ZMIME
Comparison · 3 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

GLM-4.6V vs GLM-5 vs Qwen3 Coder Next

GLM-4.6V comes out ahead, 59 to 51 and 37 on our weighted score.

  1. Our pick

    Z.ai (Zhipu)

    GLM-4.6V

    Released Dec 8, 2025

    59/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.30 / $0.90
    • Context128K
  2. Z.ai (Zhipu)

    GLM-5

    Released Feb 12, 2026

    37/100
    • ECI145.8
    • Price$1.00 / $3.20
    • Context205K
  3. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3 Coder Next

    Released Feb 3, 2026

    51/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.20 / $1.20
    • Context262K
01 — Verdict

GLM-4.6V is our pick

GLM-4.6V is the better all-round choice, scoring 59/100 against Qwen3 Coder Next (51) and GLM-5 (37). It leads on inputs & features. Qwen3 Coder Next wins on 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 · GLM-5 $1.55 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextQwen3 Coder NextQwen3 Coder Next 262,144 · GLM-5 204,800 · GLM-4.6V 128,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsGLM-4.6VGLM-4.6V: Text, Images, Video · GLM-5: Text · Qwen3 Coder Next: Text
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGLM-4.6VGLM-5Qwen3 Coder Next
Price50%664166
Inputs & features30%703535
Context window20%243237
Overall100%59/10037/10051/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

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

GLM-4.6V vs GLM-5 vs Qwen3 Coder Next specifications side by side
SpecificationGLM-4.6VZ.ai (Zhipu)GLM-5Z.ai (Zhipu)Qwen3 Coder NextAlibaba (Qwen)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)—145.8—
ECI rank—#74 of 148—
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions—87.8%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics—80.0%—
SWE-bench VerifiedFixing real GitHub issues—72.1%—
Price per million tokens
Input$0.30$1.00$0.20 (best)
Output$0.90 (best)$3.20$1.20
Cached input—$0.20—
Blended (3:1)$0.45 (best)$1.55$0.45 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Z.AI APIOfficial Z.AI APIMedian of 11 providers
Limits
Context window128,000 tokens204,800 tokens262,144 tokens (best)
Max output32,768 tokens131,072 tokens (best)65,536 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYesYes
ImagesYesNoNo
PDFsNoNoNo
AudioNoNoNo
VideoYesNoNo
ReasoningYesYesNo
Tool callingYesYesYes
Structured outputNoNoYes
Availability
WeightsOpenOpenOpen
API model IDglm-4.6vglm-5—
API providers1027 (best)11
ReleasedDec 8, 2025Feb 12, 2026Feb 3, 2026
Knowledge cutoffApr 2025—Sep 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.

  • GLM-4.6V$4.80
  • GLM-5$16.40
  • Qwen3 Coder Next$4.40
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: GLM-4.6V, GLM-5 or Qwen3 Coder Next?

GLM-4.6V is the better all-round choice, scoring 59/100 against Qwen3 Coder Next (51) and GLM-5 (37). It leads on inputs & features. Qwen3 Coder Next wins on 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, GLM-5 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); GLM-5 costs $1.00 input / $3.20 output per million tokens (official Z.AI 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 $1.55 for GLM-5 (3.4× 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, GLM-5 has an ECI of 145.8 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 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?

Qwen3 Coder Next has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 204,800 for GLM-5 and 128,000 for GLM-4.6V. Maximum output per response: GLM-4.6V up to 32,768, GLM-5 up to 131,072, Qwen3 Coder Next up to 65,536 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

GLM-4.6V accepts text, images and video; GLM-5 accepts text; Qwen3 Coder Next accepts text. GLM-4.6V handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

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

Which is newer?

GLM-5 is the newest, released Feb 12, 2026. Qwen3 Coder Next came out Feb 3, 2026; GLM-4.6V came out Dec 8, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: GLM-4.6V Apr 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.