ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B vs o3-deep-research
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B comes out ahead, 57 to 24 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
OpenAIo3-deep-research
24/100- ECI—
- Price$9.00 / $36.00
- Context200K
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 o3-deep-research (24). It leads on price. o3-deep-research wins on inputs & features and context window. 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 · o3-deep-research $15.75 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contexto3-deep-researcho3-deep-research 200,000 · ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B 131,072 tokens
- Widest inputso3-deep-researchERNIE 4.5 21B A3B: Text · o3-deep-research: Text, Images
- Self-hostingERNIE 4.5 21B A3BPublishes downloadable weights (Apache-2.0)
| Measure | Weight | ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B | o3-deep-research |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 89 | 0 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 25 | 60 |
| Context window | 20% | 25 | 32 |
| Overall | 100% | 57/100 | 24/100 |
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 | o3-deep-researchOpenAI |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.07 (best) | $9.00 |
| Output | $0.28 (best) | $36.00 |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.122 (best) | $15.75 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 1 providers | Median of 1 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 131,072 tokens | 200,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 8,000 tokens | 100,000 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 | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | OpenApache-2.0 | Proprietary |
| API model ID | — | — |
| API providers | 1 | 1 |
| Released | Jun 30, 2025 | Jun 26, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | May 2024 |
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
- o3-deep-research$162.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B or o3-deep-research?
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against o3-deep-research (24). It leads on price. o3-deep-research wins on inputs & features and context window. 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 o3-deep-research?
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B is cheaper at $0.07 input / $0.28 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). o3-deep-research costs $9.00 input / $36.00 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 $15.75 for o3-deep-research (129× 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 o3-deep-research 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 o3-deep-research 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?
o3-deep-research has the largest context window at 200,000 tokens, against 131,072 for ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B. Maximum output per response: ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B up to 8,000, o3-deep-research up to 100,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B accepts text; o3-deep-research accepts text and images. o3-deep-research handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B publishes its weights (Apache-2.0) and can be self-hosted; o3-deep-research is proprietary.
Which is newer?
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B is the newest, released Jun 30, 2025. o3-deep-research came out Jun 26, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: o3-deep-research May 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.
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