GLM-Image
Jan 2026
GLM-ImageCompare inon
GLM-Image measured on 4 of 5 Image Generation & Editing benchmarks4
BenchmarkByScoreRank
Multimodal3
Text rendering1
No benchmark matches
Rankingconfiguration unstated?
Full ranking →···
74Z-Image Base891.375GLM-Image885.476Lucid Origin Ultra877.4Strong at
Alternatives?
ModelScoreCostPriceWhat changes
CheaperNano Banana 2.1unstatedwins 84%-33%$0.034
BetterFLUX.2 [dev] FlashOpenwins 64%-90%$0.005Memory (4-bit): not verified
OpenQwen Image 2.1unstatedwins 71%-60%$0.02Memory (4-bit): 4.1 GB → 4.2 GB
CheaperMAI Image 2.6unstatedwins 83%-22%$0.039
CheaperMuse Imageunstatedwins 80%-80%$0.01ModelScoreCostPriceWhat changes
Nano Banana 2.1unstatedwins 84%-33%$0.034MAI Image 2.6unstatedwins 83%-22%$0.039Muse Imageunstatedwins 80%-80%$0.01MAI Image 2.6 Flashwins 79%-61%$0.019Nano Banana 2 Lite (Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Image)unstatedwins 78%-33%$0.034ModelScoreCostPriceWhat changes
FLUX.2 [dev] FlashOpenwins 64%-90%$0.005Memory (4-bit): not verifiedZ-Image TurbounstatedOpenwins 57%-90%$0.005Edits photos: not verified+1
Recraft V4.1 Flashunstatedwins 59%-86%$0.007
Ideogram 4.0 InstantOpenwins 63%-85%$0.007Edits photos: not verified+1Muse Imageunstatedwins 80%-80%$0.01ModelScoreCostPriceWhat changes
Qwen Image 2.1unstatedOpenwins 71%-60%$0.02Memory (4-bit): 4.1 GB → 4.2 GB
Ming Image 0.1 DesignOpenwins 66%-40%$0.03Ideogram 4.0 FastOpenwins 64%-65%$0.018Edits photos: not verified+1Ideogram 4.0 InstantOpenwins 63%-85%$0.007Edits photos: not verified+1FLUX.2 [klein] 9BunstatedOpenwins 56%-66%$0.017Memory (4-bit): 4.1 GB → 5.3 GBModelScoreCostPriceWhat changes
CogView-4n/a—$0.01Edits photos: not verifiedCogView-3-Flashn/a——Edits photos: not verifiedAll Z.ai models →Run it yourself
estimateFits on✓ 8 GB (phone, laptop) · 8-bit✓ 16 GB · full quality✓ 24 GB GPU · full quality✓ 48 GB GPU · full quality✓ 80 GB GPU · full quality
LicenceMITfree for commercial use
Benchmarks
in Image Generation & EditingAA Image Arena · editing v2.1823.8#65
Arena Text-to-Image · overall1,012.1#40
FAQ
How much does GLM-Image cost?›
$0.05 per image.
Is GLM-Image free to use?›
There is no free API; it costs $0.05 per image. The weights are open, so you can run it yourself.
How good is GLM-Image, and what is it best at?›
#75 of 93 in Image Generation & Editing.
Is GLM-Image better than Z-Image Base?›
On AA Image Arena · text-to-image v2.1, GLM-Image scores 885.4 vs 891.3 — about the same. It is 400% more expensive.
When was GLM-Image released? Is there a newer version?›
Released 2026-01-13. It is the current version in its line.
Is GLM-Image open source?›
Yes, the weights are open (MIT licence).
Can I run GLM-Image locally?›
The weights are open and can be self-hosted; hardware needs are not confirmed yet.
What is GLM-Image?›
GLM-Image is an open-weights image generation & editing model from Z.ai, released Jan 2026.
What are the best alternatives to GLM-Image?›
Nano Banana 2.1 (cheaper), FLUX.2 [dev] Flash (better), Qwen Image 2.1 (open weights).