ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

DeepSeek-R1 vs GLM-5.1

GLM-5.1 comes out ahead, 57 to 51 on our weighted score, though DeepSeek-R1 is 45% cheaper per token.

  1. DeepSeek

    DeepSeek-R1

    Released Jan 20, 2025

    51/100
    • ECI139.0
    • Price$0.70 / $2.60
    • Context128K
    Full specs Remove DeepSeek-R1
  2. Our pick

    Z.ai (Zhipu)

    GLM-5.1

    Released Apr 7, 2026

    57/100
    • ECI149.9
    • Price$1.40 / $4.40
    • Context200K
    Full specs Remove GLM-5.1

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

GLM-5.1 is our pick

GLM-5.1 is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against DeepSeek-R1 (51). It leads on capability, inputs & features and context window. DeepSeek-R1 wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityGLM-5.1Capabilities Index (ECI): GLM-5.1 149.9 · DeepSeek-R1 139.0
  • Lowest priceDeepSeek-R1DeepSeek-R1 $1.18 · GLM-5.1 $2.15 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGLM-5.1GLM-5.1 200,000 · DeepSeek-R1 128,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsDeepSeek-R1: Text · GLM-5.1: Text
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightDeepSeek-R1GLM-5.1
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%6478
Price25%4734
Inputs & features15%3545
Context window10%2432
Overall100%51/10057/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

DeepSeek-R1 vs GLM-5.1 specifications side by side
SpecificationDeepSeek-R1DeepSeekGLM-5.1Z.ai (Zhipu)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)139.0149.9 (best)
ECI rank#104 of 148#51 of 148 (best)
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions71.7%89.9% (best)
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics—36.8%
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics53.3%93.3% (best)
SWE-bench VerifiedFixing real GitHub issues—74.2%
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions—34.0%
Price per million tokens
Input$0.70 (best)$1.40
Output$2.60 (best)$4.40
Cached input—$0.26
Blended (3:1)$1.18 (best)$2.15
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 11 providersOfficial Z.AI API
Limits
Context window128,000 tokens200,000 tokens (best)
Max output32,768 tokens131,072 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoYes
Availability
WeightsOpenOpen
API model ID—glm-5.1
API providers1240 (best)
ReleasedJan 20, 2025Apr 7, 2026
Knowledge cutoffJul 2024—
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • DeepSeek-R1$12.20
  • GLM-5.1$22.80
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: DeepSeek-R1 or GLM-5.1?

GLM-5.1 is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against DeepSeek-R1 (51). It leads on capability, inputs & features and context window. DeepSeek-R1 wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, DeepSeek-R1 or GLM-5.1?

DeepSeek-R1 is cheaper at $0.70 input / $2.60 output per million tokens (median across 11 API providers). GLM-5.1 costs $1.40 input / $4.40 output per million tokens (official Z.AI API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $1.18 per million tokens for DeepSeek-R1 versus $2.15 for GLM-5.1 (1.8× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

GLM-5.1 scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): GLM-5.1 149.9 (#51 of 148) and DeepSeek-R1 139.0 (#104 of 148). Their confidence ranges do not overlap (148.0–151.6 vs 136.2–140.4), so the gap is a real one. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — GLM-5.1 89.9%, DeepSeek-R1 71.7%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — GLM-5.1 93.3%, DeepSeek-R1 53.3%.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for DeepSeek-R1 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, GLM-5.1 leads, which tends to carry over to coding, but test on your own codebase. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

GLM-5.1 has the largest context window at 200,000 tokens, against 128,000 for DeepSeek-R1. Maximum output per response: DeepSeek-R1 up to 32,768, GLM-5.1 up to 131,072 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

DeepSeek-R1 accepts text; GLM-5.1 accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, both publish their weights, so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

GLM-5.1 is the newest, released Apr 7, 2026. DeepSeek-R1 came out Jan 20, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: DeepSeek-R1 Jul 2024.

How do you decide the winner?

Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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