Command A Plus vs Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite vs MiniCPM5-1B
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite comes out ahead, 84 to 52 and 31 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
CohereCommand A Plus
52/100- ECI—
- Price$2.50 / $10.00
- Context128K
- Our pick
GoogleGemini 3.1 Flash Lite
84/100- ECI—
- Price$0.25 / $1.50
- Context1.05M
OpenBMB
MiniCPM5-1B
31/100- ECI—
- Price—
- Context131K
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is our pick
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 84/100 against Command A Plus (52) and MiniCPM5-1B (31). It leads on inputs & features and context window. The score weighs inputs & features 60%, context window 40%. 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 priceGemini 3.1 Flash LiteGemini 3.1 Flash Lite $0.563 · Command A Plus $4.38 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend) · MiniCPM5-1B unpriced
- Longest contextGemini 3.1 Flash LiteGemini 3.1 Flash Lite 1,048,576 · MiniCPM5-1B 131,072 · Command A Plus 128,000 tokens
- Widest inputsGemini 3.1 Flash LiteCommand A Plus: Text, Images · Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video · MiniCPM5-1B: Text
- Self-hostingCommand A Plus and MiniCPM5-1BPublishes downloadable weights (apache-2.0)
| Measure | Weight | Command A Plus | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite | MiniCPM5-1B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inputs & features | 60% | 70 | 100 | 35 |
| Context window | 40% | 24 | 61 | 24 |
| Overall | 100% | 52/100 | 84/100 | 31/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability and price. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Command A PlusCohere | Gemini 3.1 Flash LiteGoogle | MiniCPM5-1BOpenBMB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $2.50 | $0.25 (best) | — |
| Output | $10.00 | $1.50 (best) | — |
| Cached input | — | $0.025 | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $4.38 | $0.563 (best) | — |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | — |
| Price source | Official Cohere API | Official Google API | — |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 128,000 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens (best) | 131,072 tokens |
| Max output | 64,000 tokens | 65,536 tokens | 131,072 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes | No |
| PDFs | No | Yes | No |
| Audio | No | Yes | No |
| Video | No | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yesminimal · low · medium · high | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | Yes | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Open | Proprietary | Openapache-2.0 |
| API model ID | command-a-plus-05-2026 | gemini-3.1-flash-lite | — |
| API providers | 1 | 23 (best) | — |
| Released | May 20, 2026 | May 7, 2026 | May 19, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Apr 1, 2025 | Jan 2025 | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Command A Plus$45.00
- Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite$5.50
- MiniCPM5-1B—
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Command A Plus, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite or MiniCPM5-1B?
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 84/100 against Command A Plus (52) and MiniCPM5-1B (31). It leads on inputs & features and context window. The score weighs inputs & features 60%, context window 40%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
Which is cheaper, Command A Plus, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite or MiniCPM5-1B?
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is cheaper at $0.25 input / $1.50 output per million tokens (official Google API price). Command A Plus costs $2.50 input / $10.00 output per million tokens (official Cohere API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.563 per million tokens for Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite versus $4.38 for Command A Plus (7.8× as much). MiniCPM5-1B has no published per-token price.
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Command A Plus has not been scored yet, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite has not been scored yet and MiniCPM5-1B has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Command A Plus, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite and MiniCPM5-1B yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite has the largest context window at 1,048,576 tokens, against 131,072 for MiniCPM5-1B and 128,000 for Command A Plus. Maximum output per response: Command A Plus up to 64,000, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite up to 65,536, MiniCPM5-1B up to 131,072 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Command A Plus accepts text and images; Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite accepts text, images, PDFs, audio and video; MiniCPM5-1B accepts text. Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Command A Plus and MiniCPM5-1B publishes its weights (apache-2.0) and can be self-hosted; Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Command A Plus is the newest, released May 20, 2026. MiniCPM5-1B came out May 19, 2026; Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite came out May 7, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Command A Plus Apr 1, 2025, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Jan 2025.
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 Oct 4, 2026.
