ERNIE Image
Apr 2026
ERNIE ImageCompare inonAA Image Arena · Text-to-image
Ranking?
Full ranking →···
68Ideogram 3.091169ERNIE Image90770Qwen Image903Strong at
Alternatives?
ModelScoreCostPriceWhat changes
CheaperMuse Imageunstatedwins 78%-68%$0.01
BetterFLUX.2 [dev] FlashOpenwins 62%-84%$0.005Memory (4-bit): not verified
OpenQwen Image 2.1unstatedwins 69%-37%$0.02
CheaperMAI Image 2.6 Flashwins 77%-38%$0.019CheaperQwen Image 2.1 Turbowins 67%-49%$0.016ModelScoreCostPriceWhat changes
Muse Imageunstatedwins 78%-68%$0.01MAI Image 2.6 Flashwins 77%-38%$0.019Qwen Image 2.1unstatedOpenwins 69%-37%$0.02Qwen Image 2.1 Turbowins 67%-49%$0.016MAI Image 2.5 Flashwins 67%-37%$0.02ModelScoreCostPriceWhat changes
FLUX.2 [dev] FlashOpenwins 62%-84%$0.005Memory (4-bit): not verifiedZ-Image TurbounstatedOpenwins 54%-84%$0.005Memory (4-bit): not verified
Recraft V4.1 Flashunstatedwins 56%-78%$0.007
Ideogram 4.0 InstantOpenwins 60%-76%$0.007Memory (4-bit): 4.7 GB → 5.4 GBMuse Imageunstatedwins 78%-68%$0.01ModelScoreCostPriceWhat changes
Qwen Image 2.1unstatedOpenwins 69%-37%$0.02
Ming Image 0.1 DesignOpenwins 63%-5%$0.03Ideogram 4.0 FastOpenwins 61%-67%$0.011Memory (4-bit): 4.7 GB → 5.4 GBIdeogram 4.0 InstantOpenwins 60%-76%$0.007Memory (4-bit): 4.7 GB → 5.4 GBFLUX.2 [klein] 9BunstatedOpenwins 53%-46%$0.017Memory (4-bit): 4.7 GB → 5.3 GBRun it yourself
estimateFits on✓ 8 GB (phone, laptop) · compressed✓ 16 GB · 8-bit✓ 24 GB GPU · full quality✓ 48 GB GPU · full quality✓ 80 GB GPU · full quality
LicenceApache-2.0free for commercial use
Benchmarks
in Image Generation & EditingFAQ
How much does ERNIE Image cost?›
$0.032 per image.
Is ERNIE Image free to use?›
There is no free API; it costs $0.032 per image. The weights are open, so you can run it yourself.
How good is ERNIE Image, and what is it best at?›
#69 of 93 in Image Generation & Editing.
Is ERNIE Image better than Ideogram 3.0?›
On AA Image Arena · text-to-image v2.1, ERNIE Image scores 907 vs 911 — about the same. It is 48% cheaper.
When was ERNIE Image released? Is there a newer version?›
Released 2026-04-15. It is the current version in its line.
Is ERNIE Image open source?›
Yes, the weights are open (Apache-2.0 licence).
Can I run ERNIE Image locally?›
The weights are open and can be self-hosted; hardware needs are not confirmed yet.
What is ERNIE Image?›
ERNIE Image is an open-weights image generation & editing model from Baidu, released Apr 2026.
What are the best alternatives to ERNIE Image?›
Muse Image (cheaper), FLUX.2 [dev] Flash (better), Qwen Image 2.1 (open weights).