MiniCPM5-1B vs Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite vs Command A Plus
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite comes out ahead, 84 to 52 and 31 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
OpenBMB
MiniCPM5-1B
31/100- ECI—
- Price—
- Context131K
- Our pick
GoogleGemini 3.1 Flash Lite
84/100- ECI—
- Price$0.25 / $1.50
- Context1.05M
CohereCommand A Plus
52/100- ECI—
- Price$2.50 / $10.00
- Context128K
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 LiteMiniCPM5-1B: Text · Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video · Command A Plus: Text, Images
- Self-hostingMiniCPM5-1B and Command A PlusPublishes downloadable weights (apache-2.0)
| Measure | Weight | MiniCPM5-1B | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite | Command A Plus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inputs & features | 60% | 35 | 100 | 70 |
| Context window | 40% | 24 | 61 | 24 |
| Overall | 100% | 31/100 | 84/100 | 52/100 |
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 | MiniCPM5-1BOpenBMB | Gemini 3.1 Flash LiteGoogle | Command A PlusCohere |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | — | $0.25 (best) | $2.50 |
| Output | — | $1.50 (best) | $10.00 |
| Cached input | — | $0.025 | — |
| Blended (3:1) | — | $0.563 (best) | $4.38 |
| Long-context rate | — | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | — | Official Google API | Official Cohere API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 131,072 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens (best) | 128,000 tokens |
| Max output | 131,072 tokens (best) | 65,536 tokens | 64,000 tokens |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes | Yes |
| 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 | No | Yes | Yes |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Openapache-2.0 | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | — | gemini-3.1-flash-lite | command-a-plus-05-2026 |
| API providers | — | 23 (best) | 1 |
| Released | May 19, 2026 | May 7, 2026 | May 20, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | Jan 2025 | Apr 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.
- MiniCPM5-1B—
- Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite$5.50
- Command A Plus$45.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: MiniCPM5-1B, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite or Command A Plus?
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, MiniCPM5-1B, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite or Command A Plus?
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. MiniCPM5-1B has not been scored yet, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite has not been scored yet and Command A Plus has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for MiniCPM5-1B, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite and Command A Plus 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: MiniCPM5-1B up to 131,072, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite up to 65,536, Command A Plus up to 64,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
MiniCPM5-1B accepts text; Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite accepts text, images, PDFs, audio and video; Command A Plus accepts text and images. Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
MiniCPM5-1B and Command A Plus 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: Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Jan 2025, Command A Plus Apr 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.
