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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct comes out ahead, 49 to 44 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Baidu

    ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B

    Released Jun 30, 2025

    44/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.42 / $1.25
    • Context123K
  2. Our pick

    Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

    Released Sep 23, 2025

    49/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.30 / $1.55
    • Context131K
  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is our pick

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 49/100 against ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B (44). 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 priceQwen3 VL 235B A22B InstructQwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct $0.613 · ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B $0.627 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextQwen3 VL 235B A22B InstructQwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct 131,072 · ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B 123,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B : Text, Images · Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
Price50%5757
Inputs & features30%3550
Context window20%2325
Overall100%44/10049/100

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 VL 424B A47B vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct specifications side by side
SpecificationERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B BaiduQwen3 VL 235B A22B InstructAlibaba (Qwen)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.42$0.30 (best)
Output$1.25 (best)$1.55
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.627$0.613 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 1 providersMedian of 16 providers
Limits
Context window123,000 tokens131,072 tokens (best)
Max output16,000 tokens32,768 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesNo
Tool callingNoYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenOpen
API model ID——
API providers116 (best)
ReleasedJun 30, 2025Sep 23, 2025
Knowledge cutoffMar 31, 2025Mar 31, 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 VL 424B A47B $6.70
  • Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct$6.10
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B or Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 49/100 against ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B (44). 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 VL 424B A47B or Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is cheaper at $0.30 input / $1.55 output per million tokens (median across 16 API providers). 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 $0.613 per million tokens for Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct versus $0.627 for ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B (1× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B has not been scored yet and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct 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?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct 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 VL 424B A47B up to 16,000, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct up to 32,768 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B accepts text and images; Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct accepts text and images. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, both publish their weights, so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is the newest, released Sep 23, 2025. ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B came out Jun 30, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: ERNIE 4.5 VL 424B A47B Mar 31, 2025, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct 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.