ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B vs GPT OSS 20B

GPT OSS 20B comes out ahead, 61 to 57 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. 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. Our pick

    OpenAI

    GPT OSS 20B

    Released Aug 5, 2025

    61/100
    • ECI137.8
    • Price$0.07 / $0.25
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove GPT OSS 20B

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

GPT OSS 20B is our pick

GPT OSS 20B is the better all-round choice, scoring 61/100 against ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B (57). It leads 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 priceGPT OSS 20BGPT OSS 20B $0.115 · ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B $0.122 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameERNIE 4.5 21B A3B 131,072 · GPT OSS 20B 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsERNIE 4.5 21B A3B: Text · GPT OSS 20B: 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 A3BGPT OSS 20B
Price50%8990
Inputs & features30%2535
Context window20%2525
Overall100%57/10061/100

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 GPT OSS 20B specifications side by side
SpecificationERNIE 4.5 21B A3BBaiduGPT OSS 20BOpenAI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)—137.8
ECI rank—#122 of 165
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions—60.8%
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics—65.3%
Price per million tokens
Input$0.07$0.07
Output$0.28$0.25 (best)
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.122$0.115 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 1 providersMedian of 37 providers
Limits
Context window131,072 tokens131,072 tokens
Max output8,000 tokens32,768 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenApache-2.0Open
API model ID——
API providers141 (best)
ReleasedJun 30, 2025Aug 5, 2025
Knowledge cutoff—Jun 2024
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
  • GPT OSS 20B$1.20
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B or GPT OSS 20B?

GPT OSS 20B is the better all-round choice, scoring 61/100 against ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B (57). It leads 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 GPT OSS 20B?

GPT OSS 20B is cheaper at $0.07 input / $0.25 output per million tokens (median across 37 API providers). ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B costs $0.07 input / $0.28 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.115 per million tokens for GPT OSS 20B versus $0.122 for ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B (1.1× 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 GPT OSS 20B has an ECI of 137.8.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B and GPT OSS 20B 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 GPT OSS 20B share the same 131,072-token context window. Maximum output per response: ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B up to 8,000, GPT OSS 20B up to 32,768 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B accepts text; GPT OSS 20B 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?

GPT OSS 20B is the newest, released Aug 5, 2025. ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B came out Jun 30, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: GPT OSS 20B Jun 2024.

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

Related comparisons