ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B vs GLM-4.5-Air

ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B comes out ahead, 57 to 48 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    Baidu

    ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B

    Released Jun 30, 2025

    57/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.07 / $0.28
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B

  2. Z.ai (Zhipu)

    GLM-4.5-Air

    Released Jul 28, 2025

    48/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.20 / $1.10
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove GLM-4.5-Air

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B is our pick

ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against GLM-4.5-Air (48). It leads on price. GLM-4.5-Air 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 · GLM-4.5-Air $0.425 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameERNIE 4.5 21B A3B 131,072 · GLM-4.5-Air 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsERNIE 4.5 21B A3B: Text · GLM-4.5-Air: Text
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightERNIE 4.5 21B A3BGLM-4.5-Air
Price50%8965
Inputs & features30%2535
Context window20%2525
Overall100%57/10048/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B vs GLM-4.5-Air specifications side by side
SpecificationERNIE 4.5 21B A3BBaiduGLM-4.5-AirZ.ai (Zhipu)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.07 (best)$0.20
Output$0.28 (best)$1.10
Cached input—$0.03
Blended (3:1)$0.122 (best)$0.425
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 1 providersOfficial Z.AI API
Limits
Context window131,072 tokens131,072 tokens
Max output8,000 tokens98,304 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenApache-2.0Open
API model ID—glm-4.5-air
API providers119 (best)
ReleasedJun 30, 2025Jul 28, 2025
Knowledge cutoff—Apr 2025
03 — Cost

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
  • GLM-4.5-Air$4.20
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B or GLM-4.5-Air?

ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against GLM-4.5-Air (48). It leads on price. GLM-4.5-Air 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 GLM-4.5-Air?

ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B is cheaper at $0.07 input / $0.28 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). GLM-4.5-Air costs $0.20 input / $1.10 output per million tokens (official Z.AI API price). 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 $0.425 for GLM-4.5-Air (3.5× 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 GLM-4.5-Air 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 GLM-4.5-Air yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B and GLM-4.5-Air share the same 131,072-token context window. Maximum output per response: ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B up to 8,000, GLM-4.5-Air up to 98,304 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B accepts text; GLM-4.5-Air accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, both publish their weights (Apache-2.0), so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

GLM-4.5-Air is the newest, released Jul 28, 2025. ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B came out Jun 30, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: GLM-4.5-Air Apr 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.

05 — Keep comparing

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