ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B vs ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B comes out ahead, 57 to 44 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
- Our pick
BaiduERNIE 4.5 21B A3B
57/100- ECI—
- Price$0.07 / $0.28
- Context131K
- Baidu
ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B
44/100- ECI—
- Price$0.42 / $1.25
- Context123K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B is our pick
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B (44). It leads on price. ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B wins on inputs & features. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
- CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
- Lowest priceERNIE 4.5 21B A3BERNIE 4.5 21B A3B $0.122 · ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B $0.627 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextERNIE 4.5 21B A3BERNIE 4.5 21B A3B 131,072 · ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B 123,000 tokens
- Widest inputsERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B: Text · ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B : Text, Images
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B | ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 89 | 57 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 25 | 35 |
| Context window | 20% | 25 | 23 |
| Overall | 100% | 57/100 | 44/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | ERNIE 4.5 21B A3BBaidu | ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B Baidu |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.07 (best) | $0.42 |
| Output | $0.28 (best) | $1.25 |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.122 (best) | $0.627 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 1 providers | Median of 1 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 131,072 tokens (best) | 123,000 tokens |
| Max output | 8,000 tokens | 16,000 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | No |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | OpenApache-2.0 | Open |
| API model ID | — | — |
| API providers | 1 | 1 |
| Released | Jun 30, 2025 | Jun 30, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | Mar 31, 2025 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B$1.26
- ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B $6.70
Which should you choose?
Which is better: ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B or ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B ?
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B (44). It leads on price. ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B wins on inputs & features. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
Which is cheaper, ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B or ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B ?
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B is cheaper at $0.07 input / $0.28 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B costs $0.42 input / $1.25 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.122 per million tokens for ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B versus $0.627 for ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B (5.1× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B has not been scored yet and ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B and ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.
Which has the bigger context window?
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B has the largest context window at 131,072 tokens, against 123,000 for ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B . Maximum output per response: ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B up to 8,000, ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B up to 16,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B accepts text; ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B accepts text and images. ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, both publish their weights (Apache-2.0), so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B is the newest, released Jun 30, 2025. ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B came out Jun 30, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B Mar 31, 2025.
How do you decide the winner?
Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Nov 2, 2026.
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