Servos will far outperform closed loop steppers. A closed loop stepper is still a stepper, where torque falls off as rpm's increase.I have been reading about hybrid steppers vs servos (both closed loop) and it seems steppers can offer comparative performance,
Servos have full torque at all rpm, and typically spin 3-5x faster, making them much more powerful.
I'm assuming you mean 12Nm steppers?Also, can you sort of use an 8.5nm closed loop servo in an application where you'd use a 12nm open loop servo?
What do you plan on using these for?
Many people buy these cheap kits with these huge steppers, only to find that steppers 1/3 the size will easily outperform them. Large steppers aren't very good for CNC machines, unless you need to move a lot of weight, at slow speeds.