ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Gemini 3.5 Flash vs GLM-5

Gemini 3.5 Flash comes out ahead, 69 to 55 on our weighted score, though GLM-5 is 2.2× cheaper per token.

  1. Our pick

    Google

    Gemini 3.5 Flash

    Released May 19, 2026

    69/100
    • ECI154.5
    • Price$1.50 / $9.00
    • Context1.05M
    Full specs Remove Gemini 3.5 Flash

  2. Z.ai (Zhipu)

    GLM-5

    Released Feb 12, 2026

    55/100
    • ECI145.8
    • Price$1.00 / $3.20
    • Context205K
    Full specs Remove GLM-5

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Gemini 3.5 Flash is our pick

Gemini 3.5 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 69/100 against GLM-5 (55). It leads on capability, inputs & features and context window. GLM-5 wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityGemini 3.5 FlashCapabilities Index (ECI): Gemini 3.5 Flash 154.5 · GLM-5 145.8
  • Lowest priceGLM-5GLM-5 $1.55 · Gemini 3.5 Flash $3.38 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGemini 3.5 FlashGemini 3.5 Flash 1,048,576 · GLM-5 204,800 tokens
  • Widest inputsGemini 3.5 FlashGemini 3.5 Flash: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video · GLM-5: Text
  • Self-hostingGLM-5Publishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGemini 3.5 FlashGLM-5
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%8473
Price25%2541
Inputs & features15%10035
Context window10%6132
Overall100%69/10055/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

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

Gemini 3.5 Flash vs GLM-5 specifications side by side
SpecificationGemini 3.5 FlashGoogleGLM-5Z.ai (Zhipu)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)154.5 (best)145.8
ECI rank#33 of 148 (best)#74 of 148
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions92.8% (best)87.8%
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics62.8%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics95.6% (best)80.0%
SWE-bench VerifiedFixing real GitHub issues79.3% (best)72.1%
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions66.2%—
Price per million tokens
Input$1.50$1.00 (best)
Output$9.00$3.20 (best)
Cached input$0.15 (best)$0.20
Blended (3:1)$3.38$1.55 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Google APIOfficial Z.AI API
Limits
Context window1,048,576 tokens (best)204,800 tokens
Max output65,536 tokens131,072 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesNo
PDFsYesNo
AudioYesNo
VideoYesNo
ReasoningYesminimal · low · medium · highYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryOpen
API model IDgemini-3.5-flashglm-5
API providers32 (best)27
ReleasedMay 19, 2026Feb 12, 2026
Knowledge cutoffJan 2025—
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.

  • Gemini 3.5 Flash$33.00
  • GLM-5$16.40
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Gemini 3.5 Flash or GLM-5?

Gemini 3.5 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 69/100 against GLM-5 (55). It leads on capability, inputs & features and context window. GLM-5 wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, Gemini 3.5 Flash or GLM-5?

GLM-5 is cheaper at $1.00 input / $3.20 output per million tokens (official Z.AI API price). Gemini 3.5 Flash costs $1.50 input / $9.00 output per million tokens (official Google API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $1.55 per million tokens for GLM-5 versus $3.38 for Gemini 3.5 Flash (2.2× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

Gemini 3.5 Flash scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): Gemini 3.5 Flash 154.5 (#33 of 148) and GLM-5 145.8 (#74 of 148). Their confidence ranges do not overlap (152.5–156.6 vs 143.9–147.7), so the gap is a real one. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — Gemini 3.5 Flash 92.8%, GLM-5 87.8%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — Gemini 3.5 Flash 95.6%, GLM-5 80.0%; SWE-bench Verified — Gemini 3.5 Flash 79.3%, GLM-5 72.1%.

Which is better for coding?

Gemini 3.5 Flash resolves more real GitHub issues on SWE-bench Verified: Gemini 3.5 Flash 79.3% and GLM-5 72.1%. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Gemini 3.5 Flash has the largest context window at 1,048,576 tokens, against 204,800 for GLM-5. Maximum output per response: Gemini 3.5 Flash up to 65,536, GLM-5 up to 131,072 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Gemini 3.5 Flash accepts text, images, PDFs, audio and video; GLM-5 accepts text. Gemini 3.5 Flash handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

GLM-5 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Gemini 3.5 Flash is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Gemini 3.5 Flash is the newest, released May 19, 2026. GLM-5 came out Feb 12, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Gemini 3.5 Flash Jan 2025.

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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