbon",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-gemini-4-carbon"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "DeepSeek API vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/eden-ai-vs-gemini-4-carbon.json",
        "title": "Eden AI vs Gemini 4 Carbon",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/eden-ai-vs-gemini-4-carbon"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/eden-ai-vs-stepfun-api.json",
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        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/eden-ai-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elorian-glimpse-vs-gemini-4-carbon.json",
        "title": "Glimpse vs Gemini 4 Carbon",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elorian-glimpse-vs-gemini-4-carbon"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elorian-glimpse-vs-stepfun-api.json",
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        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elorian-glimpse-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-gemini-4-carbon.json",
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        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-gemini-4-carbon"
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      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-stepfun-api.json",
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        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-gemini-api.json",
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        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-gemini-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-groq.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs GroqCloud",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-groq"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-hugging-face-inference-providers.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs Hugging Face Inference Providers",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-hugging-face-inference-providers"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-inkling-2-small.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs Inkling 2 Small",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-inkling-2-small"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-jais-3.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs Jais 3",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-jais-3"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-meta-model-api.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs Meta Model API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-meta-model-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-minimax-api.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs MiniMax API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-minimax-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-mistral-api.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs Mistral AI API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-mistral-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-muse-ember.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs Muse Ember",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-muse-ember"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-muse-spark-open.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs Muse Spark Open",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-muse-spark-open"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-novita-ai.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs Novita AI",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-novita-ai"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-openai-api.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs OpenAI API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-openai-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-openrouter.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs OpenRouter",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-openrouter"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-prism-inference.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs Prism Inference",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-prism-inference"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-ramp-router.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs Router.com (Ramp Router)",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-ramp-router"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-reflection-beam.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs Beam 1.0",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-reflection-beam"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-routerplus.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs RouterPlus",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-routerplus"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-sambanova.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs SambaCloud",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-sambanova"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-siliconflow.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs SiliconFlow",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-siliconflow"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-simplismart.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs Simplismart",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-simplismart"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-swe-2-flash.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs SWE-2 Flash",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-swe-2-flash"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-tencent-tokenhub.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs Tencent Cloud TokenHub",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-tencent-tokenhub"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-together-inference.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs Together AI Inference",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-together-inference"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-vertex-ai.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs Vertex AI (Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform)",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-vertex-ai"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-xai-api.json",
