GLM 5.3
GLM 5.3Alternatives?
CheaperClaude Opus 5.5highwins 58%-9%$1.82No forced tool use+5
BetterGemini 4 Argonhighwins 57%-19%*$1.62Synchronous output stops at 65,536+2
OpenMiMo v2.6 Prounstatedsame-75%$0.43 / $0.87Memory (4-bit): 452 GB → 615 GB+4
CheaperGPT-5.6 Solxhighsame-41%$1.18CheaperGLM 5.3 FlashunstatedOpensame-89%$0.15 / $0.50Defaults to max · Self-hosted+4Claude Opus 5.5highwins 58%-9%$1.82No forced tool use+5Gemini 4 Argonhighwins 57%-19%*$1.62Synchronous output stops at 65,536+2MiMo v2.6 ProunstatedOpensame-75%$0.43 / $0.87Memory (4-bit): 452 GB → 615 GB+4GPT-5.6 Solxhighsame-41%$1.18GLM 5.3 FlashunstatedOpensame-89%$0.15 / $0.50Defaults to max · Self-hosted+4Gemini 4 Argonhighwins 57%-19%*$1.62Synchronous output stops at 65,536+2Claude Opus 5.5highwins 58%-9%$1.82No forced tool use+5Claude Opus 5highwins 55%+80%$3.61Claude Fable 5.1maxwins 56%+280%$7.63Replace forced tool_choice+5Claude Opus 4.6highwins 56%+365%$5 / $25MiMo v2.6 ProunstatedOpensame-75%$0.43 / $0.87Memory (4-bit): 452 GB → 615 GB+4GLM 5.3 FlashunstatedOpensame-89%$0.15 / $0.50Defaults to max · Self-hosted+4MiMo v2.5 ProunstatedOpensame-75%$0.43 / $0.87Memory (4-bit): 452 GB → 614 GBGLM 5.2maxOpensame-36%$1.28GLM 5.1unstatedOpenwins 46%same$1.40 / $4.40Context: 1M → 203KGLM 5.3 FlashunstatedOpensame—$0.15 / $0.50Defaults to max · Self-hosted+4GLM 5.2maxOpensame-36%$1.28GLM 5.1unstatedOpenwins 46%—$1.40 / $4.40Context: 1M → 203KGLM 5unstatedOpenwins 42%—$1 / $3.20Context: 1M → 203KGLM 5V Turbounstatedwins 42%—$1.20 / $4Context: 1M → 203KGLM 4.7unstatedOpenwins 40%—$0.60 / $2.20Context: 1M → 203KGLM 4.5unstatedOpenwins 39%—$0.60 / $2.20Context: 1M → 131KGLM 4.5 AirunstatedOpenwins 33%—$0.20 / $1.10Context: 1M → 131K+1All Z.ai models →Run it yourself
estimateHistory
10 versionsBenchmarks
in Chat & KnowledgeWatch out 4
Reasoning cannot be disabled›
Disabling reasoning is unsupported; keep reasoning enabled. Source ↗
tool_choice auto · Z.ai API›
The first-party chat reference exposes only auto for tool_choice. Source ↗
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. Source ↗
Only one stop word›
Only one stop word is supported, so do not rely on a list of alternative stop sequences. Source ↗
FAQ
How much does GLM 5.3 cost?›
$1.40 per 1M input tokens and $4.40 per 1M output tokens; cached input $0.26 per 1M; cheapest via Wafer at $0.07 / $1.40. A typical benchmark task costs about $2.01 at max effort.
Is GLM 5.3 free to use?›
There is no free API; the cheapest paid price is $0.07 per 1M input tokens. The weights are open, so you can run it yourself.
How good is GLM 5.3, and what is it best at?›
#39 of 336 in Chat & Knowledge, #13 of 134 in Coding, #14 of 135 in Agents & Tool Use, #16 of 197 in Writing & Language, #54 of 135 in Vision & Documents. Strongest at: Coding, Agents & work tasks, Reasoning, Science, Long context, Knowledge.
Is GLM 5.3 better than GLM 5.2?›
On Arena Text · instruction following, GLM 5.3 scores 1,480.3 vs 1,465.9 — about the same. It is 56% more expensive per task.
How can I use GLM 5.3?›
Through the API of AkashML, Alibaba, Amazon Bedrock, AtlasCloud, BaseTen and 27 more.
What is the context window of GLM 5.3?›
1M tokens, with up to 131K output tokens.
When was GLM 5.3 released? Is there a newer version?›
Released 2026-08-14. It is the current version in its line.
Is GLM 5.3 open source?›
Yes, the weights are open (glm-5.3 licence).
Can I run GLM 5.3 locally?›
The weights are open and can be self-hosted; hardware needs are not confirmed yet.
Can GLM 5.3 read images?›
No, it accepts text only.
What is GLM 5.3?›
GLM 5.3 is an open-weights language model from Z.ai, released Aug 2026, the successor to GLM 5.2.
What are the best alternatives to GLM 5.3?›
Claude Opus 5.5 (cheaper), Gemini 4 Argon (better), MiMo v2.6 Pro (open weights).