ERNIE 5.0 API pricing
Official Baidu ERNIE list price, last checked Oct 29, 2026. Updated Oct 29, 2026.
ERNIE 5.0 costs $0.84 per 1M input tokens and $3.38 per 1M output tokens, and a 128K-token context window, per Baidu ERNIE's official pricing page (checked Oct 29, 2026). It's priced in the middle of the pack: number 43 of 77 by blended price ($1.48 per 1M tokens at a 3 to 1 input to output mix). On LMArena's Text Arena it ranks #34 of 51 models we price (relative score 0 out of 100). Cheaper pick: GLM-5.3 Flash scores 17 against 0 on the same board at $0.2375 blended, 6.2x less.
ERNIE 5.0 price per million tokens
| ERNIE 5.0 price per million tokens | USD |
|---|---|
| Input | $0.84 |
| Cached input | Not listed |
| Output | $3.38 |
| Blended, 3 parts input to 1 part output | $1.48 |
| Context window | 128K tokens |
| Prompts 32K to 128K | $1.40 in, $5.60 out |
| Prompts 32K to 128K | $1.40 in, $5.60 out |
Official note from Baidu ERNIE: Text generation, prompts up to 32K. Prompts of 32K to 128K cost $1.40 in, $5.60 out.
What ERNIE 5.0 costs for real work
List-price estimates for a month, no discounts. Our math, not a quote: change the token counts in the plan vs API calculator.
| Workload | Tokens a month | ERNIE 5.0 | Gemini 3.8 Flash | MiMo-V2.6 Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light: a side project or personal assistant | 2M in, 0.5M out | $3.37 | $3.38 | $1.30 |
| Medium: a small team or one product feature | 20M in, 5M out | $33.70 | $33.75 | $13.05 |
| Heavy: a production app | 200M in, 50M out | $337 | $338 | $130 |
How ERNIE 5.0 ranks on LMArena
Relative score: 100 is the top model we price on that board. Rank is among the models in our price table, not the full leaderboard.
| Board | Rank | Score /100 |
|---|---|---|
| Chat (Text Arena) | #34 of 51 | 0 |
| Creative writing (Text Arena creative writing) | #32 of 51 | 0 |
| Roleplay and characters (Text Arena multi-turn) | #39 of 51 | 0 |
| Reasoning and math (Text Arena math) | #41 of 51 | 0 |
Closest rivals to ERNIE 5.0
The models nearest in price, other makers first. Ranks are on Text Arena, where we have them.
| Model | In / out | Blended | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini 3.8 Flash | $0.75 / $3.75 | $1.50 | Gemini 3.8 Flash wins: same price, higher score. Compare |
| Step 5 Preview | $1 / $2.70 | $1.43 | Step 5 Preview wins: cheaper, same score. Compare |
| GLM-5 | $1 / $3.20 | $1.55 | ERNIE 5.0 wins: cheaper, same score. Compare |
| Grok 4.3 | $1.25 / $2.50 | $1.56 | ERNIE 5.0 wins: cheaper, same score. Compare |
Cheaper alternatives to ERNIE 5.0
At least 40% cheaper blended, best LMArena score first.
| Model | In / out | Blended | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| MiMo-V2.6 Pro | $0.435 / $0.87 | $0.5437 | MiMo-V2.6 Pro wins on both. Compare |
| GLM-5.3 Flash | $0.15 / $0.50 | $0.2375 | GLM-5.3 Flash wins on both. Compare |
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | $0.30 / $1.20 | $0.525 | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash wins on both. Compare |
More from Baidu ERNIE
FAQ
How much does the ERNIE 5.0 API cost per million tokens?
$0.84 per 1M input tokens and $3.38 per 1M output tokens, as of Oct 29, 2026. A typical 3 to 1 input to output mix works out to $1.48 per 1M tokens.
Does ERNIE 5.0 charge more for long prompts?
Yes. Prompts 32K to 128K: $1.40 in, $5.60 out; Prompts 32K to 128K: $1.40 in, $5.60 out.
Is ERNIE 5.0 cheaper than Gemini 3.8 Flash?
About the same. A medium month (20M input and 5M output tokens) costs $33.70 on ERNIE 5.0 and $33.75 on Gemini 3.8 Flash at list price. On Text Arena, ERNIE 5.0 ranks #34 and Gemini 3.8 Flash #5.
How does ERNIE 5.0 rank on LMArena?
On Text Arena it is #34 of 51 models we price, with a relative score of 0 out of 100. It ranks on 4 of 8 boards we track.
What is a cheaper alternative to ERNIE 5.0?
MiMo-V2.6 Pro costs $0.435 in and $0.87 out per 1M tokens, about 2.7x less blended, and scores 23 on Text Arena against 0 for ERNIE 5.0.
Where does this ERNIE 5.0 price come from?
From Baidu ERNIE's official pricing page, which we check every day. This page was last checked Oct 29, 2026.