Pick Claude Opus 5 for frontier reasoning at lower cost per task — anthropic reports it more than doubling opus 4.8 on frontier-bench v0.1 or agentic coding — within 0.5% of fable 5's peak cursorbench 3.2 score at half the cost per task (anthropic's figures). Pick Command A for enterprise rag and retrieval or strong long-context retrieval accuracy. On a tight budget at scale, Command A is the value pick.
Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) and Command A (Cohere) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. Claude Opus 5 is anthropic's July 2026 flagship at $5/$25 with a 1M window and an effort dial — near-frontier quality pitched on cost per task, not raw peak. Command A is cohere's enterprise-focused model built for retrieval-augmented and grounded workloads. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences
Price: Command A is about 2× cheaper on input ($2.5/$10 per 1M tokens vs $5/$25 per 1M tokens) — meaningful once you are processing millions of tokens a month.
Context window: Claude Opus 5 holds 3.9× more — 1M (~1,500 pages) vs 256K (~384 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
Recency: Claude Opus 5 is the newer model by about 17 months (released July 24, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Specifications
Spec
Claude Opus 5
Command A
Provider
Anthropic (US)
Cohere (Global)
Released
July 24, 2026
March 2025
Context window
1M (~1,500 pages)
256K (~384 pages)
Price (in/out)
$5/$25 per 1M tokens
$2.5/$10 per 1M tokens
Open weight?
No — API only
No — API only
Modalities
text, image, code
text, code
SWE-Bench Verified
Not published
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
Frontier reasoning at lower cost per task — Anthropic reports it more than doubling Opus 4.8 on Frontier-Bench v0.1: Claude Opus 5 — Anthropic's July 2026 flagship at $5/$25 with a 1M window and an effort dial — near-frontier quality pitched on cost per task, not raw peak — and it carries the larger 1M context.
Agentic coding — within 0.5% of Fable 5's peak CursorBench 3.2 score at half the cost per task (Anthropic's figures): Claude Opus 5 — Anthropic's July 2026 flagship at $5/$25 with a 1M window and an effort dial — near-frontier quality pitched on cost per task, not raw peak — and it is the newer of the two.
Computer use — surpasses Fable 5's best OSWorld 2.0 result at just over a third of the cost: Claude Opus 5 — Claude Opus 5 lists computer use — surpasses Fable 5's best OSWorld 2.0 result at just over a third of the cost among its strengths; Command A does not.
Enterprise RAG and retrieval: Command A — Cohere's enterprise-focused model built for retrieval-augmented and grounded workloads — and it runs cheaper at $2.5/$10 per 1M tokens.
Strong long-context retrieval accuracy: Command A — Command A lists strong long-context retrieval accuracy among its strengths; Claude Opus 5 does not.
Multilingual: Command A — Command A lists multilingual among its strengths; Claude Opus 5 does not.
Lowest cost at scale: Command A — At $2.5/$10 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Largest single-prompt input: Claude Opus 5 — Its 1M window is about 3.9× larger than Command A's 256K, fitting roughly 1,500 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume: Command A — At $2.5/$10 per 1M tokens it undercuts Claude Opus 5, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases: Claude Opus 5 — Larger 1M window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is frontier reasoning at lower cost per task — anthropic reports it more than doubling opus 4.8 on frontier-bench v0.1: Claude Opus 5 — It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is enterprise rag and retrieval: Command A — That is its strongest area.
Claude Opus 5: where it fits
Anthropic's July 2026 flagship at $5/$25 with a 1M window and an effort dial — near-frontier quality pitched on cost per task, not raw peak. Released July 24, 2026 by Anthropic, it is built for frontier reasoning at lower cost per task — Anthropic reports it more than doubling Opus 4.8 on Frontier-Bench v0.1, agentic coding — within 0.5% of Fable 5's peak CursorBench 3.2 score at half the cost per task (Anthropic's figures), computer use — surpasses Fable 5's best OSWorld 2.0 result at just over a third of the cost, and a native effort setting (low, medium, high, xhigh, max) that trades token cost against capability on a single model.
