Command R+ vs Qwen Max vs Sonar Reasoning Pro
Sonar Reasoning Pro comes out ahead, 27 to 22 and 22 on our weighted score, though Qwen Max is 20% cheaper per token.
CohereCommand R+
22/100- ECI—
- Price$2.50 / $10.00
- Context128K
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen Max
22/100- ECI—
- Price$1.60 / $6.40
- Context33K
- Our pick
PerplexitySonar Reasoning Pro
27/100- ECI—
- Price$2.00 / $8.00
- Context128K
Sonar Reasoning Pro is our pick
Sonar Reasoning Pro is the better all-round choice, scoring 27/100 against Command R+ (22) and Qwen Max (22). It leads on inputs & features. Qwen Max 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 priceQwen MaxQwen Max $2.80 · Sonar Reasoning Pro $3.50 · Command R+ $4.38 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextCommand R+ and Sonar Reasoning ProCommand R+ 128,000 · Sonar Reasoning Pro 128,000 · Qwen Max 32,768 tokens
- Widest inputsSonar Reasoning ProCommand R+: Text · Qwen Max: Text · Sonar Reasoning Pro: Text, Images
- Self-hostingCommand R+Publishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Command R+ | Qwen Max | Sonar Reasoning Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 19 | 29 | 24 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 25 | 25 | 35 |
| Context window | 20% | 24 | 0 | 24 |
| Overall | 100% | 22/100 | 22/100 | 27/100 |
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 | Command R+Cohere | Qwen MaxAlibaba (Qwen) | Sonar Reasoning ProPerplexity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $2.50 | $1.60 (best) | $2.00 |
| Output | $10.00 | $6.40 (best) | $8.00 |
| Cached input | — | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $4.38 | $2.80 (best) | $3.50 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Cohere API | Official Alibaba API | Official Perplexity API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 128,000 tokens (best) | 32,768 tokens | 128,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 4,000 tokens | 8,192 tokens (best) | 4,096 tokens |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No | Yesminimal · low · medium · high |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | No |
| Structured output | No | No | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Open | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | command-r-plus-08-2024 | qwen-max | sonar-reasoning-pro |
| API providers | 7 (best) | 6 | 4 |
| Released | Aug 30, 2024 | Apr 3, 2024 | Jan 1, 2024 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Jun 1, 2024 | Apr 2024 | Sep 1, 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 R+$45.00
- Qwen Max$28.80
- Sonar Reasoning Pro$36.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Command R+, Qwen Max or Sonar Reasoning Pro?
Sonar Reasoning Pro is the better all-round choice, scoring 27/100 against Command R+ (22) and Qwen Max (22). It leads on inputs & features. Qwen Max 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, Command R+, Qwen Max or Sonar Reasoning Pro?
Qwen Max is cheaper at $1.60 input / $6.40 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). Sonar Reasoning Pro costs $2.00 input / $8.00 output per million tokens (official Perplexity API price); Command R+ 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 $2.80 per million tokens for Qwen Max versus $3.50 for Sonar Reasoning Pro (1.3× as much) and $4.38 for Command R+ (1.6× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Command R+ has not been scored yet, Qwen Max has not been scored yet and Sonar Reasoning Pro has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Command R+, Qwen Max and Sonar Reasoning Pro yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that Sonar Reasoning Pro does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.
Which has the bigger context window?
Command R+ and Sonar Reasoning Pro have the largest context windows (128,000 and 128,000 tokens), against 32,768 for Qwen Max. Maximum output per response: Command R+ up to 4,000, Qwen Max up to 8,192, Sonar Reasoning Pro up to 4,096 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Command R+ accepts text; Qwen Max accepts text; Sonar Reasoning Pro accepts text and images. Sonar Reasoning Pro handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Command R+ publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Qwen Max and Sonar Reasoning Pro is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Command R+ is the newest, released Aug 30, 2024. Qwen Max came out Apr 3, 2024; Sonar Reasoning Pro came out Jan 1, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Command R+ Jun 1, 2024, Qwen Max Apr 2024, Sonar Reasoning Pro Sep 1, 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.
