GLM-4.6V vs Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite vs Qwen3 Coder Next
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite comes out ahead, 73 to 59 and 51 on our weighted score, though GLM-4.6V is 20% cheaper per token.
Z.ai (Zhipu)GLM-4.6V
59/100- ECI—
- Price$0.30 / $0.90
- Context128K
- Our pick
GoogleGemini 3.1 Flash Lite
73/100- ECI—
- Price$0.25 / $1.50
- Context1.05M
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3 Coder Next
51/100- ECI—
- Price$0.20 / $1.20
- Context262K
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is our pick
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 73/100 against GLM-4.6V (59) and Qwen3 Coder Next (51). It leads on inputs & features and context window. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
- CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
- Lowest priceGLM-4.6V and Qwen3 Coder NextGLM-4.6V $0.45 · Qwen3 Coder Next $0.45 · Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite $0.563 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextGemini 3.1 Flash LiteGemini 3.1 Flash Lite 1,048,576 · Qwen3 Coder Next 262,144 · GLM-4.6V 128,000 tokens
- Widest inputsGemini 3.1 Flash LiteGLM-4.6V: Text, Images, Video · Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video · Qwen3 Coder Next: Text
- Self-hostingGLM-4.6V and Qwen3 Coder NextPublishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | GLM-4.6V | Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite | Qwen3 Coder Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 66 | 62 | 66 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 70 | 100 | 35 |
| Context window | 20% | 24 | 61 | 37 |
| Overall | 100% | 59/100 | 73/100 | 51/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | GLM-4.6VZ.ai (Zhipu) | Gemini 3.1 Flash LiteGoogle | Qwen3 Coder NextAlibaba (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.30 | $0.25 | $0.20 (best) |
| Output | $0.90 (best) | $1.50 | $1.20 |
| Cached input | — | $0.025 | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.45 (best) | $0.563 | $0.45 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Z.AI API | Official Google API | Median of 11 providers |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 128,000 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens (best) | 262,144 tokens |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens | 65,536 tokens (best) | 65,536 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes | No |
| PDFs | No | Yes | No |
| Audio | No | Yes | No |
| Video | Yes | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yesminimal · low · medium · high | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | Yes | Yes |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Open | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | glm-4.6v | gemini-3.1-flash-lite | — |
| API providers | 10 | 23 (best) | 11 |
| Released | Dec 8, 2025 | May 7, 2026 | Feb 3, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Apr 2025 | Jan 2025 | Sep 2025 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- GLM-4.6V$4.80
- Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite$5.50
- Qwen3 Coder Next$4.40
Which should you choose?
Which is better: GLM-4.6V, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite or Qwen3 Coder Next?
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 73/100 against GLM-4.6V (59) and Qwen3 Coder Next (51). It leads on inputs & features and context window. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
Which is cheaper, GLM-4.6V, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite or Qwen3 Coder Next?
GLM-4.6V is cheaper at $0.30 input / $0.90 output per million tokens (official Z.AI API price). Qwen3 Coder Next costs $0.20 input / $1.20 output per million tokens (median across 11 API providers); Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite costs $0.25 input / $1.50 output per million tokens (official Google API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.45 per million tokens for GLM-4.6V versus $0.45 for Qwen3 Coder Next (1× as much) and $0.563 for Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite (1.3× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. GLM-4.6V has not been scored yet, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite has not been scored yet and Qwen3 Coder Next has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for GLM-4.6V, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite and Qwen3 Coder Next yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite has the largest context window at 1,048,576 tokens, against 262,144 for Qwen3 Coder Next and 128,000 for GLM-4.6V. Maximum output per response: GLM-4.6V up to 32,768, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite up to 65,536, Qwen3 Coder Next up to 65,536 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
GLM-4.6V accepts text, images and video; Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite accepts text, images, PDFs, audio and video; Qwen3 Coder Next accepts text. Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
GLM-4.6V and Qwen3 Coder Next publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is the newest, released May 7, 2026. Qwen3 Coder Next came out Feb 3, 2026; GLM-4.6V came out Dec 8, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: GLM-4.6V Apr 2025, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Jan 2025, Qwen3 Coder Next Sep 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.