Its trade-offs are real: behind Mythos 5 on cybersecurity exploitation and biology research, by Anthropic's own account, all launch benchmarks are Anthropic-reported and not yet independently reproduced, no published SWE-Bench Verified score, so head-to-head coding comparisons rely on Anthropic's own benchmark suite, and fast mode's throughput costs double the base price ($10/$50 per 1M). At $5 in / $25 out per million tokens, it sits in the premium price band.
Command A: where it fits
Cohere's enterprise-focused model built for retrieval-augmented and grounded workloads. Released March 2025 by Cohere, it is built for enterprise RAG and retrieval, strong long-context retrieval accuracy, multilingual, and tool use.
Its trade-offs: less consumer presence, and narrower modality support. At $2.5 in / $10 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
Claude Opus 5 and Command A overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. Command A costs less per token; Claude Opus 5 holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — Claude Opus 5 for frontier reasoning at lower cost per task — anthropic reports it more than doubling opus 4.8 on frontier-bench v0.1, Command A for enterprise rag and retrieval. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Frequently asked questions
Is Claude Opus 5 or Command A better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for either model, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, Claude Opus 5 leans toward frontier reasoning at lower cost per task — anthropic reports it more than doubling opus 4.8 on frontier-bench v0.1 while Command A leans toward enterprise rag and retrieval, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Claude Opus 5 or Command A?
Command A is cheaper — $5/$25 per 1M tokens vs $2.5/$10 per 1M tokens, roughly 2× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
Claude Opus 5 — 1M vs 256K, about 3.9× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both Claude Opus 5 and Command A together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Claude Opus 5, Command A and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, Claude Opus 5 or Command A?
Claude Opus 5 — released July 24, 2026, about 17 months after Command A.
Claude Opus 5 vs Command A
Anthropic · US | Cohere · Global · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick Claude Opus 5 for frontier reasoning at lower cost per task — anthropic reports it more than doubling opus 4.8 on frontier-bench v0.1 or agentic coding — within 0.5% of fable 5's peak cursorbench 3.2 score at half the cost per task (anthropic's figures). Pick Command A for enterprise rag and retrieval or strong long-context retrieval accuracy. On a tight budget at scale, Command A is the value pick.
Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) and Command A (Cohere) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. Claude Opus 5 is anthropic's July 2026 flagship at $5/$25 with a 1M window and an effort dial — near-frontier quality pitched on cost per task, not raw peak. Command A is cohere's enterprise-focused model built for retrieval-augmented and grounded workloads. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
▸Price: Command A is about 2× cheaper on input ($2.5/$10 per 1M tokens vs $5/$25 per 1M tokens) — meaningful once you are processing millions of tokens a month.
▸Context window: Claude Opus 5 holds 3.9× more — 1M (~1,500 pages) vs 256K (~384 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
▸Recency: Claude Opus 5 is the newer model by about 17 months (released July 24, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
Spec
Claude Opus 5
Command A
Provider
Anthropic (US)
Cohere (Global)
Released
July 24, 2026
March 2025
Context window
1M (~1,500 pages)
256K (~384 pages)
Price (in/out)
$5/$25 per 1M tokens
$2.5/$10 per 1M tokens
Open weight?
No — API only
No — API only
Modalities
text, image, code
text, code
SWE-Bench Verified
Not published
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
Frontier reasoning at lower cost per task — Anthropic reports it more than doubling Opus 4.8 on Frontier-Bench v0.1
Claude Opus 5
Anthropic's July 2026 flagship at $5/$25 with a 1M window and an effort dial — near-frontier quality pitched on cost per task, not raw peak — and it carries the larger 1M context.
