Baidu’s New ERNIE 4.5 & X1 – A Free AI That Is Better Than GPT-4.5 & Costs Pennies!

Baidu just dropped two powerful AI models—ERNIE 4.5 and ERNIE X1—and made them completely free on its ERNIE Bot platform. This move is shaking things up, directly challenging giants like OpenAI, Google, and DeepSeek by putting advanced AI into everyone’s hands, not just big companies with deep pockets.

By opening these models to the public, Baidu‘s clearly going after user growth and tons of real-world data to quickly refine their tech. It’s a big deal because, until now, cutting-edge AI was usually locked behind expensive paywalls, accessible mostly to corporations and well-funded research labs. Baidu’s aggressive strategy could shift the balance, making sophisticated AI tools a new standard rather than a luxury.

Advanced Capabilities of ERNIE 4.5

ERNIE 4.5 is Baidu’s latest multimodal foundation model that goes beyond processing just text. Designed to handle images, audio, and even video, this model integrates different types of data into a single system. This multimodal capability allows it to understand and generate content across various media formats.

One of the key highlights of ERNIE 4.5 is its enhanced language and reasoning skills. The model demonstrates a deep understanding of context and can even interpret internet memes and satirical cartoons—a feature Baidu describes as having “high EQ.” In internal tests, ERNIE 4.5 scored over 90 on complex document understanding tasks, making it a powerful tool for analyzing contracts, research reports, and other detailed texts.

Additionally, the model incorporates advanced technologies such as dynamic attention masking and heterogeneous multimodal mixture-of-experts. These innovations contribute to improved performance in logic generation, memory, and coding abilities, positioning ERNIE 4.5 as a versatile solution for various applications.

About Baidu

Baidu is one of China’s leading tech giants, renowned for its powerful search engine and pioneering advances in artificial intelligence. With deep investments in AI research and infrastructure, Baidu is continuously pushing the boundaries of innovation. Its recent release of cutting-edge models like ERNIE 4.5 and ERNIE X1 underscores the company’s commitment to making advanced technology accessible to a broader audience.

Deep Thinking with ERNIE X1

While ERNIE 4.5 focuses on multimodal integration, ERNIE X1 is built specifically for reasoning-intensive tasks. This model excels in logical inference, problem-solving, and structured decision-making, making it especially valuable for fields like finance, law, and data analysis.

ERNIE X1 has been compared favorably to DeepSeek R1, with Baidu claiming that it delivers similar performance at roughly half the cost. In some benchmarks—such as a math test known as Math 500—ERNIE X1 even outperformed GPT-4.5, highlighting its strong reasoning and calculation capabilities.

The model’s design emphasizes a deep-thinking approach, integrating planning, reflection, and evolution in its processing. This makes ERNIE X1 an ideal choice for applications that demand complex decision-making and a high level of logical reasoning.

Cost Efficiency and Pricing Strategy

One of the most striking features of these new models is their cost efficiency. ERNIE 4.5 is priced at only 1% of what it costs to run GPT-4.5, making it a very attractive option for startups and researchers. For developers accessing ERNIE 4.5 through Baidu’s API, the pricing is as low as RMB 0.004 per 1,000 input tokens and RMB 0.016 per 1,000 output tokens.

ERNIE X1 follows a similar pricing strategy, with even lower costs—around RMB 0.002 per 1,000 input tokens and RMB 0.008 per 1,000 output tokens. This low-cost model not only makes advanced AI tools accessible to smaller companies and individual developers but also promises to drive widespread adoption in various sectors.

By offering these models for free on its ERNIE Bot platform, Baidu aims to rapidly build a large user base. This influx of real-world data can help further refine the models and drive improvements, ultimately leading to better performance and new enterprise opportunities.

Integration into Baidu’s Ecosystem

Baidu is not stopping at just releasing these models; it plans to integrate ERNIE 4.5 and ERNIE X1 across its entire product ecosystem. The models are set to power Baidu Search, the Wenxiaoyan app, and various enterprise solutions available through the Baidu AI Cloud’s Qianfan platform.

The free release of ERNIE Bot ahead of schedule is a strategic move to accelerate user engagement. By inviting researchers, developers, and everyday users to experiment with these tools, Baidu is creating a feedback loop that can drive rapid improvements. This integration strategy positions Baidu as a one-stop platform for AI, capable of catering to both consumer needs and complex enterprise requirements.

Furthermore, Baidu has hinted at open-sourcing some of its ERNIE models starting June 30, further contributing to a collaborative and innovative AI ecosystem.

Impact on the Global AI Market

Baidu’s decision to offer advanced AI models for free—specifically ERNIE 4.5 and ERNIE X1—is already shaking up the global tech landscape. Unlike competitors such as OpenAI and Google, which typically charge premium fees for their state-of-the-art models, Baidu is moving toward a model of affordable, accessible AI.

In China, where robust government initiatives and massive investments are driving rapid AI development, Baidu’s low-cost yet high-performance offerings are well-positioned to capture significant market share both locally and globally. This strategy challenges higher-priced models like DeepSeek-R1, known for their advanced reasoning but burdened by cost.

Moreover, making these powerful tools available for free could democratize AI across industries. Smaller enterprises and individual developers in sectors ranging from education and healthcare to finance and legal services can now harness cutting-edge technology without the prohibitive costs usually associated with high-end AI solutions.

Overall, as the AI ecosystem continues to evolve rapidly, Baidu’s disruptive strategy may force the entire industry to reexamine pricing models and accessibility standards. With groundbreaking innovations emerging from all corners—from OpenAI’s GPT-4o and GPT-4.5 to Google’s Gemini 2.0 Pro and beyond—the global market is poised for a major transformation that prioritizes both performance and accessibility.

Conclusion

Baidu’s move to release ERNIE 4.5 and ERNIE X1 for free represents a bold break from tradition. By bypassing the high costs and exclusive access typical of advanced AI, Baidu is rapidly expanding its user base while challenging established players to rethink their pricing and accessibility strategies.

This move comes at a time when other industry leaders are making rapid advances. OpenAI’s GPT-4o and GPT-4.5 continue to push the boundaries of multimodal and contextual understanding, while DeepSeek-R1 is recognized for its exceptional reasoning and mathematical performance. Meanwhile, Google’s Gemini 2.0 Pro and Anthropic’s Claude 3.7 Sonnet are carving out niches in extended context handling and structured problem-solving.

Baidu’s strategy reflects a broader trend towards democratizing AI, making state-of-the-art tools available not only to big corporations but also to startups, researchers, and individual developers. This accessibility can drive innovation across diverse sectors, empowering a wider range of users to experiment with and implement advanced AI solutions without breaking the bank.

As the competition heats up with emerging models like xAI’s Grok 3, Meta’s Llama 3.3et Mistral Large 2 making waves, the global AI market is undergoing a significant transformation. Baidu’s free release is a clear signal that the future of AI lies in performance combined with accessibility—a future where advanced technology becomes a tool for everyone, driving innovation and practical applications across all industries.