Baidu: ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B Thinking
Analysis Summary
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B Thinking is a mid-size mixture-of-experts model from Baidu, released in late 2025. Without published benchmark scores, it is not possible to assess its reasoning depth, coding capability, or instruction-following precision against the broader field.
For businesses, the absence of benchmark data makes it difficult to justify adoption over well-documented alternatives at similar or lower price points. The 128K context window is functional but not exceptional, and the text-only modality limits use cases compared to multimodal competitors.
At $0.07 per million input tokens and $0.28 output, pricing is moderate. Until benchmark data is available, this model is best treated as experimental rather than a primary production choice.
Assessed June 6, 2026
Editorial notes
Baidu ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B Thinking has no benchmark data available, limiting assessment to provider reputation and pricing; at $0.07 input and $0.28 output it sits in a mid-range price tier with a 128K context window.
Rankings consider pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, and real-world applicability and are refreshed as new models launch. Feedback?
Performance Profile
How Baidu: ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B Thinking compares
Its 131K-token context window is larger than 60% of the models we list. At $0.07 per million input tokens it is cheaper than 70% of comparable models.
About Baidu: ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B Thinking
ERNIE-4.5-21B-A3B-Thinking is Baidu's upgraded lightweight MoE model, refined to boost reasoning depth and quality for top-tier performance in logical puzzles, math, science, coding, text generation, and expert-level academic benchmarks.
How does Baidu: ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B Thinking stack up?
Compare side-by-side with other legacy models.
Model Information
| OpenRouter ID |
baidu/ernie-4.5-21b-a3b-thinking
|
| Provider | baidu |
| Release Date | October 9, 2025 |
| Context Length | 131,072 tokens |
| Max Completion | 65,536 tokens |
| Status | Active |
Pricing
| Token Type | Cost per 1M tokens | Cost per 1K tokens |
|---|---|---|
| Input | $0.07 | $0.000070 |
| Output | $0.28 | $0.000280 |
External Resources
Frequently asked questions about Baidu: ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B Thinking
How much does Baidu: ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B Thinking cost?
Baidu: ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B Thinking costs $0.07 per million input tokens and $0.28 per million output tokens.
What is the context window of Baidu: ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B Thinking?
Baidu: ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B Thinking has a context window of 131,072 tokens (131K).
Who created Baidu: ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B Thinking?
Baidu: ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B Thinking is developed by Baidu and was released on October 9, 2025.
