LLM APIs · B tier

Cohere, B tier

73/100

Retrieval stacks that need embeddings and a reranker more than a celebrity chat model.

Enterprise API focused on retrieval, rerank, and command models. A specialist, not the default chat brain.

External model signals

Cohere is scored here as a product. Two public boards rank the models it serves. Token usage informs momentum. Blind votes inform capability. Their numbers stay on their sites.

OpenRouter rankings. OpenRouter ranks models by tokens processed through the OpenRouter API. OpenRouter states that a higher token total shows how much a model is used, not which model is best for a task. That usage informs momentum.
Arena (LMArena leaderboard). Arena, also called LMArena, ranks models by blind human votes. People compare anonymous answers, and only those anonymous votes count toward the public board. Arena fits the votes with a Bradley-Terry model. Those votes inform capability. Method: Arena FAQ.

Checked 14 Oct 2026. The OpenRouter rankings page showed usage through 13 Oct 2026. Rankings data is licensed CC BY 4.0. The figures move, so StackPick links the boards. Rankings data: CC BY 4.0. How these boards enter the score.

Best for

Retrieval stacks that need embeddings and a reranker more than a celebrity chat model.

What it is

Cohere sells an API aimed at enterprise retrieval: embed, rerank, and its Command generation models. It is a strong specialist for search stacks and a weaker default than OpenAI or Anthropic for a general product assistant.

embeddingsrerankenterpriseLLM APIs

Score breakdown

Capability 40%76
Ease 25%74
Value 20%72
Momentum 15%64

Weights: capability 40, ease 25, value 20, momentum 15. Momentum is the editor’s judgment. How the score works.

Pricing

Freemium

Starting price: check site

A trial key and usage-based production billing. Enterprise contracts are separate. Check the pricing page.

Dates

Released 2019 (year precision).

Added to StackPick 14 Oct 2026.

Alternatives

A tier · 81

Mistral

Teams who want a European API vendor or to self-host Mistral weights.

S tier · 90

OpenAI API

Products that want the broadest model, tool, and SDK support.

B tier · 75

Amazon Bedrock

Companies that already buy through AWS and need private networking.

Questions

What is Cohere best for?

Retrieval stacks that need embeddings and a reranker more than a celebrity chat model.

How much does Cohere cost?

Freemium. Starting price: check site. A trial key and usage-based production billing. Enterprise contracts are separate. Check the pricing page.

What are alternatives to Cohere?

Mistral, OpenAI API, Amazon Bedrock are the alternatives we file next to it. Open a comparison when one exists.

How do model leaderboards relate to Cohere?

Cohere is scored here as a product. OpenRouter rankings (https://openrouter.ai/rankings) inform momentum from token usage. Arena (https://arena.ai) informs capability from blind votes on the models it serves. Figures stay on those sites.