Both are Cohere models. North Mini Code is the newer, generally stronger default; reach for Command A when a specific cost or latency profile matters more than the latest capabilities.
Command A and North Mini Code are both Cohere models, so the real question is not which lab to trust but which tier fits your workload and budget. Command A is cohere's enterprise-focused model built for retrieval-augmented and grounded workloads. North Mini Code is cohere's first agentic coding model: an open-weight 30B/3B-active MoE built for real software-engineering and terminal tasks that runs on a single H100. Since both come from the same lab, the comparison below focuses on the tier-and-cost trade-offs that actually separate them.
Key differences
Cost model: North Mini Code ships open weights you can self-host (hardware cost only, no per-token fee), while Command A is API-metered at $2.5/$10 per 1M tokens. Your choice depends on whether you want zero marginal cost at the price of running infrastructure.
Context window: both advertise 256K (~384 pages). Tie on paper — test on your own long inputs, since usable recall varies by model.
Recency: North Mini Code is the newer model by about 16 months (released June 9, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Specifications
Spec
Command A
North Mini Code
Provider
Cohere (Global)
Cohere (Global)
Released
March 2025
June 9, 2026
Context window
256K (~384 pages)
256K (~384 pages)
Price (in/out)
$2.5/$10 per 1M tokens
Open weight (self-host / free)
Open weight?
No — API only
Yes — self-hostable
Modalities
text, code
text, code
SWE-Bench Verified
Not published
67.6%
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
Enterprise RAG and retrieval: Command A — A core design strength of Command A.
Strong long-context retrieval accuracy: Command A — A core design strength of Command A.
Multilingual: Command A — A core design strength of Command A.
Agentic software engineering, code generation, and terminal tasks: North Mini Code — A core design strength of North Mini Code.
Efficient sparse MoE — 3B active of 30B, runs on a single H100: North Mini Code — A core design strength of North Mini Code.
High throughput (up to 2.8x Devstral Small 2) at low latency: North Mini Code — A core design strength of North Mini Code.
Lowest cost at scale: North Mini Code — At Open weight (self-host / free), it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume: North Mini Code — At Open weight (self-host / free) it undercuts Command A, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
A team with data-privacy or self-hosting needs: North Mini Code — Open weights let you run it on your own hardware; Command A is API-only.
Anyone whose priority is enterprise rag and retrieval: Command A — It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is agentic software engineering, code generation, and terminal tasks: North Mini Code — That is its strongest area.
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 are real: less consumer presence, and narrower modality support. At $2.5 in / $10 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
North Mini Code: where it fits
Cohere's first agentic coding model: an open-weight 30B/3B-active MoE built for real software-engineering and terminal tasks that runs on a single H100. Released June 9, 2026 by Cohere, it is built for agentic software engineering, code generation, and terminal tasks, efficient sparse MoE — 3B active of 30B, runs on a single H100, high throughput (up to 2.8x Devstral Small 2) at low latency, and fully open weights under Apache 2.0 with fp8 and 4-bit builds.
Its trade-offs: text-only and coding-specialized — not multimodal or general-purpose, and 256K context and modest general-intelligence index trail frontier models. As an open-weight model, its running cost is your own hardware rather than a per-token fee.
The bottom line for this matchup
Because Command A and North Mini Code come from the same lab (Cohere), they share the same training philosophy and ecosystem — the decision is purely tier vs. cost. North Mini Code is the more capable, more recent option; the other earns its place only when its price or latency profile fits a specific job better. Most teams should default to North Mini Code and drop down only with a concrete reason.
Frequently asked questions
Is Command A or North Mini Code better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for Command A, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, Command A leans toward enterprise rag and retrieval while North Mini Code leans toward agentic software engineering, code generation, and terminal tasks, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Command A or North Mini Code?
North Mini Code is open-weight, so self-hosting means no per-token fee (you pay for hardware instead), while Command A is API-metered at $2.5/$10 per 1M tokens. For most teams without GPUs, the API model is cheaper to start; at very high volume, self-hosting can win.
Which has the bigger context window?
Both advertise 256K (~384 pages). Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.
Should I upgrade from Command A to North Mini Code?
Since both are Cohere models, the newer one (North Mini Code) is usually the better default unless you need a specific cost or latency profile from the other.
Which is newer, Command A or North Mini Code?
North Mini Code — released June 9, 2026, about 16 months after Command A.
