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Baseten vs Cohere
Baseten offers the lowest measured time to first token on 13 open models plus custom deployments. Cohere offers its own retrieval-focused models with private and on-prem installs.
By The Subconscious Team · Updated
Baseten vs Cohere: key differences
Baseten is serving infrastructure, Cohere is a model maker. Baseten's Model APIs cover 13 open models such as GLM 5.2, DeepSeek V4, Kimi K3 and gpt-oss 120B, with endpoints that speak both OpenAI and Anthropic formats, and it posted the lowest time to first token on the Artificial Analysis board in August 2026 at 0.49 seconds. Dedicated deployments take any model packaged with Truss at about $6.50 an hour for an H100. Cohere's Command A lists at $2.50 in and $10 out with 256K context, and Command A+ is open under Apache 2.0 with 128K.
Both reach regulated buyers, from different angles. Baseten offers self-host, HIPAA and data residency options plus a 99.99% uptime SLA. Cohere supports private VPC and full on-prem deployment with in-environment fine-tuning, Model Vault instances from $4 an hour, and availability on Bedrock, Azure AI Foundry and OCI. Cohere's Embed 4 and Rerank 4 give it a retrieval stack, and Command A+ weights could in principle run on Baseten via Truss. Baseten fits teams serving their own fine-tunes or chasing latency; Cohere fits teams buying a finished enterprise RAG stack.
What Baseten and Cohere do
Baseten
Baseten runs two products. Model APIs serve a curated set of 13 open models, including DeepSeek V4, GLM 5.2, Kimi K3 and gpt-oss 120B, over endpoints that speak both the OpenAI Chat Completions shape and the Anthropic Messages shape. That dual compatibility means an existing OpenAI or Claude SDK, or a coding agent, points at Baseten with a base URL change. Dedicated deployments take any model you package with the open-source Truss CLI and bill per GPU minute, with an H100 at about $6.50 an hour.
Example models: GLM 5.2, gpt-oss 120B
Full Baseten profileCohere
Cohere is a Toronto-based lab that sells models and platforms to banks, governments and large enterprises rather than consumers. Its generative line is the Command family. Command A+, released May 20, 2026, is a 218B-parameter mixture-of-experts model with 25B active, published under Apache 2.0 with a 128K context window, and it combines reasoning, vision, translation and tool use in one set of weights. Command A has a 256K window and lists at $2.50 in and $10 out per million tokens, while Command R7B costs $0.0375 in. June 2026 added North Mini Code, a 30B Apache 2.0 coding model, and the lineup also includes Aya multilingual models and Transcribe for speech.
Example models: Command A+, Command A, Embed 4, Rerank 4
Full Cohere profileShould you choose Baseten or Cohere?
Baseten
Choose Baseten for
- Lowest time to first token on open models
- Serving private fine-tunes or non-LLM models
- Coding agents on OpenAI or Anthropic-compatible endpoints
Cohere
Choose Cohere for
- Off-the-shelf enterprise RAG components
- On-prem deployment with in-network fine-tuning
- Command models across Bedrock, Azure and OCI
Baseten vs Cohere at a glance
| Attribute | Baseten | Cohere |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Open weights, 13 curated | Closed, plus open Command A+ |
| Flagship models | GLM 5.2, DeepSeek V4, Kimi K3, gpt-oss 120B | Command A+, Command A, Embed 4, Rerank 4 |
| Speed | 0.49s TTFT, lowest measured | 375 tok/s on Command A+ W4A4, per Cohere |
| Price | H100 about $6.50/hr dedicated | $0.0375–$2.50 in, $0.15–$10 out per 1M |
| Customization | Deploy any model with Truss | Enterprise fine-tuning, incl. private |
| Deployment | Model APIs, dedicated, self-host | API, Bedrock, Azure, OCI, VPC, on-prem |
| Long context | Varies by model | 256K on Command A; 128K on A+ |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Baseten and Cohere?
Baseten offers the lowest measured time to first token on 13 open models plus custom deployments. Cohere offers its own retrieval-focused models with private and on-prem installs.
When should I choose Baseten over Cohere?
Lowest time to first token on open models; Serving private fine-tunes or non-LLM models; Coding agents on OpenAI or Anthropic-compatible endpoints.
When should I choose Cohere over Baseten?
Off-the-shelf enterprise RAG components; On-prem deployment with in-network fine-tuning; Command models across Bedrock, Azure and OCI.
Is Baseten or Cohere cheaper?
Baseten: H100 about $6.50/hr dedicated. Cohere: $0.0375–$2.50 in, $0.15–$10 out per 1M. The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.
Which has more context, Baseten or Cohere?
Baseten: Varies by model. Cohere: 256K on Command A; 128K on A+.
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