# LFM3-1.7B vs Step 3.7 Flash (slim)

> LFM3-1.7B scores 61 (C) to Step 3.7 Flash's 59.8 (C) for open-weight models you run yourself. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp · Updated: 2026-11-10
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)

LFM3-1.7B scores 61 (C) on agent readiness against Step 3.7 Flash's 59.8 (C), and leads in 3 of 4 scored categories. Step 3.7 Flash leads on risk. Both do open-weight models you run yourself.

- LFM3-1.7B: C 61, rank #69 of 160 open-weight models · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/lfm3-1-7b.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
- LFM3-1.7B, good for Agents on a laptop, phone or small server that need tool calling and a long context from a model under 2 GB at 4 bits Ahead on Reach, 85 against 70; Agent interface, 100 against 85; Documentation and upkeep, 67 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 Risk, 45 against 40.

| Category | LFM3-1.7B | Step 3.7 Flash |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capability (35%) | pending | pending |
| Reach (25%) | 85 | 70 |
| Risk (20%) | 40 | 45 |
| Agent interface (10%) | 100 | 85 |
| Documentation and upkeep (10%) | 67 | 39 |

| Fact (where they differ) | LFM3-1.7B | 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 | 2026-11-09 | 2026-06-03 |

Why the edge:
- Documentation and upkeep, LFM3-1.7B +28: LFM3-1.7B 67 (Model card 17, Intended use (local agents, tool calling, structured outputs, fine-tuning), a limitation (not recommended for agentic coding or complex multi-ste…); Step 3.7 Flash 39 (Model card 14, Intended use, the architecture, the parameters, the context and the language (in the metadata) are on the card.)
- Reach, LFM3-1.7B +15: LFM3-1.7B 85 (Memory 30, Liquid's Q4_K_M GGUF is 1.10 GB, and 1.10 GB × 1.2 = 1.3 GB, which fits 8 GB, well inside the 16 GB line.); 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…)
- Agent interface, LFM3-1.7B +15: LFM3-1.7B 100 (Chat template 20, chat_template.jinja in the repository (12,129 characters), with roles, tools, deferred tools, tool results and the thinking switch.); Step 3.7 Flash 85 (Chat template 20, chat_template.jinja in the repository (5,723 characters).)
- Risk, Step 3.7 Flash +5: LFM3-1.7B 40 (File safety 15, safetensors only, no .bin, .pt or .pth files (25).); Step 3.7 Flash 45 (File safety 15, safetensors and GGUF only, no .bin, .pt or .pth files (25).)