Ernie Bot
yiyan.baidu.com
Baidu's large language model chatbot for Chinese and English tasks.
Quick Information
- Category:
- Writing & Chat
- Pricing:
- Freemium
- Platforms:
- Web, iOS, Android
- Free Plan:
- Yes
- API Available:
- Yes
- Last Verified:
- September 2026
What Is Ernie Bot?
Ernie Bot is Baidu's flagship AI chatbot, built on the company's ERNIE model family, which reached its 5.0 generation in 2026 — a 2.4 trillion-parameter unified multimodal model trained from scratch to handle text, image, video, and audio within a single framework. In a competitive response to DeepSeek's rise, Baidu made Ernie Bot free for all users on both desktop and mobile starting April 1, with a Professional subscription still available at 59.9 yuan/month ($8.18 USD), discounted to 49.9 yuan ($7.08) for auto-renewal subscribers.
Its API pricing is genuinely competitive in the broader LLM market: standard input tokens run $0.55 per million and output tokens $2.20 per million, while the smaller ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B Thinking model runs as low as $0.06 per million input tokens for cost-sensitive applications. Baidu's decision to make the consumer chatbot free reflects the intensifying competitive pressure across the Chinese AI market following DeepSeek's emergence, prioritizing user adoption over subscription revenue for the core product.
It's aimed at users wanting a free, capable Chinese-language AI chatbot with strong multimodal capabilities, and developers wanting competitively priced API access to Baidu's ERNIE model family. See our AI Universe for broader model comparisons against DeepSeek Chat and other Chinese AI assistants.
What Can You Use Ernie Bot For?
Free multimodal AI chat
Provides free conversational AI across text, image, video, and audio understanding.
Chinese-language AI assistance
Delivers strong Chinese-language conversational and content generation capabilities.
Cost-effective API integration
Integrates ERNIE models into applications at competitive per-token API pricing.
Ernie Bot Features
- ERNIE 5.0 multimodal model — A 2.4 trillion-parameter model handling text, image, video, and audio in one unified framework.
- Free consumer access — Provides free chatbot access on desktop and mobile as of April 2026.
- Competitive API pricing — Offers per-token API pricing as low as $0.06/million tokens for smaller models.
- Professional subscription — Offers an optional paid tier at approximately $7-8/month for enhanced features.
Who Is Ernie Bot For?
- Chinese-language users — Gets a free, capable AI chatbot with strong multimodal understanding.
- Developers — Integrates ERNIE models via competitively priced API access.
Ernie Bot Pros & Limitations
What We Like
- Genuinely free for consumer use, following Baidu’s competitive response to DeepSeek
- Competitive API pricing, especially for smaller, cost-optimized models
- ERNIE 5.0’s unified multimodal architecture handles text, image, video, and audio in one framework
Limitations
- Primarily optimized for Chinese-language use, though it does support other languages
- Less established in Western markets compared to OpenAI or Anthropic assistants
- Professional subscription value depends on which specific enhanced features matter for a given user
Ernie Bot Pricing
| Plan | Price | Main Features |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Full chatbot access on desktop and mobile |
| Professional | 59.9 yuan/month (~$8.18), 49.9 yuan auto-renewal | Enhanced features for professional users |
| API (standard) | $0.55/$2.20 per 1M tokens (input/output) | Standard ERNIE model API access |
| API (ERNIE 4.5 21B A3B Thinking) | From $0.06/1M input tokens | Smaller, cost-optimized model |
Pricing was last verified September 2026. Check the official website for the latest pricing.
AI Listing Jungle Ranking
- Global Rank:
- #886
- Overall Score:
- 0.0/100
- Monthly Users:
- 200M+
- Rank Change:
- –
This ranking reflects AI Listing Jungle's own independent scoring methodology and is not an endorsement by Ernie Bot or its company. How Our Rankings Work
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ernie Bot free?
Yes, Baidu made it free for all users on desktop and mobile starting April 1, 2026.
What is ERNIE 5.0?
A 2.4 trillion-parameter unified multimodal model handling text, image, video, and audio in one framework.
How much does the API cost?
Standard models run $0.55/$2.20 per million tokens, with smaller models as low as $0.06/million input tokens.
Why did Baidu make Ernie Bot free?
As a competitive response to DeepSeek’s rise in the Chinese AI market.
Our Take
Baidu's decision to make Ernie Bot free reflects genuine competitive pressure in the Chinese AI market, prioritizing adoption over subscription revenue for the consumer product.
Its API pricing remains competitively positioned for developers, particularly the smaller ERNIE 4.5 model for cost-sensitive applications.
Ernie Bot Alternatives
Ernie Bot Comparisons
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