        "title": "Gemini 4 Carbon vs xAI API (Grok)",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-xai-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Gemini Developer API vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "GroqCloud vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hugging-face-inference-providers-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Hugging Face Inference Providers vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hugging-face-inference-providers-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inkling-2-small-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Inkling 2 Small vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inkling-2-small-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jais-3-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Jais 3 vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jais-3-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meta-model-api-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Meta Model API vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meta-model-api-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-api-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "MiniMax API vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-api-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Mistral AI API vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-ember-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Muse Ember vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-ember-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-spark-open-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Muse Spark Open vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-spark-open-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Novita AI vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "OpenAI API vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "OpenRouter vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Prism Inference vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ramp-router-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Router.com (Ramp Router) vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ramp-router-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/reflection-beam-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Beam 1.0 vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/reflection-beam-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/routerplus-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "RouterPlus vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/routerplus-vs-stepfun-api"
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      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sambanova-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "SambaCloud vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sambanova-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/siliconflow-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "SiliconFlow vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/siliconflow-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/simplismart-vs-stepfun-api.json",
        "title": "Simplismart vs StepFun API",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/simplismart-vs-stepfun-api"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stepfun-api-vs-swe-2-flash.json",
        "title": "StepFun API vs SWE-2 Flash",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stepfun-api-vs-swe-2-flash"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stepfun-api-vs-tencent-tokenhub.json",
        "title": "StepFun API vs Tencent Cloud TokenHub",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stepfun-api-vs-tencent-tokenhub"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stepfun-api-vs-together-inference.json",
        "title": "StepFun API vs Together AI Inference",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stepfun-api-vs-together-inference"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stepfun-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.json",
        "title": "StepFun API vs Vercel AI Gateway",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stepfun-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway"
      },
      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stepfun-api-vs-vertex-ai.json",
        "title": "StepFun API vs Vertex AI (Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform)",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stepfun-api-vs-vertex-ai"
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      {
        "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stepfun-api-vs-xai-api.json",
        "title": "StepFun API vs xAI API (Grok)",
        "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stepfun-api-vs-xai-api"
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    ],
    "panel": null,
    "scores": [
      {
        "by": 12,
        "edge": "gemini-4-carbon",
        "gemini-4-carbon": 40,
        "key": "reliability",
        "name": "Reliability",
        "stepfun-api": 28,
        "weight": 16
      },
      {
        "key": "performance",
        "name": "Performance",
        "pending": true,
        "weight": 10
      },
      {
        "by": 32,
        "edge": "gemini-4-carbon",
        "gemini-4-carbon": 85,
        "key": "schema",
        "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation",
        "stepfun-api": 53,
        "weight": 13
      },
      {
        "by": 25,
        "edge": "gemini-4-carbon",
        "gemini-4-carbon": 93,
        "key": "ergonomics",
        "name": "Agent ergonomics",
        "stepfun-api": 68,
        "weight": 13
      },
      {
        "by": 14,
        "edge": "gemini-4-carbon",
        "gemini-4-carbon": 55,
        "key": "security",
        "name": "Security \u0026 auth",
        "stepfun-api": 41,
        "weight": 14
      },
      {
        "by": 0,
        "edge": "",
        "gemini-4-carbon": 20,
        "key": "payments",
        "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing",
        "stepfun-api": 20,
        "weight": 10
      },
      {
        "key": "tasks",
        "name": "Task success",
        "pending": true,
        "weight": 10
      },
      {
        "by": 33,
