Command A vs Qwen3 235B A22B (2507)
Cohere · Global | Alibaba · China · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick Command A for enterprise rag and retrieval or strong long-context retrieval accuracy. Pick Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) for deep world knowledge from 235b total parameters (83.0 mmlu-pro, 93.1 mmlu-redux) or exceptional multilingual and alignment results (79.2 arena-hard v2, 85.2 writingbench). On a tight budget at scale, Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) is the value pick.
Command A (Cohere) and Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) (Alibaba) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. Command A is cohere's enterprise-focused model built for retrieval-augmented and grounded workloads. Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) is an older 235B text-only open mixture-of-experts with broad knowledge and strong writing — but no vision, no thinking mode, and weak coding. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
- ▸Context window: 256K vs 256K — within a few percent of each other, so treat this as a tie and test on your own long inputs, since usable recall varies by model.
- ▸Recency: Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) is the newer model by about 5 months (released July 21, 2025), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | Command A | Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Cohere (Global) | Alibaba (China) |
| Released | March 2025 | July 21, 2025 |
| Context window | 256K (~384 pages) | 256K (~393 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $2.5/$10 per 1M tokens | Open weight (self-host / free) |
| Open weight? | Yes — self-hostable | Yes — self-hostable |
| Modalities | text, code | text, code |
| SWE-Bench Verified | Not published | Not published |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | Not published | Not published |
Who wins what
Enterprise RAG and retrieval
Command A
Command A lists enterprise RAG and retrieval among its strengths; Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) does not.
Strong long-context retrieval accuracy
Command A
Command A lists strong long-context retrieval accuracy among its strengths; Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) does not.
Multilingual
Command A
Command A lists multilingual among its strengths; Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) does not.
Deep world knowledge from 235B total parameters (83.0 MMLU-Pro, 93.1 MMLU-Redux)
Qwen3 235B A22B (2507)
An older 235B text-only open mixture-of-experts with broad knowledge and strong writing — but no vision, no thinking mode, and weak coding — and it is the newer of the two.
Exceptional multilingual and alignment results (79.2 Arena-Hard v2, 85.2 WritingBench)
Qwen3 235B A22B (2507)
Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) lists exceptional multilingual and alignment results (79.2 Arena-Hard v2, 85.2 WritingBench) among its strengths; Command A does not.
Outstanding structured logic — 95.0 on ZebraLogic
Qwen3 235B A22B (2507)
Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) lists outstanding structured logic — 95.0 on ZebraLogic among its strengths; Command A does not.
Lowest cost at scale
Qwen3 235B A22B (2507)
Its weights are open, so at volume you pay for your own hardware instead of Command A's $2.5/$10 per 1M tokens.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ Qwen3 235B A22B (2507)
At Open weight (self-host / free) it undercuts Command A, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ Qwen3 235B A22B (2507)
Larger 256K window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is enterprise rag and retrieval
→ Command A
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is deep world knowledge from 235b total parameters (83.0 mmlu-pro, 93.1 mmlu-redux)
→ Qwen3 235B A22B (2507)
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.
Qwen3 235B A22B (2507): where it fits
An older 235B text-only open mixture-of-experts with broad knowledge and strong writing — but no vision, no thinking mode, and weak coding. Released July 21, 2025 by Alibaba, it is built for deep world knowledge from 235B total parameters (83.0 MMLU-Pro, 93.1 MMLU-Redux), exceptional multilingual and alignment results (79.2 Arena-Hard v2, 85.2 WritingBench), outstanding structured logic — 95.0 on ZebraLogic, and no thinking mode, which makes latency and token spend entirely predictable.
Its trade-offs: nearly a year old and superseded — Artificial Analysis now steers users to Qwen3.5-397B instead, text-only with no vision, and the absence of a thinking mode caps its hardest reasoning, coding is weak by 2026 standards, and it publishes no SWE-Bench score to compare on, and its 235B weights need roughly 438GB in BF16, far beyond consumer hardware. As an open-weight model, its running cost is your own hardware rather than a per-token fee.
The bottom line for this matchup
Command A and Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) costs less per token; Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — Command A for enterprise rag and retrieval, Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) for deep world knowledge from 235b total parameters (83.0 mmlu-pro, 93.1 mmlu-redux). Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Want both Command A and Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) 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.
See pricingFrequently asked questions
Is Command A or Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) 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, Command A leans toward enterprise rag and retrieval while Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) leans toward deep world knowledge from 235b total parameters (83.0 mmlu-pro, 93.1 mmlu-redux), and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Command A or Qwen3 235B A22B (2507)?
Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) is cheaper — $2.5/$10 per 1M tokens vs Open weight (self-host / free).
Which has the bigger context window?
Effectively neither — 256K vs 256K is a difference of a few percent. Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.
Can I use both Command A and Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Command A, Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) 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, Command A or Qwen3 235B A22B (2507)?
Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) — released July 21, 2025, about 5 months after Command A.
Related comparisons
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.