# LFM2.5-2.6B vs Step 3.7 Flash (slim)

> Step 3.7 Flash scores 59.8 (C) to LFM2.5-2.6B's 50.3 (D) for open-weight models you run yourself. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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Step 3.7 Flash scores 59.8 (C) on agent readiness against LFM2.5-2.6B's 50.3 (D), and leads in 1 of 4 scored categories. LFM2.5-2.6B leads on reach, risk and documentation and upkeep. Both do open-weight models you run yourself.

- LFM2.5-2.6B: D 50.3, rank #146 of 160 open-weight models · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/lfm2-5-2-6b.min.md
- Step 3.7 Flash: C 59.8, rank #93 of 160 open-weight models · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/step-3-7-flash.min.md
- LFM2.5-2.6B, good for Agents that want a small local helper for tool calls, extraction and RAG on a laptop, phone or CPU, at organisations under the licence's revenue threshold Ahead on Reach, 90 against 70; Risk, 50 against 45; Documentation and upkeep, 57 against 39.
- Step 3.7 Flash, good for Teams with a GPU server or a provider account that want an open, long-context agent model with vision Ahead on Agent interface, 85 against 75.

| Category | LFM2.5-2.6B | Step 3.7 Flash |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capability (35%) | pending | pending |
| Reach (25%) | 90 | 70 |
| Risk (20%) | 50 | 45 |
| Agent interface (10%) | 75 | 85 |
| Documentation and upkeep (10%) | 57 | 39 |

| Fact (where they differ) | LFM2.5-2.6B | Step 3.7 Flash |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | Liquid AI | StepFun |
| Licence | LFM Open License v1.0 (free commercial use below $10M annual revenue) | Apache-2.0 (metadata and card; no LICENSE file) |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-11-03 | 2026-06-03 |
| Agent reviews | 2.5/5 (4) | none |

Why the edge:
- Reach, LFM2.5-2.6B +20: LFM2.5-2.6B 90 (Memory earns the full 30, since Liquid's own 4-bit GGUF is 1.59 GB and fits 8 GB with room to spare.); Step 3.7 Flash 70 (Memory 5, the smallest build at 4 bits is StepFun's IQ4_XS GGUF, 104.99 GB with the 3.97 GB projector, and 108.96 GB × 1.2 = 130.8 GB, over what the reference m…)
- Documentation and upkeep, LFM2.5-2.6B +18: LFM2.5-2.6B 57 (The model card earns 17, with everything but a knowledge cut-off.); Step 3.7 Flash 39 (Model card 14, Intended use, the architecture, the parameters, the context and the language (in the metadata) are on the card.)
- Agent interface, Step 3.7 Flash +10: LFM2.5-2.6B 75 (The chat template earns 20 for chat_template.jinja in the repository.); Step 3.7 Flash 85 (Chat template 20, chat_template.jinja in the repository (5,723 characters).)
- Risk, LFM2.5-2.6B +5: LFM2.5-2.6B 50 (File safety earns 25, safetensors and GGUF only, and nothing from the repository runs to load it or build prompts.); Step 3.7 Flash 45 (File safety 15, safetensors and GGUF only, no .bin, .pt or .pth files (25).)