Command R vs Hermes 3 70B Instruct vs Saba
Command R comes out ahead, 52 to 46 and 32 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
- Our pick
CohereCommand R
52/100- ECI—
- Price$0.15 / $0.60
- Context128K
Nous ResearchHermes 3 70B Instruct
32/100- ECI—
- Price$0.70 / $0.70
- Context131K
Mistral AISaba
46/100- ECI—
- Price$0.20 / $0.60
- Context33K
Command R is our pick
Command R is the better all-round choice, scoring 52/100 against Saba (46) and Hermes 3 70B Instruct (32). It leads 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 priceCommand RCommand R $0.263 · Saba $0.30 · Hermes 3 70B Instruct $0.70 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextHermes 3 70B InstructHermes 3 70B Instruct 131,072 · Command R 128,000 · Saba 32,768 tokens
- Widest inputsSabaCommand R: Text · Hermes 3 70B Instruct: Text · Saba: Text, PDFs
- Self-hostingCommand R and Hermes 3 70B InstructPublishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Command R | Hermes 3 70B Instruct | Saba |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 74 | 55 | 72 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 35 | 0 | 35 |
| Context window | 20% | 24 | 25 | 0 |
| Overall | 100% | 52/100 | 32/100 | 46/100 |
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 RCohere | Hermes 3 70B InstructNous Research | SabaMistral AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.15 (best) | $0.70 | $0.20 |
| Output | $0.60 (best) | $0.70 | $0.60 (best) |
| Cached input | — | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.263 (best) | $0.70 | $0.30 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Cohere API | Median of 5 providers | Median of 4 providers |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 128,000 tokens | 131,072 tokens (best) | 32,768 tokens |
| Max output | 4,000 tokens | 16,384 tokens | 26,214 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | No | No |
| PDFs | No | No | Yes |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | No | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | No | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Open | Open | Proprietary |
| API model ID | command-r-08-2024 | — | — |
| API providers | 6 (best) | 5 | 4 |
| Released | Aug 30, 2024 | Aug 18, 2024 | Feb 17, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Jun 1, 2024 | Dec 31, 2023 | Sep 30, 2024 |
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$2.70
- Hermes 3 70B Instruct$8.40
- Saba$3.20
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Command R, Hermes 3 70B Instruct or Saba?
Command R is the better all-round choice, scoring 52/100 against Saba (46) and Hermes 3 70B Instruct (32). It leads 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, Hermes 3 70B Instruct or Saba?
Command R is cheaper at $0.15 input / $0.60 output per million tokens (official Cohere API price). Saba costs $0.20 input / $0.60 output per million tokens (median across 4 API providers); Hermes 3 70B Instruct costs $0.70 input / $0.70 output per million tokens (median across 5 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.263 per million tokens for Command R versus $0.30 for Saba (1.1× as much) and $0.70 for Hermes 3 70B Instruct (2.7× 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, Hermes 3 70B Instruct has not been scored yet and Saba has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Command R, Hermes 3 70B Instruct and Saba yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that Hermes 3 70B Instruct does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.
Which has the bigger context window?
Hermes 3 70B Instruct has the largest context window at 131,072 tokens, against 128,000 for Command R and 32,768 for Saba. Maximum output per response: Command R up to 4,000, Hermes 3 70B Instruct up to 16,384, Saba up to 26,214 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Command R accepts text; Hermes 3 70B Instruct accepts text; Saba accepts text and PDFs. Saba handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Command R and Hermes 3 70B Instruct publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Saba is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Saba is the newest, released Feb 17, 2025. Command R came out Aug 30, 2024; Hermes 3 70B Instruct came out Aug 18, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Command R Jun 1, 2024, Hermes 3 70B Instruct Dec 31, 2023, Saba Sep 30, 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.