Command A vs North Mini Code
Cohere · Global | Cohere · Global · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Both are Cohere models. North Mini Code is the newer, generally stronger default; reach for Command A when a specific cost or latency profile matters more than the latest capabilities.
Command A and North Mini Code are both Cohere models, so the real question is not which lab to trust but which tier fits your workload and budget. Command A is cohere's enterprise-focused model built for retrieval-augmented and grounded workloads. North Mini Code is cohere's first agentic coding model: an open-weight 30B/3B-active MoE built for real software-engineering and terminal tasks that runs on a single H100. Since both come from the same lab, the comparison below focuses on the tier-and-cost trade-offs that actually separate them.
Key differences at a glance
▸Cost model: North Mini Code ships open weights you can self-host (hardware cost only, no per-token fee), while Command A is API-metered at $2.5/$10 per 1M tokens. Your choice depends on whether you want zero marginal cost at the price of running infrastructure.
▸Context window: both advertise 256K (~384 pages). Tie on paper — test on your own long inputs, since usable recall varies by model.
▸Recency: North Mini Code is the newer model by about 16 months (released June 9, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
Spec
Command A
North Mini Code
Provider
Cohere (Global)
Cohere (Global)
Released
March 2025
June 9, 2026
Context window
256K (~384 pages)
256K (~384 pages)
Price (in/out)
$2.5/$10 per 1M tokens
Open weight (self-host / free)
Open weight?
No — API only
Yes — self-hostable
Modalities
text, code
text, code
SWE-Bench Verified
Not published
67.6%
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
Enterprise RAG and retrieval
Command A
A core design strength of Command A.
Strong long-context retrieval accuracy
Command A
A core design strength of Command A.
Multilingual
Command A
A core design strength of Command A.
Agentic software engineering, code generation, and terminal tasks
North Mini Code
A core design strength of North Mini Code.
Efficient sparse MoE — 3B active of 30B, runs on a single H100
North Mini Code
A core design strength of North Mini Code.
High throughput (up to 2.8x Devstral Small 2) at low latency
North Mini Code
A core design strength of North Mini Code.
Lowest cost at scale
North Mini Code
At Open weight (self-host / free), it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ North Mini Code
At Open weight (self-host / free) it undercuts Command A, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
A team with data-privacy or self-hosting needs
→ North Mini Code
Open weights let you run it on your own hardware; Command A is API-only.
Anyone whose priority is enterprise rag and retrieval
→ Command A
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is agentic software engineering, code generation, and terminal tasks
→ North Mini Code
That is its strongest area.
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 are real: less consumer presence, and narrower modality support. At $2.5 in / $10 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
North Mini Code: where it fits
Cohere's first agentic coding model: an open-weight 30B/3B-active MoE built for real software-engineering and terminal tasks that runs on a single H100. Released June 9, 2026 by Cohere, it is built for agentic software engineering, code generation, and terminal tasks, efficient sparse MoE — 3B active of 30B, runs on a single H100, high throughput (up to 2.8x Devstral Small 2) at low latency, and fully open weights under Apache 2.0 with fp8 and 4-bit builds.
Its trade-offs: text-only and coding-specialized — not multimodal or general-purpose, and 256K context and modest general-intelligence index trail frontier models. As an open-weight model, its running cost is your own hardware rather than a per-token fee.
The bottom line for this matchup
Because Command A and North Mini Code come from the same lab (Cohere), they share the same training philosophy and ecosystem — the decision is purely tier vs. cost. North Mini Code is the more capable, more recent option; the other earns its place only when its price or latency profile fits a specific job better. Most teams should default to North Mini Code and drop down only with a concrete reason.
Want both Command A and North Mini Code 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.
Is Command A or North Mini Code better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for Command A, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, Command A leans toward enterprise rag and retrieval while North Mini Code leans toward agentic software engineering, code generation, and terminal tasks, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Command A or North Mini Code?
North Mini Code is open-weight, so self-hosting means no per-token fee (you pay for hardware instead), while Command A is API-metered at $2.5/$10 per 1M tokens. For most teams without GPUs, the API model is cheaper to start; at very high volume, self-hosting can win.
Which has the bigger context window?
Both advertise 256K (~384 pages). Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.
Should I upgrade from Command A to North Mini Code?
Since both are Cohere models, the newer one (North Mini Code) is usually the better default unless you need a specific cost or latency profile from the other.
Which is newer, Command A or North Mini Code?
North Mini Code — released June 9, 2026, about 16 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.