GLM 5.3 vs Kimi K3

$0.85 / task
Wins 3 of 19 benchmarks
$2.00 / task
Wins 11 of 19 benchmarks
GLM 5.352
Kimi K358.3
GLM 5.31,334
Kimi K31,534.1
GLM 5.3at max50.3
Kimi K346
GLM 5.3at max38.8
Kimi K338.8
GLM 5.3at max46.1
Kimi K347.7
GLM 5.334.8
Kimi K312.6
GLM 5.33.8
Kimi K38.1
GLM 5.31,184.4
Kimi K31,498.8
GLM 5.372.7
Kimi K388.7
GLM 5.3at max69
Kimi K368.5
GLM 5.3at max36.4
Kimi K345.3
GLM 5.334.9
Kimi K343.6
Harvey LAB-AA 1.1?
GLM 5.3at max0.3
Kimi K35.3
GLM 5.3at max95.6
Kimi K397.7
GLM 5.3at max84.3
Kimi K388.2
Toolathlon-Verified?
GLM 5.3—
Kimi K376.5
GLM 5.3—
Kimi K337.1
GLM 5.3—
Kimi K341.3
GLM 5.3—
Kimi K334.2

Specs

SpecGLM 5.3Kimi K3
Input, per 1M!$1.40$3
Output, per 1M!$4.40$15
Cost per task?$0.85$2.00
Speed, tok/s9255
Context1M1M
WeightsOpenOpen
ReleasedAug 2026Jul 2026
Memory (4-bit)452 GB1,668 GB
Licenceglm-5.3kimi-k3
Commercial useRestrictedRestricted
See images—✓
Read PDFs—Partial
Hear audio——
Watch video—✓
Call tools✓✓
Force a tool call—✓
Return strict JSON✓✓
Search the web?Partial
Run code??
Use a computer??

What breaks when you switch

GLM 5.3 → Kimi K3
Memory (4-bit): 452 GB → 1,668 GB
Sampling parameters are fixed›

temperature, top_p, n and penalty values are fixed; omit them from requests.

No public image URLs›

Vision input rejects public image URLs; use base64 or ms:// file references in a content array.

Web search is being updated›

Web search is not recommended for near-term production workflows; avoid depending on it in production.

Thinking mode is always enabled›

K3 always has thinking enabled; control effort with the top-level reasoning_effort field using low, high or max.

Kimi K3 → GLM 5.3
No image input
Reasoning cannot be disabled›

Disabling reasoning is unsupported; keep reasoning enabled.

tool_choice auto · Z.ai API›

The first-party chat reference exposes only auto for tool_choice.

Complete unmodified reasoning_content›

Preserved thinking defaults on for Coding Plan and off for the standard API; when enabled, return complete unmodified reasoning_content in its original order to protect quality and cache hits.

Only one stop word›

Only one stop word is supported, so do not rely on a list of alternative stop sequences.