Apertus 70B vs Hermes 4 405B
Hermes 4 405B comes out ahead, 35 to 32 on our weighted score, though Apertus 70B is 19% cheaper per token.
Swiss AI
Apertus 70B
32/100- ECI—
- Price$0.82 / $2.42
- Context66K
- Our pick
Nous ResearchHermes 4 405B
35/100- ECI—
- Price$1.00 / $3.00
- Context131K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Hermes 4 405B is our pick
Hermes 4 405B is the better all-round choice, scoring 35/100 against Apertus 70B (32). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Apertus 70B wins on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
- CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
- Lowest priceApertus 70BApertus 70B $1.22 · Hermes 4 405B $1.50 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextHermes 4 405BHermes 4 405B 131,072 · Apertus 70B 65,536 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsApertus 70B: Text · Hermes 4 405B: Text
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | Apertus 70B | Hermes 4 405B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 44 | 40 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 25 | 35 |
| Context window | 20% | 12 | 25 |
| Overall | 100% | 32/100 | 35/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Apertus 70BSwiss AI | Hermes 4 405BNous Research |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.82 (best) | $1.00 |
| Output | $2.42 (best) | $3.00 |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $1.22 (best) | $1.50 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 3 providers | Median of 5 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 65,536 tokens | 131,072 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 8,192 tokens | 117,964 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | No |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | OpenApache-2.0 | Open |
| API model ID | — | — |
| API providers | 3 | 5 (best) |
| Released | Sep 2, 2025 | Aug 26, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Sep 2025 | Aug 31, 2024 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Apertus 70B$13.04
- Hermes 4 405B$16.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Apertus 70B or Hermes 4 405B?
Hermes 4 405B is the better all-round choice, scoring 35/100 against Apertus 70B (32). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Apertus 70B wins on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
Which is cheaper, Apertus 70B or Hermes 4 405B?
Apertus 70B is cheaper at $0.82 input / $2.42 output per million tokens (median across 3 API providers). Hermes 4 405B costs $1.00 input / $3.00 output per million tokens (median across 5 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $1.22 per million tokens for Apertus 70B versus $1.50 for Hermes 4 405B (1.2× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Apertus 70B has not been scored yet and Hermes 4 405B has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Apertus 70B and Hermes 4 405B yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Hermes 4 405B has the largest context window at 131,072 tokens, against 65,536 for Apertus 70B. Maximum output per response: Apertus 70B up to 8,192, Hermes 4 405B up to 117,964 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Apertus 70B accepts text; Hermes 4 405B accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, both publish their weights (Apache-2.0), so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
Apertus 70B is the newest, released Sep 2, 2025. Hermes 4 405B came out Aug 26, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Apertus 70B Sep 2025, Hermes 4 405B Aug 31, 2024.
How do you decide the winner?
Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Nov 2, 2026.
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