# Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs StepFun API

> Cohere Chat scores 64.7 (B) to StepFun's 44.4 (E) for llm inference. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-stepfun-api
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-stepfun-api.md (~2,850 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-stepfun-api.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-stepfun-api.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-12

Cohere Chat API (Command models) scores 64.7 (B) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.4 (E), and leads in every scored category. Both do llm inference.

- Cohere Chat API (Command models): grade B, 64.7/100, rank #346 of 965. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cohere-chat.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cohere-chat.json
- StepFun API: grade E, 44.4/100, rank #889 of 965. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/stepfun-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/stepfun-api.json
- Best model APIs and inference for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/inference/index.md
- All 153 models comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inference/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Cohere Chat API (Command models) (B)

Good for: Teams that want Command models for RAG with citations, tool use and multilingual work, and that may later move to a private deployment or Model Vault.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 64 against 28
- Schema & documentation, 84 against 53
- Security & auth, 57 against 41
- Payments & pricing, 30 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 72 against 50
- Transparency & trust, 74 against 58

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: Production keys work like trial keys on Command A+, Reasoning, Translate and Vision. The docs send production use of those models to sales or to Model Vault

### StepFun API (E)

Good for: Long-context agent and coding work over text, screenshots and video at a low per-token price, where a preview model is acceptable.

Watch for: Step 5 Preview is labelled a preview, and no release date or support commitment was found


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Cohere Chat API (Command models) | StepFun API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 64 | 28 | Cohere Chat API (Command models) +36 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 84 | 53 | Cohere Chat API (Command models) +31 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 72 | 68 | Cohere Chat API (Command models) +4 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 57 | 41 | Cohere Chat API (Command models) +16 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 20 | Cohere Chat API (Command models) +10 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 72 | 50 | Cohere Chat API (Command models) +22 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 74 | 58 | Cohere Chat API (Command models) +16 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **64.7 · B** | **44.4 · E** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Cohere Chat API (Command models) | StepFun API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Model API | Model API |
| Vendor | Cohere | StepFun |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.cohere.com/v2/chat` | `https://api.stepfun.ai/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under Cohere's Commercial SaaS Agreement. The SDKs are MIT | Closed service under the StepFun Open Platform Terms of Service (STEPFUN TECHNOLOGY (HK) LIMITED, Hong Kong law). |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-09-09 | none |
| Terms last updated | 2025-04-08 |  |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-05-01 |  |
| Customer content may train models | yes |  |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text |  |

## Verdicts

**Cohere Chat API (Command models).** A public OpenAPI file, Markdown twins of every docs page and SDKs in four languages make the Chat API easy for an agent to read. Production keys do not cover the four newest Command models, whose limits are set by sales, and the SaaS agreement lets Cohere share API data with third parties.

**StepFun API.** StepFun's API serves Step 5 Preview with a 1M-token context, video input, strict JSON Schema output and published per-token prices, documented in Markdown with an llms.txt. The model is a preview with no release date found, there's no free allowance or SLA, and the terms and privacy policy leave room to train on customer data.

## Before you call either

### Cohere Chat API (Command models)

1. Call `POST https://api.cohere.com/v2/chat` with `Authorization: bearer <key>`. `model` and `messages` are the only required fields
2. Use `command-a-03-2025`, `command-r-08-2024`, `command-r-plus-08-2024` or `command-r7b-12-2024` for production traffic. Newer variants stay at trial limits on a production key
3. Keep a trial key under 20 chat requests a minute and 1,000 calls a month, and do not use it for commercial work
4. Set `response_format` with a `json_schema` for structured output, and tell the model to produce JSON when using `json_object` without a schema
5. Ask the account Owner to turn off training under Data Controls in the dashboard before sending confidential prompts

### StepFun API

1. Set `max_tokens` yourself. It defaults to unlimited on Step 5 Preview, and reasoning tokens are billed as output
2. Use `response_format` with `type: json_schema` and `strict: true` when the shape matters. JSON Mode alone isn't schema-checked
3. Back off and retry on 429, 500, 503 and 504. The docs give no Retry-After header or backoff schedule
4. Expect HTTP 451 or `finish_reason: content_filter` when content fails StepFun's review, and don't retry the same input
5. Use api.stepfun.ai for the international platform. api.stepfun.com is the China platform with yuan pricing

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Cohere Chat API (Command models) or StepFun API?

Cohere Chat API (Command models) scores 64.7 (B) on agent readiness against StepFun API's 44.4 (E), and leads in every scored category.

### Do Cohere Chat API (Command models) and StepFun API need an API key?

Both need an API key.

### Can an agent call Cohere Chat API (Command models) and StepFun API without installing anything?

Yes. Cohere Chat API (Command models) has a hosted endpoint at https://api.cohere.com/v2/chat and StepFun API at https://api.stepfun.ai/v1.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-stepfun-api.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-stepfun-api.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "cohere-chat", "b": "stepfun-api"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare cohere-chat stepfun-api`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cohere-chat.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/stepfun-api.json

## Other comparisons with Cohere Chat API (Command models) or StepFun API

- [Claude API vs Cohere Chat API (Command models)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-cohere-chat.md)
- [Claude API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)
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- [Cloudflare AI Gateway vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [Cloudflare Workers AI vs Cohere Chat API (Command models)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudflare-workers-ai-vs-cohere-chat.md)
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- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs Novita AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-novita-ai.md)
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- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs OpenRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-openrouter.md)
- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs Prism Inference](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-prism-inference.md)
- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs SambaCloud](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-sambanova.md)
- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs SiliconFlow](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-siliconflow.md)
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- [DeepSeek API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [Gemini Developer API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [GroqCloud vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-vs-stepfun-api.md)
- [Mistral AI API vs StepFun API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-api-vs-stepfun-api.md)
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