Command R vs Command R (08-2024)
A complete head-to-head: pricing, context window, benchmarks, modality coverage, and openness, with a programmatic verdict synthesized from the underlying data.
Updated
Command R specs · Command R (08-2024) specs- PriceCommand R (08-2024)
Command R (08-2024) is roughly 2.5× cheaper on output tokens ($0.60 vs $1.50 per 1M).
- Context windowTie
Both ship a 128K-token context window.
- BenchmarksTie
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores.
- ModalitiesTie
Both handle text.
- OpennessTie
Both ship open weights, self-host either one.
On balance Command R (08-2024) edges ahead, winning 1 of 5 categories against Command R's 0. Command R (08-2024) is roughly 2.5× cheaper on output tokens ($0.60 vs $1.50 per 1M). Both ship a 128K-token context window.
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores. Both target the same set of modalities (text), so the deciding factors are price, context, and raw quality. Both ship open weights, self-host either one.
Command R (08-2024) is the newer of the two, released 6 months after Command R, which usually means a more recent knowledge cutoff and updated safety post-training. Command R is usually picked for rag and customer support workloads, while Command R (08-2024) sees more deployments in rag and multilingual. If pricing matters more than every last benchmark point, run the numbers in the calculator below before committing.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | Command R | Command R (08-2024) |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Cohere | Cohere |
| Released | Mar 2024 | Aug 2024 |
| Modalities | text | text |
| Context window | 128K tokens | 128K tokens |
| Max output | , | , |
| Input · 1M | $0.50 / 1M tokens | $0.15 / 1M tokens |
| Output · 1M | $1.50 / 1M tokens | $0.60 / 1M tokens |
| Knowledge cutoff | , | , |
| Open weights | Yes (CC-BY-NC 4.0) | Yes (CC-BY-NC 4.0) |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
Pricing at scale
What you'd actually pay at typical workloads. Numbers come from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day$3.75 vs $1.35
- Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day$37.50 vs $13.50
- RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day$84.00 vs $26.10
Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: $3.75 vs $1.35 per month, model B comes out ahead. Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: $37.50 vs $13.50 per month, model B comes out ahead. RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: $84.00 vs $26.10 per month, model B comes out ahead.
Estimated spend for the listed models at your usage. Numbers are derived from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- Command R$0.125
- Command R (08-2024)$0.045
Benchmarks compared
Only sourced numbers. Where a benchmark is missing for one model we show the available value rather than fabricating the other.
Command R fits when…
- Cheap RAG
- Reliable tool-use
Command R (08-2024) fits when…
- Improved tool-use
- Strong multilingual
- Cost-sensitive workloads, 2.5× cheaper than Command R on output tokens.
Consider Command R+ (08-2024)
Cohere's flagship optimized for RAG and tool use in enterprise settings.
Frequently asked
Is Command R or Command R (08-2024) cheaper?
Command R (08-2024) is cheaper at $0.60 / 1M tokens per million output tokens, vs $1.50 / 1M tokens for Command R.Which has the larger context window?
Both Command R and Command R (08-2024) ship a 128K-token context window.Is Command R or Command R (08-2024) better for coding?
Both Command R and Command R (08-2024) are competitive on coding benchmarks. See each model's individual spec page for HumanEval and SWE-bench scores where published. For an opinionated pick, consult our Best LLM for Coding ranking.Are either of these models open source?
Both ship with open weights. Command R is licensed under CC-BY-NC 4.0; Command R (08-2024) under CC-BY-NC 4.0.When were Command R and Command R (08-2024) released?
Command R was released by Cohere on 2024-03-11. Command R (08-2024) was released by Cohere on 2024-08-30.
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