Compare/Head to head

Cohere vs Microsoft Copilot

Same facts, side by side: starting price, free tier, MCP, API and what each one is actually built for.

Starting price

Cohere

Quote-based

Cohere is an enterprise AI company, and its North platform is a private AI workspace with chat, agents, automations and search over company data. It suits large HR and talent teams that need AI deployed inside their own infrastructure. North is quoted; there is no self-serve plan for individuals.

Where Cohere fits

  • Enterprise HR and talent teams with strict data rules
  • Regulated employers that need on-premises or private-cloud AI
  • Companies that want shared agents grounded in internal policies and docs

Microsoft Copilot

$9.99/mo Free tier 30 day free trial

Microsoft's AI assistant inside Outlook, Teams, Word and Excel. Free app; Microsoft 365 Personal $9.99/mo; Microsoft 365 Copilot Business $21/user/mo billed annually ($18 first-year offer).

Where Microsoft Copilot fits

  • Recruiting teams whose company runs on Outlook, Teams and Excel
  • Summarising Teams interviews and long email threads
  • HR and TA teams that need IT-approved AI with enterprise data protection

At a glance

DetailCohereMicrosoft Copilot
Starting priceQuote-based$9.99/mo
Free tier–No✓Yes
Free trialNot on record30 day free trial
MCP server–No–No
Public API✓Yes–No
Listed underAI assistantsAI assistants

Where they pull apart

Cohere

Stands out: North can run entirely in your own VPC or on-premises, with guardrails, admin controls and audit-ready visibility, which few general assistants offer.

Watch out: This is not a consumer chat app: there is no free or monthly plan for an individual recruiter, and buying North means a sales process. It is built for enterprises and regulated industries, not small agencies.

Not the right fit for

  • Individual recruiters or small agencies wanting a monthly plan
  • Anyone looking for a free assistant to try today

Microsoft Copilot

Stands out: With a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, Copilot draws on your work email, calendar, files and Teams meetings, so it can answer a question such as what a hiring manager said in last week's meeting without you pasting anything in.

Watch out: Several products are called Copilot. The free app and Copilot Chat do not see your mailbox and files the way a Microsoft 365 Copilot license does, and the business add-on requires an existing Microsoft 365 business plan.

Not the right fit for

  • Teams on Google Workspace
  • Solo recruiters who only want a chat assistant

Pros and cons

Cohere

  • Deploys in your own VPC or on-premises
  • Answers grounded in company documents with sources
  • Shared agents, skills and automations across teams
  • No published pricing for North
  • No individual or small-team self-serve plan
  • Built for large enterprises, not agencies

Microsoft Copilot

  • Free Copilot app, plus Copilot Chat included with eligible Microsoft 365 plans
  • Works inside Outlook, Teams, Word and Excel with your work data
  • One-month free trial on business plans
  • The business add-on needs a qualifying Microsoft 365 plan
  • The discounted price needs an annual commitment
  • Several products share the Copilot name, which makes buying confusing

What each one costs

Cohere

Quote-based

The vendor does not publish prices for North or Compass; plans are quoted. Cohere's models are available on a pay-as-you-go API, with free rate-limited trial keys for non-commercial testing, and dedicated Model Vault instances start at $3/hr or $2,000/mo per instance. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 15 Oct 2026

Microsoft Copilot

$9.99/mo

The Copilot app is free, and Microsoft 365 Personal ($9.99/mo), Family ($12.99/mo) and Premium ($19.99/mo) add Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. For businesses, Microsoft 365 Copilot Business is an add-on for an existing Microsoft 365 business plan at $21/user/mo billed annually, discounted to $18 for the first year on offers made through December 31, 2026, or $25.20 billed monthly. Bundles start at $23.50/user/mo billed annually for Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot. Business plans come with a one-month free trial. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 7 Oct 2026

Common questions

Can you try Cohere or Microsoft Copilot for free?
Microsoft Copilot carries a free tier on our listing. Microsoft Copilot offers a 30 day free trial.

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Editorial listings, never paid rankings. Prices checked 15 Oct 2026. Confirm current terms on the vendor site. Spot an error?