Claude Haiku 5.5 vs ERNIE 5.0
Anthropic · US | Baidu · China · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick Claude Haiku 5.5 for 5x the context window of haiku 4.5 (1m vs 200k tokens) and double the max output (128k vs 64k) or first haiku-class model with an adjustable 'effort' setting to trade off cost, latency, and intelligence. Pick ERNIE 5.0 for baidu's flagship omni-modal model — text, image and video understanding or particularly strong on chinese-language reasoning tasks. On a tight budget at scale, Claude Haiku 5.5 is the value pick.
Claude Haiku 5.5 (Anthropic, US) and ERNIE 5.0 (Baidu, China) line up two different AI ecosystems against each other — a comparison that is as much about cost philosophy and openness as raw capability. Claude Haiku 5.5 is anthropic's October 7, 2026 small-model refresh — a 1M-token context window (up from 200K) at roughly 75% lower average cost than Haiku 4.5, priced at $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens. ERNIE 5.0 is baidu's flagship omni-modal ERNIE model — strong Chinese-language and multimodal reasoning at low cost, though it trails the Western frontier on independent benchmarks. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
- ▸Price: Claude Haiku 5.5 is about 6× cheaper on input ($0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens vs $0.6/$2.1 per 1M tokens) — a large enough gap that at scale it can be the single biggest line item in the decision.
- ▸Context window: Claude Haiku 5.5 holds 7.8× more — 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) vs 128K (~192 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
- ▸Recency: Claude Haiku 5.5 is the newer model by about 9 months (released October 7, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
- ▸Ecosystem: this is a US-vs-China matchup — they differ in pricing philosophy, data-residency options, and tooling ecosystems, not only benchmarks.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | Claude Haiku 5.5 | ERNIE 5.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Anthropic (US) | Baidu (China) |
| Released | October 7, 2026 | January 22, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) | 128K (~192 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens | $0.6/$2.1 per 1M tokens |
| Open weight? | No — API only | No — API only |
| Modalities | text, image, code | text, image, video, code |
| SWE-Bench Verified | Not published | Not published |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | Not published | Not published |
Who wins what
5x the context window of Haiku 4.5 (1M vs 200K tokens) and double the max output (128K vs 64K)
Claude Haiku 5.5
Its 1M tokens window holds about 7.8× more than ERNIE 5.0's 128K in a single prompt.
First Haiku-class model with an adjustable 'effort' setting to trade off cost, latency, and intelligence
Claude Haiku 5.5
At $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens it undercuts ERNIE 5.0 ($0.6/$2.1 per 1M tokens), and that gap compounds at volume.
Anthropic's cheapest small model yet — runs about 75% cheaper on average than Haiku 4.5
Claude Haiku 5.5
ERNIE 5.0 is comparatively weak here — 128K context is smaller than 1M-token rivals
Baidu's flagship omni-modal model — text, image and video understanding
ERNIE 5.0
ERNIE 5.0 lists baidu's flagship omni-modal model — text, image and video understanding among its strengths; Claude Haiku 5.5 does not.
Particularly strong on Chinese-language reasoning tasks
ERNIE 5.0
Claude Haiku 5.5 is comparatively weak here — as the smallest tier, trails both Sonnet 5.5 and Opus 5.5 on hard reasoning and open-ended work
Competitive API pricing (around $0.60/$2.10 per million tokens)
ERNIE 5.0
Claude Haiku 5.5 is comparatively weak here — pricing jumps roughly 5x beyond 100K-token prompts ($0.50/$2.50 per million vs the headline $0.10/$0.50)
Lowest cost at scale
Claude Haiku 5.5
At $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Largest single-prompt input
Claude Haiku 5.5
Its 1M tokens window is about 7.8× larger than ERNIE 5.0's 128K, fitting roughly 1,500 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ Claude Haiku 5.5
At $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens it undercuts ERNIE 5.0, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ Claude Haiku 5.5
Larger 1M tokens window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is 5x the context window of haiku 4.5 (1m vs 200k tokens) and double the max output (128k vs 64k)
→ Claude Haiku 5.5
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is baidu's flagship omni-modal model — text, image and video understanding
→ ERNIE 5.0
That is its strongest area.
An enterprise with regional data-residency rules
→ Claude Haiku 5.5 or ERNIE 5.0
Origin (US vs China) affects where data is processed and which compliance regime applies — check the provider's terms for your region.
Claude Haiku 5.5: where it fits
Anthropic's October 7, 2026 small-model refresh — a 1M-token context window (up from 200K) at roughly 75% lower average cost than Haiku 4.5, priced at $0.10/$0.50 per million tokens. Released October 7, 2026 by Anthropic, it is built for 5x the context window of Haiku 4.5 (1M vs 200K tokens) and double the max output (128K vs 64K), first Haiku-class model with an adjustable 'effort' setting to trade off cost, latency, and intelligence, anthropic's cheapest small model yet — runs about 75% cheaper on average than Haiku 4.5, and over-refuses benign requests only 0.17% of the time on the API, down from Haiku 4.5's 0.44%.
Its trade-offs are real: pricing jumps roughly 5x beyond 100K-token prompts ($0.50/$2.50 per million vs the headline $0.10/$0.50), extended thinking can no longer be fully disabled — only dialed between low, medium, and high effort, and as the smallest tier, trails both Sonnet 5.5 and Opus 5.5 on hard reasoning and open-ended work. At $0.1 in / $0.5 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
ERNIE 5.0: where it fits
Baidu's flagship omni-modal ERNIE model — strong Chinese-language and multimodal reasoning at low cost, though it trails the Western frontier on independent benchmarks. Released January 22, 2026 by Baidu, it is built for baidu's flagship omni-modal model — text, image and video understanding, particularly strong on Chinese-language reasoning tasks, competitive API pricing (around $0.60/$2.10 per million tokens), and backed by a major lab with deep China-market integration.
Its trade-offs: trails the Western frontier on aggregate independent tests (AA Intelligence Index ~22 for the tracked Thinking Preview), parameter and architecture details are vendor-stated and opaque, closed weights on a China-hosted API, and 128K context is smaller than 1M-token rivals. At $0.6 in / $2.1 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
This is less "which is smarter" and more "which ecosystem fits." Claude Haiku 5.5 (US) and ERNIE 5.0 (China) differ on pricing philosophy, data-residency, and tooling as much as on raw scores. Claude Haiku 5.5 is the cheaper option, which matters at volume. The pragmatic move is to run one real task through both and judge the outputs against your own constraints — including where your data is allowed to be processed.
Want both Claude Haiku 5.5 and ERNIE 5.0 without two subscriptions? LumiChats gives you these plus 40+ models under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day) — draft with one, cross-check with the other.
See pricingFrequently asked questions
Is Claude Haiku 5.5 or ERNIE 5.0 better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for either model, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, Claude Haiku 5.5 leans toward 5x the context window of haiku 4.5 (1m vs 200k tokens) and double the max output (128k vs 64k) while ERNIE 5.0 leans toward baidu's flagship omni-modal model — text, image and video understanding, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Claude Haiku 5.5 or ERNIE 5.0?
Claude Haiku 5.5 is cheaper — $0.1/$0.5 per 1M tokens vs $0.6/$2.1 per 1M tokens, roughly 6× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
Claude Haiku 5.5 — 1M tokens vs 128K, about 7.8× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both Claude Haiku 5.5 and ERNIE 5.0 together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Claude Haiku 5.5, ERNIE 5.0 and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, Claude Haiku 5.5 or ERNIE 5.0?
Claude Haiku 5.5 — released October 7, 2026, about 9 months after ERNIE 5.0.
Related comparisons
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.