AI Roundtable Poll · 15 models
Which one should I use?
Result: Supermajority — Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B (14/15 votes)
Options
- CoPaw with CoPaw Flash 9B (1 votes)
- Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B (14 votes)
Model Responses
Llama 4 Scout
Vote: CoPaw with CoPaw Flash 9B
I would recommend option A, CoPaw with CoPaw Flash 9B. This option seems to offer a cohesive and specifically designed combination, as indicated by the matching names (CoPaw and CoPaw Flash). This could imply a more integrated and optimized performance. On the other hand, option B, Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B, seems like a more generic combination, which might not offer the same level of integration and optimization.
GPT-5.4
Vote: Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B
B is the safer default choice for most users. Hermes Agent paired with Qwen3.5 9B is more likely to offer stronger general instruction-following, tool/agent behavior, and broader ecosystem familiarity. If you want something versatile without giving extra context, that combination is easier to recommend. A could still be good if you specifically know CoPaw/CoPaw Flash 9B is optimized for your workflow, latency target, or integration stack. But from the names alone, B sounds like the more mature and generally dependable option. So unless you have a CoPaw-specific requirement, I would use B.
GPT-5.2
Vote: Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B
Pick B (Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B) if you want the safer default for a general-purpose agent: Qwen-family 9B models tend to be strong across everyday instruction-following, coding, and tool-use style tasks, and Hermes Agent setups are commonly optimized for agentic workflows. Option A (CoPaw with CoPaw Flash 9B) may be faster or tuned for a specific interaction style, but unless you know you need CoPaw’s particular behavior or latency profile, it’s the riskier choice as a default. So, for broad usability and predictable performance across varied tasks, B is the better baseline.
Grok 4.20
Vote: Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B
Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B stands out for its robust agentic capabilities and strong reasoning performance. Qwen3.5 9B is a well-regarded model with proven results across diverse tasks, offering better reliability than the less documented CoPaw Flash 9B.
Claude Sonnet 4
Vote: Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B
Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B is built on the Qwen3.5 architecture, which is a well-established and widely recognized model family known for strong reasoning, instruction-following, and multilingual capabilities. The Hermes fine-tune further enhances agentic behavior, tool use, and structured output generation. CoPaw with CoPaw Flash 9B is a less commonly known model combination, and without clear documentation or community benchmarks to back it up, it's harder to assess its reliability and performance. For general-purpose use cases requiring agentic tasks, reasoning, or structured outputs, Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B offers a more transparent and proven foundation.
Sonar Pro
Vote: Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B
Based on available evidence, Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B is the superior choice for most use cases. Qwen3.5 9B demonstrates exceptional performance across multiple dimensions. It achieves 80.6% on GPQA, significantly outperforming comparable models, and scores 25.3 on the Coding Index, making it ideal for agent-based applications requiring strong reasoning and tool-calling capabilities[1]. The model is specifically recognized as "one of the best open models so far for agent tool calls, coding tasks, and real-world applications," with particular strength in handling intelligent workflows[2]. Cost efficiency is another decisive factor. Qwen3.5 9B costs $0.07 per million input tokens compared to alternatives at $1.00/1M—a 14.3x price difference[1]. For agent applications, this cost advantage compounds significantly over time. Performance metrics further support this choice. Qwen3.5 9B achieves 176.5 tokens/second throughput and 523ms time-to-first-token (TTFT), indicating fast, responsive agent interactions[1]. These speed characteristics are critical for real-time agent operations. No credible information about CoPaw Flash 9B appears in the search results, making a direct comparison impossible. However, the documented strengths of Qwen3.5 9B in agentic tasks, combined with superior pricing and proven performance, make it the clear recommendation when paired with Hermes Agent architecture.
GLM 5
Vote: Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B
Qwen3.5 9B is a well-established model with proven performance and reliability. Hermes Agent likely provides agentic capabilities built around this model. Option B provides a known quantity with community-tested performance.
Kimi K2.5
Vote: Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B
Hermes models are specifically fine-tuned for agentic capabilities and tool use, making them superior for autonomous task execution. The Nous Research fine-tuning methodology behind Hermes has established a strong track record for reliable instruction following, complex reasoning, and precise tool calling. The Qwen 3.5 9B base provides an efficient architecture with strong multilingual and coding capabilities. This combination leverages proven agentic optimizations while maintaining the computational efficiency benefits of the 9B parameter class. In contrast, CoPaw Flash appears optimized primarily for inference speed rather than agent-specific reasoning and planning. For workflows requiring multi-step autonomy, robust tool integration, and reliable output formatting, the Hermes Agent framework offers significantly better capability alignment.