        "edge": "gemini-4-carbon",
        "gemini-4-carbon": 83,
        "key": "maintenance",
        "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community",
        "stepfun-api": 50,
        "weight": 7
      },
      {
        "by": 15,
        "edge": "gemini-4-carbon",
        "gemini-4-carbon": 72,
        "key": "transparency",
        "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust",
        "stepfun-api": 57,
        "weight": 7
      }
    ],
    "summary": "Gemini 4 Carbon scores 62.6 (B) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.3 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do llm inference.",
    "tasks": null,
    "tutorials": [],
    "verdicts": {
      "gemini-4-carbon": "Google's strongest model on the same Gemini API as Argon, with a 1M-token budget, function calling and structured output, at an introductory $2 and $10 per million tokens. Paid tier only, sampling parameters are ignored or refused, its launch stage isn't stated, and the price rises to $4 and $20 at a date Google hasn't given.",
      "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."
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  "markdown": "Gemini 4 Carbon scores 62.6 (B) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.3 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do llm inference.\n\n- Gemini 4 Carbon: grade B, 62.6/100, rank #555 of 1518. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/gemini-4-carbon.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/gemini-4-carbon.json\n- StepFun API: grade E, 44.3/100, rank #1231 of 1518. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/stepfun-api.json\n- Best model APIs and inference for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/inference/index.md\n- All 1000 models comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inference/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Gemini 4 Carbon (B)\n\nGood for: Agents on the hardest long tasks (multi-step debugging, large codebases, open-ended research, security work) that can pay frontier prices and already use the Gemini API.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 40 against 28\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 85 against 53\n- Agent ergonomics, 93 against 68\n- Security \u0026 auth, 55 against 41\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 83 against 50\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 72 against 57\n\nWatch for: Paid tier only, with no free tier to try it on\n\n### StepFun API (E)\n\nGood for: Long-context agent and coding work over text, screenshots and video at a low per-token price, where a preview model is acceptable.\n\nWatch for: Step 5 Preview is labelled a preview, and no release date or support commitment was found\n\n\n## Why the edge\n\n### Maintenance \u0026 community: Gemini 4 Carbon +33\n\n- Gemini 4 Carbon (83): Model reading for gemini-4-carbon on the Gemini API. Platform facts are the Gemini API listing's (gemini-api, re-read 1 November), carried over as RULES.md allows for a model on an already graded platform. Released to developers on 10 November 2026, with the platform's changelog (30). Deprecations with earliest dates and no stated minimum notice (4 of 12). Shutdowns in the last 90 days kept to their table (4 of 8). Dated changelog (15). SDK replies not sampled (5 of 10). Current SDKs (15). Runtimes stated (10). 30 + 4 + 4 + 15 + 5 + 15 + 10 = 83.\n- StepFun API (50): Model reading. The image models `step-2x-large` and `step-image-edit-2` were retired on 10 October 2026, and a Step 5 Preview price change is announced for 14 October (30). No stated notice period. The 10 October image retirement had a dated notice page and the July retirements a migration table, but we couldn't date when either notice went up (4 of 12). One retirement date in the last 90 days, 10 October, with nine models retired on 8 July just outside that window (6 of 8). Dated announcements, a Discord server and platform@stepfun.com for support. We didn't test whether either answers (10 of 15). No official SDK (0 of 15, 0 of 10).\n\n### Schema \u0026 documentation: Gemini 4 Carbon +32\n\n- Gemini 4 Carbon (85): Model reading for gemini-4-carbon on the Gemini API. Platform facts are the Gemini API listing's (gemini-api, re-read 1 November), carried over as RULES.md allows for a model on an already graded platform. Discovery document for GenerateContent (20 of 25). llms.txt with Markdown twins (10). The Cloud developer guide says what Carbon takes and refuses, the parameters that return 400 or are ignored, and how to migrate (15 of 20). Structured output to a JSON Schema with some keywords not enforced (10 of 15). Examples and an errors page (15). Dated changelog and model versions (15). 20 + 10 + 15 + 10 + 15 + 15 = 85.\n- StepFun API (53): No OpenAPI or similar machine-readable contract found. The API reference is Markdown pages (0). llms.txt at platform.stepfun.ai/docs/llms.txt, and every page has a Markdown copy (10). The Chat Completions reference describes each parameter with its default, and the model page lists what Step 5 Preview supports, but little on when not to use an option (12 of 20). Tool definitions take JSON Schema parameters, structured output takes a JSON Schema with `strict: true`, and `reasoning_effort` is an enum of low, medium and high. No `tool_choice` parameter is documented (11 of 15). Worked requests and responses on each page, and an error table of eight codes with causes and fixes, but no error bodies (12 of 15). No API changelog. A model lifecycle page with dated retirements and announcement pages (8 of 15).\n\n### Agent ergonomics: Gemini 4 Carbon +25\n\n- Gemini 4 Carbon (93): Model reading for gemini-4-carbon on the Gemini API. Platform facts are the Gemini API listing's (gemini-api, re-read 1 November), carried over as RULES.md allows for a model on an already graded platform. Function calling, with forced calls by FunctionCallingConfig on the API (20). Structured output (13 of 15). Implicit caching with durable caching on by default, cached input 95% off, explicit caches not supported, per the Cloud guide read on 10 November (15). 1,048,576 tokens shared between input and output (15). Batch at half price on the platform (10). Python and JavaScript SDKs (10). Error codes with backoff guidance (10 of 15). 