GLM-Image
Jan 2026
GLM-ImageCompare inon
GLM-Image measured on 4 of 9 Image Generation & Editing benchmarks4
BenchmarkByScoreRank
Multimodal3
Text rendering1
No benchmark matches
Rankingconfiguration unstated?
Full ranking →···
38Runway Gen 41,024.239GLM-Image1,012.140FLUX.1 Kontext Dev941.1Strong at
Alternatives?
ModelScoreCostPriceWhat changes
CheaperMAI Image 2.6unstatedwins 86%-22%$0.039
BetterZ-Image TurbounstatedOpenwins 60%-90%$0.005Edits photos: not verified+1OpenQwen Image 2.1unstatedwins 77%-60%$0.02Memory (4-bit): 4.1 GB → 4.2 GB
CheaperNano Banana 2.1unstatedwins 86%-33%$0.034
CheaperMuse Imageunstatedwins 82%-80%$0.01ModelScoreCostPriceWhat changes
MAI Image 2.6unstatedwins 86%-22%$0.039Nano Banana 2.1unstatedwins 86%-33%$0.034Muse Imageunstatedwins 82%-80%$0.01Qwen Image 3.0 Prounstatedwins 80%-20%$0.04Qwen Image 2.1unstatedOpenwins 77%-60%$0.02Memory (4-bit): 4.1 GB → 4.2 GBModelScoreCostPriceWhat changes
Z-Image TurbounstatedOpenwins 60%-90%$0.005Edits photos: not verified+1PP Imageunstatedwins 53%-90%$0.005Edits photos: not verified
Recraft V4.1 Flashunstatedwins 62%-86%$0.007Muse Imageunstatedwins 82%-80%$0.01HHiDream O1 ImageunstatedOpenwins 65%-80%$0.01Memory (4-bit): not verifiedModelScoreCostPriceWhat changes
Qwen Image 2.1unstatedOpenwins 77%-60%$0.02Memory (4-bit): 4.1 GB → 4.2 GB
FLUX.2 [klein] 9BunstatedOpenwins 58%-66%$0.017Memory (4-bit): 4.1 GB → 5.3 GBFLUX.2 [klein] 4BunstatedOpenwins 53%-70%$0.015FLUX.1 Kontext DevunstatedOpenwins 40%-50%$0.025Memory (4-bit): 4.1 GB → 7 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 & EditingArena Text-to-Image · overall1,012.1#39
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 Runway Gen 4?›
On Arena Text-to-Image · overall, GLM-Image scores 1,012.1 vs 1,024.2 — about the same. It is 67% cheaper.
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?›
MAI Image 2.6 (cheaper), Z-Image Turbo (better), Qwen Image 2.1 (open weights).