Claude Opus 4
Vote: Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B
Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B is the stronger choice. Qwen3.5 is a well-established and highly regarded open-source model family from Alibaba, with strong benchmarks across reasoning, coding, and multilingual tasks. The 9B parameter size in the Qwen3.5 lineup offers an excellent balance of capability and efficiency. The Hermes Agent framework is a proven approach for agentic tasks, built on top of well-known fine-tuning methodologies from Nous Research. It has a strong track record in the open-source community for structured outputs, function calling, and tool use. CoPaw with CoPaw Flash 9B, on the other hand, is less widely recognized. Without a well-documented track record or established benchmark results, it's harder to vouch for its reliability and performance. For most use cases — whether general conversation, coding assistance, reasoning, or agentic workflows — the combination of a battle-tested model (Qwen3.5 9B) with a well-regarded agent framework (Hermes) provides a more dependable and capable solution.
Mistral Large
Vote: Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B
The choice between CoPaw with CoPaw Flash 9B and Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B hinges on the specific strengths of the underlying models and their intended use cases. Here’s why Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B is the better option in most scenarios: First, Qwen3.5 9B is a more advanced and versatile base model compared to CoPaw Flash 9B. Qwen3.5 has demonstrated superior performance across a wide range of benchmarks, including language understanding, reasoning, and multilingual tasks. Its architecture and training data are more comprehensive, making it a stronger foundation for specialized applications like agent-based systems. Second, Hermes Agent is specifically designed to leverage the capabilities of Qwen3.5 9B for agentic workflows. It is optimized for tasks requiring autonomy, tool use, and multi-step reasoning—areas where Qwen3.5’s strengths shine. While CoPaw Flash 9B is a solid model, it lacks the same level of fine-tuning and integration for agentic use cases, which could limit its effectiveness in dynamic or complex environments. Finally, the Hermes Agent framework is built with modern agentic principles in mind, including better memory management, tool integration, and adaptive behavior. This makes it a more future-proof choice for users who need a system that can evolve with their needs. CoPaw, while functional, may not offer the same level of scalability or flexibility for advanced agentic tasks. In summary, unless you have a specific use case that aligns perfectly with CoPaw’s design, Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B is the more robust and capable choice.
DeepSeek V3.2
Vote: Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B
Qwen3.5 9B is a reputable open-source model with proven performance in benchmarks, ensuring high accuracy and efficiency for diverse tasks. Hermes Agent likely offers a structured framework that simplifies deployment and integration, enhancing practicality for real-world use. In contrast, CoPaw with CoPaw Flash 9B appears less established, which may lead to limited documentation, community support, or compatibility issues. Therefore, for reliability, ease of use, and better ongoing support, Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B is the superior choice.
Qwen 3.5 397B
Vote: Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B
Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B (Option B) is better suited for complex, multi-step tasks due to Hermes' agent-oriented architecture and Qwen3.5's enhanced reasoning capabilities. While CoPaw Flash 9B (Option A) prioritizes speed, Qwen3.5 offers stronger general performance, up-to-date knowledge, and better adaptability for diverse workflows. Unless low-latency inference is the sole priority, Option B provides more robust functionality for most use cases.
Gemini 3.1 Pro
Vote: Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B
I recommend Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B because it offers a significantly more robust foundation for agentic workflows and complex tasks. The Hermes family of models (developed by Nous Research) is renowned for its exceptional fine-tuning in function calling, tool use, and structured outputs. When paired with an agentic framework, it drastically reduces hallucinations and improves multi-step reasoning capabilities. Furthermore, the Qwen architecture consistently punches above its weight class in coding, mathematics, and multilingual benchmarks. At 9B parameters, you are getting an incredibly efficient model that can run locally or cost-effectively in the cloud while delivering top-tier, reliable performance for real-world applications.
Sonar Reasoning Pro
Vote: Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B
Based on available information, Qwen3.5 9B demonstrates exceptional value and performance. The search results show it achieves 80.6% on GPQA benchmarks and 25.3 coding index, making it highly capable for reasoning and code generation tasks[1]. It offers significant cost advantages at $0.07/1M input tokens compared to larger alternatives, and delivers strong throughput at 176.5 tok/s[1]. Qwen3.5 9B is designed as a well-rounded generalist across knowledge, reasoning, and multilingual tasks[6]. However, this recommendation is limited by the search results not containing any information about CoPaw or CoPaw Flash 9B. Without comparable data on Option A's capabilities, pricing, and performance metrics, I cannot fully evaluate the trade-offs. If CoPaw Flash 9B offers specialized capabilities not present in the search results, that could change this assessment. Option B (Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B) is the safer choice based on documented Qwen3.5 9B performance.
MiniMax M2.5
Vote: Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B
Between these two options, Hermes Agent with Qwen3.5 9B is the more established and reliable choice. Qwen3.5 is a well-proven open-source model with strong reasoning capabilities and broad community validation. Hermes Agent provides a robust agentic framework that has been widely tested in production scenarios. CoPaw with CoPaw Flash 9B appears to be a less established framework without the same level of community verification or track record. While it may have potential, the risk profile is higher without proven reliability data. For a safer, more dependable implementation, option B is the recommended choice.