20 + 13 + 15 + 15 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 93.\n- StepFun API (68): Model reading of the checklist (tool use, structured output, caching, context, batch, SDKs, errors). Tool calls through Chat Completions, Responses and Messages, with no documented way to force or forbid a call (15 of 20). Strict JSON Schema output on Step 5 Preview (13 of 15). Prompt caching with a published cache-hit price at a tenth of the miss price (15). 1M-token context and 64k output (15). No batch endpoint found (0). No official SDK. The docs use the OpenAI and Anthropic clients against compatible endpoints (0). Eight error codes with a fix each, plus `finish_reason` handling for length, content filter and tool calls (10 of 15).\n\n### Transparency \u0026 trust: Gemini 4 Carbon +15\n\n- Gemini 4 Carbon (72): Model reading for gemini-4-carbon on the Gemini API. Platform facts are the Gemini API listing's (gemini-api, re-read 1 November), carried over as RULES.md allows for a model on an already graded platform. Closed service with clear terms, SDKs Apache-2.0 (15). Paid-tier data isn't used, abuse retention has no number, and request storage is on by default for new paid projects (20 of 30). Deprecations table (15 of 20). Data may be cached anywhere Google has facilities; no subprocessor list checked (5 of 20). Every benchmark figure is Google's own. 15 + 20 + 15 + 5 = 55.\n- StepFun API (57): Closed service with clear terms under Hong Kong law, with HKIAC arbitration and liability capped at six months of fees. Some earlier Step models have open weights, which doesn't change the hosted service (15). The privacy policy, terms and DPA agree that data may be used for training under program terms, but the terms' licence to Content is broad and perpetual, no retention period is given for prompts and outputs, and no subprocessor list was found (12 of 30). A model lifecycle page with dated retirements and replacements (14 of 20). Servers are disclosed as in the United States. The DPA gives general authorisation for subprocessors without a published list (10 of 20).\n\n### Security \u0026 auth: Gemini 4 Carbon +14\n\n- Gemini 4 Carbon (55): Model reading for gemini-4-carbon on the Gemini API. Platform facts are the Gemini API listing's (gemini-api, re-read 1 November), carried over as RULES.md allows for a model on an already graded platform. Keys bound to a service account and restricted to the Gemini API, with no scopes and a token accepted in the URL (15 of 30, the platform's deduction). Carbon is on the paid tier only, and Google's terms say paid-tier content isn't used to improve products; AI Studio use under a Google AI Ultra subscription falls under terms we didn't read, so 15 of 20 (a judgement call; the platform's 10 is for its free tier). Abuse retention with no number, and new paid projects store requests by default since 26 October (5 of 15). Request logs for billed projects (15). security.txt and a reward programme, no certification naming the API (5 of 20). 15 + 15 + 5 + 15 + 5 = 55.\n- StepFun API (41): Model reading. Bearer API keys, revocable by deletion. Organisations can create one key per project, billed to a project's credit with a per-member cap. No scopes or read-only keys found (20 of 30). Training on API data is not off by default in plain words. The privacy policy (effective 7 August 2026) says StepFun may use and retain data to improve its models, including training and fine-tuning where law and program terms permit, and the terms name early-access programmes as one such case. No opt-out found (5 of 20). No retention period for prompts and outputs and no zero-retention option. IP addresses are kept three years (3 of 15). The console's usage details list each billed call by key, model and date, with export (8 of 15). No security.txt, bug bounty or certification found. A DPA with breach notification exists (5 of 20).\n\n### Reliability: Gemini 4 Carbon +12\n\n- Gemini 4 Carbon (40): Model reading for gemini-4-carbon on the Gemini API. Platform facts are the Gemini API listing's (gemini-api, re-read 1 November), carried over as RULES.md allows for a model on an already graded platform. Status page at aistudio.google.com/status with no readable components or history (10 of 20) and no readable incident record (5 of 30). Rate-limit tiers and spend limits published, per-model limits in AI Studio (5 of 15). Backoff guidance for 429 and 503 and SDK retries (15). No SLA (0). Carbon's launch stage isn't stated in Google's developer post, the Antigravity post or the Cloud developer guide read on 10 November, and the model ID carries no preview label, so half (5 of 10, a judgement call; Argon's GA earned the platform 10). 10 + 5 + 5 + 15 + 0 + 5 = 40.\n- StepFun API (28): No status page read. status.stepfun.ai refused our reader by robots.txt and the shell couldn't connect, so we couldn't establish whether it is a status page or read any history. Scored absent for both lines, with 5 for unreadable history, and named in the open questions (0 + 5). Rate limits published with numbers per tier, from 5 concurrent, 100 RPM and 500,000 TPM to 130, 2,600 and 13,000,000 (15). The error and exception guides say to retry 429, 500, 503 and 504 after a short delay, with no Retry-After header, backoff schedule or idempotency guidance (8 of 15). No SLA found in the terms or pricing (0). Step 5 Preview is labelled a preview (0).\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Gemini 4 Carbon | StepFun API | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 40 | 28 | Gemini 4 Carbon +12 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 85 | 53 | Gemini 4 Carbon +32 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 93 | 68 | Gemini 4 Carbon +25 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 55 | 41 | Gemini 4 Carbon +14 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 20 | even |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 83 | 50 | Gemini 4 Carbon +33 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 72 | 57 | Gemini 4 Carbon +15 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **62.6 · B** | **44.3 · E** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Gemini 4 Carbon | StepFun API |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Model API | Model API |\n| Vendor | Google | StepFun |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta` | `https://api.stepfun.ai/v1` |\n| Transports |  | HTTP |\n| Auth | API key | API key |\n| Pricing | Pay per use | Pay per use |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Closed model, used through the Gemini API and Google's apps under Google's terms | Closed service under the StepFun Open Platform Terms of Service (STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED, Hong Kong law). |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-11-10 | none |\n| Terms last updated | 2026-04-28 | couldn't be read |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-10-01 | couldn't be read |\n| Customer content may train models | yes | couldn't be read |\n| Terms restrict automated access | yes | couldn't be read |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | couldn't be read |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | couldn't be read |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | couldn't be read |\n| Agent reviews | none | 3.3/5 (4) |\n\n## How the scores have moved\n\n### Gemini 4 Carbon\n\nNo score change since it was listed.\n\n### StepFun API\n\n- -0.1 on 28 October 2026: correction\n- +0.3 on 27 October 2026: checklist\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Gemini 4 Carbon.** Google's strongest model on the same Gemini API as Argon, with a 1M-token budget, function calling and structured output, at an introductory $2 and $10 per million tokens. Paid tier only, sampling parameters are ignored or refused, its launch stage isn't stated, and the price rises to $4 and $20 at a date Google hasn't given.\n\n**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.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Gemini 4 Carbon\n\n1. Call generateContent at https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta with model gemini-4-carbon and an x-goog-api-key on a billed project\n2. Set thinking_level (LOW, MEDIUM or HIGH) instead of thinking_budget, and don't send temperature, top_p or top_k\n3. Count output against the same 1,048,576-token limit as the input, and set max_output_tokens for long answers\n4. Put static prompt content first so implicit caching applies; explicit caches aren't supported\n5. Use gemini-4-argon for most coding and knowledge work, and Carbon for the hardest long tasks, as Google suggests\n\n### StepFun API\n\n1. Set `max_tokens` yourself. It defaults to unlimited on Step 5 Preview, and reasoning tokens are billed as output\n2. Use `response_format` with `type: json_schema` and `strict: true` when the shape matters. JSON Mode alone isn't schema-checked\n3. Back off and retry on 429, 500, 503 and 504. The docs give no Retry-After header or backoff schedule\n4. Expect HTTP 451 or `finish_reason: content_filter` when content fails StepFun's review, and don't retry the same input\n5. Use api.stepfun.ai for the international platform. api.stepfun.com is the China platform with yuan pricing\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Gemini 4 Carbon or StepFun API?\n\nGemini 4 Carbon scores 62.6 (B) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.3 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.\n\n### Do Gemini 4 Carbon and StepFun API need an API key?\n\nBoth need an API key.\n\n### Can an agent call Gemini 4 Carbon and StepFun API without installing anything?\n\nYes. Gemini 4 Carbon has a hosted endpoint at https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta and StepFun API at https://api.stepfun.ai/v1.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-stepfun-api.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-stepfun-api.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"gemini-4-carbon\", \"b\": \"stepfun-api\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare gemini-4-carbon stepfun-api`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/gemini-4-carbon.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/stepfun-api.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Gemini 4 Carbon or StepFun API\n\n- [Amazon Bedrock vs Gemini 4 Carbon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-bedrock-vs-gemini-4-carbon.md)\n- [Amazon Bedrock vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-bedrock-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Claude API vs Gemini 4 Carbon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-gemini-4-carbon.md)\n- [Claude API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Antseed vs Gemini 4 Carbon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-gemini-4-carbon.md)\n- [Antseed vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Azure OpenAI in Foundry Models vs Gemini 4 Carbon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-openai-vs-gemini-4-carbon.md)\n- [Azure OpenAI in Foundry Models vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-openai-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [BlockRun.AI vs Gemini 4 Carbon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-gemini-4-carbon.md)\n- [BlockRun.AI vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Cerebras Inference vs Gemini 4 Carbon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cerebras-inference-vs-gemini-4-carbon.md)\n- [Cerebras Inference vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cerebras-inference-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Claude Fable 5.2 vs Gemini 4 Carbon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-fable-5-2-vs-gemini-4-carbon.md)\n- [Claude Fable 5.2 vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-fable-5-2-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Claude Mythos 5.2 vs Gemini 4 Carbon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mythos-5-2-vs-gemini-4-carbon.md)\n- [Claude Mythos 5.2 vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-mythos-5-2-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Cloudflare AI Gateway vs Gemini 4 Carbon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-gemini-4-carbon.md)\n- [Cloudflare AI Gateway vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Cloudflare Workers AI vs Gemini 4 Carbon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-gemini-4-carbon.md)\n- [Cloudflare Workers AI vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs Gemini 4 Carbon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-gemini-4-carbon.md)\n- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [DeepInfra