| Signal | ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B | Delta | Grok Code Fast 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
Capabilities | 33 | -50 | |
Pricing | 100 | +1 | |
Context window size | 81 | -5 | |
Recency | 89 | -3 | |
Output Capacity | 65 | -2 | |
| Overall Result | 1 wins | of 5 | 4 wins |
Score History
40
current score
Tied
right now
40
current score
Baidu
xAI
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B saves you $74.00/month
That's $888.00/year compared to Grok Code Fast 1 at your current usage level of 100K calls/month.
| Metric | ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B | Grok Code Fast 1 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 40 | 40 | -- |
| Rank | #231 | #229 | Grok Code Fast 1 |
| Quality Rank | #231 | #229 | Grok Code Fast 1 |
| Adoption Rank | #231 | #229 | Grok Code Fast 1 |
| Parameters | 21B | -- | -- |
| Context Window | 120K | 256K | Grok Code Fast 1 |
| Pricing | $0.07/$0.28/M | $0.20/$1.50/M | -- |
| Signal Scores | |||
| Capabilities | 33 | 83 | Grok Code Fast 1 |
| Pricing | 100 | 99 | ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B |
| Context window size | 81 | 86 | Grok Code Fast 1 |
| Recency | 89 | 92 | Grok Code Fast 1 |
| Output Capacity | 65 | 67 | Grok Code Fast 1 |
Our score (0-100) is driven by benchmark performance (90%) from Arena Elo ratings, MMLU, GPQA, HumanEval, SWE-bench, and 15+ standardized evaluations. Capabilities and context window serve as tiebreakers (10%). Learn more about our methodology.
Scores 40/100 (rank #231), placing it in the top 21% of all 290 models tracked.
Scores 40/100 (rank #229), placing it in the top 21% of all 290 models tracked.
With only a 0-point gap, these models are in the same performance tier. The practical difference in output quality is minimal - your choice should depend on pricing, latency requirements, and specific feature needs.
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B offers 79% better value per quality point. At 1M tokens/day, you'd spend $5.25/month with ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B vs $25.50/month with Grok Code Fast 1 - a $20.25 monthly difference.
Both models have comparable response speeds. For most applications, the latency difference is negligible.
When latency matters most: Interactive chatbots, IDE code completion, real-time translation, and user-facing applications where response time directly impacts experience. For batch processing, background summarization, or offline analysis, latency is less critical.
Code generation & review
Higher benchmark score (0/100) indicates stronger performance on coding tasks like generating functions, debugging, and refactoring
Customer support chatbot
Faster response time (speed score 0/100) is critical for user-facing chat. ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B also offers lower per-token costs for high-volume support
Long document analysis
Larger context window (256K tokens) can process longer documents, contracts, and research papers in a single pass
Batch data extraction
Lower output pricing ($0.28/M) reduces costs when processing thousands of records daily
Creative writing & content
Higher overall composite score (40/100) correlates with better nuance, coherence, and style in long-form content
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B and Grok Code Fast 1 are extremely close in overall performance (only 0 points apart). Your best choice depends entirely on which specific strengths matter most for your use case.
Best for Quality
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B
Marginally better benchmark scores; both are excellent
Best for Cost
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B
79% lower pricing; better value at scale
Best for Reliability
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B
Higher uptime and faster response speeds
Best for Prototyping
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B
Stronger community support and better developer experience
Best for Production
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B
Wider enterprise adoption and proven at scale
by Baidu
| Capability | ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B | Grok Code Fast 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision (Image Input) | ||
| Function Calling | ||
| Streaming | ||
| JSON Modediffers | ||
| Reasoningdiffers | ||
| Web Searchdiffers | ||
| Image Output |
Baidu
xAI
ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B saves you $1.70/month
That's 79% cheaper than Grok Code Fast 1 at 1,000 tokens/request and 100 requests/day.
Assumes 60% input / 40% output token ratio per request. Actual costs may vary based on your usage pattern.
| Parameter | ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B | Grok Code Fast 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Context Window | 120K | 256K |
| Max Output Tokens | 8,000 | 10,000 |
| Open Source | Yes | No |
| Created | Aug 12, 2025 | Aug 26, 2025 |