Command R vs Gemini 3 Flash
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 · Gemini 3 Flash specs- PriceCommand R
Command R publishes pricing ($1.50 / 1M output tokens) while Gemini 3 Flash does not.
- Context windowGemini 3 Flash
Gemini 3 Flash accepts 1.0M tokens vs 128K, 8.2× the room for long documents and codebases.
- BenchmarksTie
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores.
- ModalitiesGemini 3 Flash
Gemini 3 Flash supports 4 modalities (text, vision, audio, video) vs 1 for Command R.
- OpennessCommand R
Command R ships open weights (CC-BY-NC 4.0); Gemini 3 Flash is API-only.
It's a genuine coin-flip between Command R and Gemini 3 Flash: 2 category wins each, with the rest tied. Command R publishes pricing ($1.50 / 1M output tokens) while Gemini 3 Flash does not. Gemini 3 Flash accepts 1.0M tokens vs 128K, 8.2× the room for long documents and codebases.
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores. They differ in modality coverage, Command R handles text while Gemini 3 Flash handles text, vision, audio, video, which can be the deciding factor before you even look at benchmarks. Command R ships open weights (CC-BY-NC 4.0); Gemini 3 Flash is API-only.
Gemini 3 Flash is the newer of the two, released 21 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 Gemini 3 Flash sees more deployments in rag and summarization. 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 | Gemini 3 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Cohere | |
| Released | Mar 2024 | Dec 2025 |
| Modalities | text | text, vision, audio, video |
| Context window | 128K tokens | 1.0M tokens |
| Max output | , | 65.5K tokens |
| Input · 1M | $0.50 / 1M tokens | Pricing not published |
| Output · 1M | $1.50 / 1M tokens | Pricing not published |
| Knowledge cutoff | , | 2025-01 |
| Open weights | Yes (CC-BY-NC 4.0) | No |
| 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 ,
- Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day$37.50 vs ,
- RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day$84.00 vs ,
Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates).
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
- Gemini 3 FlashPricing unavailable
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
- Self-hosting and on-prem requirements, open weights (CC-BY-NC 4.0).
Gemini 3 Flash fits when…
- 1M-token context at mid-tier price
- Very fast, good for interactive UX
- Strong vision support
- Long-context tasks, handles 1.0M tokens vs 128K for Command R.
- Multimodal needs covering vision, audio, video.
Consider Command R+ (08-2024)
Cohere's flagship optimized for RAG and tool use in enterprise settings.
Frequently asked
Is Command R or Gemini 3 Flash cheaper?
Per-token pricing isn't published for at least one of these models, check each model's spec page for current rates.Which has the larger context window?
Gemini 3 Flash accepts 1.0M tokens vs 128K for Command R.Is Command R or Gemini 3 Flash better for coding?
Both Command R and Gemini 3 Flash 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?
Command R ships open weights (CC-BY-NC 4.0). Gemini 3 Flash is API-only.When were Command R and Gemini 3 Flash released?
Command R was released by Cohere on 2024-03-11. Gemini 3 Flash was released by Google on 2025-12-09.
The week's AI launches, in your inbox.
One short email every Friday, new models, leaks, and quietly-shipped APIs you missed.