vs Gemini 4 Carbon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-gemini-4-carbon.md)\n- [DeepInfra vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs Gemini 4 Carbon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-gemini-4-carbon.md)\n- [DeepSeek API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Eden AI vs Gemini 4 Carbon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/eden-ai-vs-gemini-4-carbon.md)\n- [Eden AI vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/eden-ai-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Glimpse vs Gemini 4 Carbon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elorian-glimpse-vs-gemini-4-carbon.md)\n- [Glimpse vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elorian-glimpse-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Fireworks AI Inference vs Gemini 4 Carbon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-gemini-4-carbon.md)\n- [Fireworks AI Inference vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fireworks-inference-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Gemini 4 Carbon vs Gemini Developer API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-gemini-api.md)\n- [Gemini 4 Carbon vs GroqCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-groq.md)\n- [Gemini 4 Carbon vs Hugging Face Inference Providers](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-hugging-face-inference-providers.md)\n- [Gemini 4 Carbon vs Inkling 2 Small](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-inkling-2-small.md)\n- [Gemini 4 Carbon vs Jais 3](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-jais-3.md)\n- [Gemini 4 Carbon vs Meta Model API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-meta-model-api.md)\n- [Gemini 4 Carbon vs MiniMax API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-minimax-api.md)\n- [Gemini 4 Carbon vs Mistral AI API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-mistral-api.md)\n- [Gemini 4 Carbon vs Muse Ember](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-muse-ember.md)\n- [Gemini 4 Carbon vs Muse Spark Open](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-muse-spark-open.md)\n- [Gemini 4 Carbon vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)\n- [Gemini 4 Carbon vs Novita AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-novita-ai.md)\n- [Gemini 4 Carbon vs OpenAI API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-openai-api.md)\n- [Gemini 4 Carbon vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-openrouter.md)\n- [Gemini 4 Carbon vs Prism Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-prism-inference.md)\n- [Gemini 4 Carbon vs Router.com (Ramp Router)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-ramp-router.md)\n- 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Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [Gemini 4 Carbon vs Vertex AI (Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-vertex-ai.md)\n- [Gemini 4 Carbon vs xAI API (Grok)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-4-carbon-vs-xai-api.md)\n- [Gemini Developer API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [GroqCloud vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Hugging Face Inference Providers vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hugging-face-inference-providers-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Inkling 2 Small vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inkling-2-small-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Jais 3 vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jais-3-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Meta Model API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meta-model-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [MiniMax API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Mistral AI API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Muse Ember vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-ember-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Muse Spark Open vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-spark-open-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Nemotron 3.5 Super VL vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nemotron-3-5-super-vl-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Novita AI vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/novita-ai-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [OpenAI API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [OpenRouter vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openrouter-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Prism Inference vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prism-inference-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Router.com (Ramp Router) vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ramp-router-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Beam 1.0 vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/reflection-beam-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [RouterPlus vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/routerplus-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [SambaCloud vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sambanova-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [SiliconFlow vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/siliconflow-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [Simplismart vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/simplismart-vs-stepfun-api.md)\n- [StepFun API vs SWE-2 Flash](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stepfun-api-vs-swe-2-flash.md)\n- [StepFun API vs Tencent Cloud TokenHub](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stepfun-api-vs-tencent-tokenhub.md)\n- [StepFun API vs Together AI Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stepfun-api-vs-together-inference.md)\n- [StepFun API vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stepfun-api-vs-vercel-ai-gateway.md)\n- [StepFun API vs Vertex AI (Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stepfun-api-vs-vertex-ai.md)\n- [StepFun API vs xAI API (Grok)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stepfun-api-vs-xai-api.md)\n",
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