Baidu, the Chinese tech giant, has recently unveiled its latest large language model (LLM), ERNIE 4.5, alongside a specialized reasoning model called ERNIE X1. These releases have sparked interest due to Baidu's claims that ERNIE X1 offers performance comparable to DeepSeek’s R1 model but at a significantly lower cost. Let’s break down the key details—pricing, performance metrics, and additional features—to see how ERNIE stacks up.

Pricing Comparison

Baidu has positioned ERNIE X1 as a budget-friendly option in the competitive LLM market. According to the company, ERNIE X1 is priced at half the cost of DeepSeek R1. While official pricing details from Baidu remain scarce, reports from social media platforms like X provide some specifics:

ERNIE X1: Approximately $0.28 per million input tokens and $1.1 per million output tokens.
DeepSeek R1: Reported at $0.55 per million input tokens and $2.2 per million output tokens.
If these figures hold true, ERNIE X1 indeed costs roughly half as much as DeepSeek R1 for API usage, making it an attractive option for developers and businesses looking to optimize costs. However, since these numbers come from unofficial sources rather than Baidu’s or DeepSeek’s official channels, they should be treated with caution until verified.

Performance Claims

Baidu claims that ERNIE X1 matches the performance of DeepSeek R1, a reasoning model known for its strong capabilities. While specific benchmark scores for ERNIE X1 are not widely available, we can infer its potential based on related data:

DeepSeek R1 has been independently evaluated and shown to outperform OpenAI’s o1 in certain tasks, such as those measured by the KOG test (where it scored 5.5 out of 6 in some instances). This suggests DeepSeek R1 is a high-performing model in reasoning and problem-solving.
Baidu asserts that ERNIE X1 delivers comparable performance to DeepSeek R1, implying it could also compete with top-tier models like o1.
Additionally, ERNIE 4.5—the foundational model underpinning ERNIE X1—has been reported to outperform OpenAI’s GPT-4o in multimodal benchmarks like CCBench (for text comprehension) and OCRBench (for optical character recognition). This suggests that ERNIE’s ecosystem is robust, with ERNIE X1 likely benefiting from these advancements in its reasoning capabilities.

Without direct, independent benchmark comparisons for ERNIE X1, Baidu’s performance claims rely on their internal assessments. Still, the strong showing of DeepSeek R1 in external tests lends credence to the possibility that ERNIE X1 is similarly competitive.

Additional Features

One area where ERNIE stands out is its multimodal capabilities. ERNIE 4.5 can process and generate content across multiple formats—text, images, audio, and video—making it versatile for applications beyond pure text-based tasks. While it’s unclear if ERNIE X1 inherits all these capabilities as a reasoning-focused model, the ERNIE family’s multimodal strengths could give it an edge over DeepSeek R1, depending on use-case requirements.

Considerations

Before jumping on the ERNIE bandwagon, here are a few caveats to keep in mind:

Pricing Uncertainty: The token costs cited ($0.28/$1.1 for ERNIE X1 and $0.55/$2.2 for DeepSeek R1) are based on social media reports, not official documentation. Pricing could vary or change over time.
Performance Validation: Baidu’s claim of parity with DeepSeek R1 lacks publicly available benchmark scores. Independent evaluations would provide a clearer picture.
Other Factors: Metrics like latency, API availability, language support, and output quality could affect real-world usability but aren’t detailed in current reports.

Conclusion

Baidu’s ERNIE X1 positions itself as a compelling alternative to DeepSeek R1, promising similar performance at half the price. With reported costs of $0.28 per million input tokens and $1.1 per million output tokens versus DeepSeek R1’s $0.55 and $2.2, ERNIE X1 could save significant expenses for heavy API users. Performance-wise, Baidu’s claims align with DeepSeek R1’s proven strengths, and ERNIE 4.5’s multimodal capabilities add extra value.

For developers and businesses, ERNIE X1 looks like a cost-effective contender worth exploring—especially if budget is a priority. However, given the reliance on unofficial pricing data and unverified performance metrics, it’s wise to test the model firsthand and monitor for official updates from Baidu. In the fast-evolving LLM landscape, ERNIE X1 might just be the bargain powerhouse it claims to be.