# Command R+ vs Step 3.5 Flash

> Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 32.4 on the Noometry Index.

- Canonical page: https://noometry.com/compare/command-r-plus-vs-step-3-5-flash
- Last updated: 2026-10-11
- Shared benchmarks: 17

## Summary

- They share 17 benchmarks with published results for both. Command R+ scores higher in 0 categories and Step 3.5 Flash in 8 categories; 8 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in writing & preference, where Step 3.5 Flash leads 58.8 to 43.5.
- Step 3.5 Flash is cheaper at $0.10 / $0.30 per million input/output tokens, against $2.50 / $10 for Command R+.
- Step 3.5 Flash accepts more context: 256K tokens versus 128K.

## Snapshot

| | Command R+ | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Cohere | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 32.4 | 42.3 |
| Rank | 257 | 116 |
| Context | 128K | 256K |
| Input $/M | $2.50 | $0.10 |
| Output $/M | $10 | $0.30 |
| Weights | Open | Open |

## Coding

- Command R+: 29.1 (#309)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 42.4 (#105)

| Benchmark | Command R+ | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1187 | 1436 |
| BigCodeBench Instruct | 33.8% | — |
| LiveBench Coding | 19.1% | — |
| BigCodeBench Complete | 41.9% | — |
| HumanEval+ | 56.7% | — |
| MBPP+ | 63.5% | — |

## Reasoning

- Command R+: 9.2 (#344)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 22.2 (#202)

| Benchmark | Command R+ | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1186 | 1411 |
| SimpleBench | 17.4% | — |
| NYT Connections (extended) | — | 28.4% |
| LiveBench Reasoning | 24.8% | — |
| DTBench | 54.9% | — |
| LiveBench Data Analysis | 38.1% | — |
| LMCA | 5% | — |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | 119.34 | — |
| LiveBench | 31.8% | — |

## Math

- Command R+: 28.9 (#242)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 42.6 (#84)

| Benchmark | Command R+ | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1188 | 1408 |
| MathArena Final-Answer Competitions | — | 66.8% |
| LiveBench Math | 21.3% | — |

## Knowledge

- Command R+: 36.4 (#169)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 39.6 (#132)

| Benchmark | Command R+ | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1174 | 1421 |
| Vectara Hallucination Rate | 6.9% | — |
| MMLU | 69.4% | — |

## Multilingual

- Command R+: 38.6 (#227)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 50.5 (#119)

| Benchmark | Command R+ | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1216 | 1385 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1226 | 1447 |
| LMArena French | 1209 | 1421 |
| LMArena German | 1216 | 1405 |
| LMArena Japanese | 1166 | 1354 |
| LMArena Korean | 1138 | 1352 |
| LMArena Russian | 1227 | 1385 |
| LMArena Spanish | 1189 | 1419 |

## Instruction Following

- Command R+: 60.0 (#254)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 73.1 (#124)

| Benchmark | Command R+ | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1197 | 1385 |
| LiveBench Instruction Following | 57.6% | — |

## Long Context

- Command R+: 37.3 (#219)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 42.8 (#117)

| Benchmark | Command R+ | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1230 | 1402 |

## Writing & Preference

- Command R+: 43.5 (#228)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 58.8 (#113)

| Benchmark | Command R+ | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1229 | 1403 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1235 | 1357 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1213 | 1405 |
| LiveBench Language | 29.7% | — |

## FAQ

### Is Command R+ better than Step 3.5 Flash?

Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 32.4 on the Noometry Index.

### Which is cheaper, Command R+ or Step 3.5 Flash?

Step 3.5 Flash is cheaper. It lists at $0.10 per million input tokens and $0.30 per million output tokens; Command R+ lists at $2.50 and $10.

### Is Command R+ or Step 3.5 Flash better for coding?

Step 3.5 Flash scores higher on coding benchmarks: 42.4 versus 29.1 in the Noometry coding category.

### Which has the bigger context window?

Step 3.5 Flash does, with 256K tokens against 128K.

### How many benchmarks do Command R+ and Step 3.5 Flash share?

17 benchmarks have published results for both models. Command R+ has 34 scored results on Noometry and Step 3.5 Flash has 19.