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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

ERNIE 4.5 300B A47B vs ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B

ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B comes out ahead, 57 to 43 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Baidu

    ERNIE 4.5 300B A47B

    Released Jun 30, 2025

    43/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.28 / $1.10
    • Context131K
  2. Our pick

    Baidu

    ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B

    Released Jun 30, 2025

    57/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.07 / $0.28
    • Context131K
  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 ERNIE 4.5 300B A47B (43). It leads on price. 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 300B A47B $0.485 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameERNIE 4.5 300B A47B 131,072 · ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsERNIE 4.5 300B A47B: Text · ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B: Text
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightERNIE 4.5 300B A47BERNIE 4.5 21B A3B
Price50%6289
Inputs & features30%2525
Context window20%2525
Overall100%43/10057/100

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 300B A47B vs ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B specifications side by side
SpecificationERNIE 4.5 300B A47BBaiduERNIE 4.5 21B A3BBaidu
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.28$0.07 (best)
Output$1.10$0.28 (best)
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.485$0.122 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 1 providersMedian of 1 providers
Limits
Context window131,072 tokens131,072 tokens
Max output12,000 tokens (best)8,000 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenApache-2.0OpenApache-2.0
API model ID——
API providers11
ReleasedJun 30, 2025Jun 30, 2025
Knowledge cutoff——
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 300B A47B$5.00
  • ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B$1.26
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: ERNIE 4.5 300B A47B or ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B?

ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against ERNIE 4.5 300B A47B (43). It leads on price. 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 300B A47B or ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B?

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 300B A47B costs $0.28 input / $1.10 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 $0.485 for ERNIE 4.5 300B A47B (4× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. ERNIE 4.5 300B A47B has not been scored yet and ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for ERNIE 4.5 300B A47B and ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B 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 300B A47B and ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B share the same 131,072-token context window. Maximum output per response: ERNIE 4.5 300B A47B up to 12,000, ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B up to 8,000 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

ERNIE 4.5 300B A47B accepts text; ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B 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?

ERNIE 4.5 300B A47B is the newest, released Jun 30, 2025. ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B came out Jun 30, 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.