Agentic coding — within 0.5% of Fable 5's peak CursorBench 3.2 score at half the cost per task (Anthropic's figures)
Claude Opus 5
Anthropic's July 2026 flagship at $5/$25 with a 1M window and an effort dial — near-frontier quality pitched on cost per task, not raw peak — and it is the newer of the two.
Computer use — surpasses Fable 5's best OSWorld 2.0 result at just over a third of the cost
Claude Opus 5
Claude Opus 5 lists computer use — surpasses Fable 5's best OSWorld 2.0 result at just over a third of the cost among its strengths; Command A does not.
Enterprise RAG and retrieval
Command A
Cohere's enterprise-focused model built for retrieval-augmented and grounded workloads — and it runs cheaper at $2.5/$10 per 1M tokens.
Strong long-context retrieval accuracy
Command A
Command A lists strong long-context retrieval accuracy among its strengths; Claude Opus 5 does not.
Multilingual
Command A
Command A lists multilingual among its strengths; Claude Opus 5 does not.
Lowest cost at scale
Command A
At $2.5/$10 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Largest single-prompt input
Claude Opus 5
Its 1M window is about 3.9× larger than Command A's 256K, fitting roughly 1,500 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ Command A
At $2.5/$10 per 1M tokens it undercuts Claude Opus 5, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ Claude Opus 5
Larger 1M window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is frontier reasoning at lower cost per task — anthropic reports it more than doubling opus 4.8 on frontier-bench v0.1
→ Claude Opus 5
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is enterprise rag and retrieval
→ Command A
That is its strongest area.
Claude Opus 5: where it fits
Anthropic's July 2026 flagship at $5/$25 with a 1M window and an effort dial — near-frontier quality pitched on cost per task, not raw peak. Released July 24, 2026 by Anthropic, it is built for frontier reasoning at lower cost per task — Anthropic reports it more than doubling Opus 4.8 on Frontier-Bench v0.1, agentic coding — within 0.5% of Fable 5's peak CursorBench 3.2 score at half the cost per task (Anthropic's figures), computer use — surpasses Fable 5's best OSWorld 2.0 result at just over a third of the cost, and a native effort setting (low, medium, high, xhigh, max) that trades token cost against capability on a single model.
Its trade-offs are real: behind Mythos 5 on cybersecurity exploitation and biology research, by Anthropic's own account, all launch benchmarks are Anthropic-reported and not yet independently reproduced, no published SWE-Bench Verified score, so head-to-head coding comparisons rely on Anthropic's own benchmark suite, and fast mode's throughput costs double the base price ($10/$50 per 1M). At $5 in / $25 out per million tokens, it sits in the premium price band.
Command A: where it fits
Cohere's enterprise-focused model built for retrieval-augmented and grounded workloads. Released March 2025 by Cohere, it is built for enterprise RAG and retrieval, strong long-context retrieval accuracy, multilingual, and tool use.
Its trade-offs: less consumer presence, and narrower modality support. At $2.5 in / $10 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
Claude Opus 5 and Command A overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. Command A costs less per token; Claude Opus 5 holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — Claude Opus 5 for frontier reasoning at lower cost per task — anthropic reports it more than doubling opus 4.8 on frontier-bench v0.1, Command A for enterprise rag and retrieval. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Want both Claude Opus 5 and Command A without two subscriptions? LumiChats gives you these plus 40+ models under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day) — draft with one, cross-check with the other.
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for either model, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, Claude Opus 5 leans toward frontier reasoning at lower cost per task — anthropic reports it more than doubling opus 4.8 on frontier-bench v0.1 while Command A leans toward enterprise rag and retrieval, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Claude Opus 5 or Command A?
Command A is cheaper — $5/$25 per 1M tokens vs $2.5/$10 per 1M tokens, roughly 2× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
Claude Opus 5 — 1M vs 256K, about 3.9× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both Claude Opus 5 and Command A together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Claude Opus 5, Command A and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, Claude Opus 5 or Command A?
Claude Opus 5 — released July 24, 2026, about 17 months after Command A.
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.