ERNIE 5.1 API pricing
Official Baidu ERNIE list price, last checked Oct 29, 2026. Updated Oct 29, 2026.
ERNIE 5.1 costs $0.56 per 1M input tokens and $2.53 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 32 of 77 by blended price ($1.05 per 1M tokens at a 3 to 1 input to output mix). On LMArena's Text Arena it ranks #22 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, 4.4x less.
ERNIE 5.1 price per million tokens
| ERNIE 5.1 price per million tokens | USD |
|---|---|
| Input | $0.56 |
| Cached input | Not listed |
| Output | $2.53 |
| Blended, 3 parts input to 1 part output | $1.05 |
| Context window | 128K tokens |
| Prompts 32K to 128K | $0.84 in, $3.10 out |
| Prompts 32K to 128K | $0.84 in, $3.10 out |
Official note from Baidu ERNIE: Prompts up to 32K. Prompts of 32K to 128K cost $0.84 in, $3.10 out.
What ERNIE 5.1 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 5.1 | Mistral Large 4 | MiMo-V2.6 Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light: a side project or personal assistant | 2M in, 0.5M out | $2.38 | $2.45 | $1.30 |
| Medium: a small team or one product feature | 20M in, 5M out | $23.85 | $24.50 | $13.05 |
| Heavy: a production app | 200M in, 50M out | $238 | $245 | $130 |
How ERNIE 5.1 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) | #22 of 51 | 0 |
| Creative writing (Text Arena creative writing) | #29 of 51 | 0 |
| Roleplay and characters (Text Arena multi-turn) | #23 of 51 | 0 |
| Reasoning and math (Text Arena math) | #24 of 51 | 5 |
Closest rivals to ERNIE 5.1
The models nearest in price, other makers first. Ranks are on Text Arena, where we have them.
| Model | In / out | Blended | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mistral Large 4 | $0.70 / $2.10 | $1.05 | A tie on price and score. Compare |
| Qwen3.5 122B-A10B | $0.40 / $3.20 | $1.10 | ERNIE 5.1 wins: cheaper, same score. Compare |
| GLM-4.7 | $0.60 / $2.20 | $1 | GLM-4.7 wins: cheaper, same score. Compare |
| GLM-4.6 | $0.60 / $2.20 | $1 | GLM-4.6 wins: cheaper, same score. Compare |
Cheaper alternatives to ERNIE 5.1
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 5.1 API cost per million tokens?
$0.56 per 1M input tokens and $2.53 per 1M output tokens, as of Oct 29, 2026. A typical 3 to 1 input to output mix works out to $1.05 per 1M tokens.
Does ERNIE 5.1 charge more for long prompts?
Yes. Prompts 32K to 128K: $0.84 in, $3.10 out; Prompts 32K to 128K: $0.84 in, $3.10 out.
Is ERNIE 5.1 cheaper than Mistral Large 4?
Yes. A medium month (20M input and 5M output tokens) costs $23.85 on ERNIE 5.1 and $24.50 on Mistral Large 4 at list price. On Text Arena, ERNIE 5.1 ranks #22 and Mistral Large 4 #43.
How does ERNIE 5.1 rank on LMArena?
On Text Arena it is #22 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 5.1?
MiMo-V2.6 Pro costs $0.435 in and $0.87 out per 1M tokens, about 1.9x less blended, and scores 23 on Text Arena against 0 for ERNIE 5.1.
Where does this ERNIE 5.1 price come from?
From Baidu ERNIE's official pricing page, which we check every day. This page was last checked Oct 29, 2026.