GLM-5.3 vs Qwen3.8 Max 0902
Qwen3.8 Max 0902 comes out ahead, 67 to 64 on our weighted score, though GLM-5.3 is 28% cheaper per token.
Z.ai (Zhipu)GLM-5.3
64/100- ECI155.8
- Price$1.40 / $4.40
- Context1M
- Our pick
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3.8 Max 0902
67/100- ECI155.2
- Price$2.00 / $6.00
- Context1M
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Qwen3.8 Max 0902 is our pick
Qwen3.8 Max 0902 is the better all-round choice, scoring 67/100 against GLM-5.3 (64). It leads on inputs & features. GLM-5.3 wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
- CapabilityGLM-5.3Capabilities Index (ECI): GLM-5.3 155.8 · Qwen3.8 Max 0902 155.2
- Lowest priceGLM-5.3GLM-5.3 $2.15 · Qwen3.8 Max 0902 $3.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextAbout the sameGLM-5.3 1,000,000 · Qwen3.8 Max 0902 1,000,000 tokens
- Widest inputsQwen3.8 Max 0902GLM-5.3: Text · Qwen3.8 Max 0902: Text, Images, PDFs, Video
- Self-hostingGLM-5.3Publishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | GLM-5.3 | Qwen3.8 Max 0902 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI) | 50% | 85 | 85 |
| Price | 25% | 34 | 27 |
| Inputs & features | 15% | 45 | 80 |
| Context window | 10% | 60 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 64/100 | 67/100 |
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | GLM-5.3Z.ai (Zhipu) | Qwen3.8 Max 0902Alibaba (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | 155.8 (best) | 155.2 |
| ECI rank | #24 of 148 (best) | #28 of 148 |
| GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions | 90.9% | 92.3% (best) |
| FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics | 68.8% (best) | 65.6% |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics | 91.1% | 100% (best) |
| SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions | 41.0% | 47.3% (best) |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $1.40 (best) | $2.00 |
| Output | $4.40 (best) | $6.00 |
| Cached input | $0.26 | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $2.15 (best) | $3.00 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Z.AI API | Median of 6 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens |
| Max output | 131,072 tokens | 131,072 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | Yes |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yeslow · high · max | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Open | Proprietary |
| API model ID | glm-5.3 | — |
| API providers | 62 (best) | 6 |
| Released | Aug 14, 2026 | Sep 2, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- GLM-5.3$22.80
- Qwen3.8 Max 0902$32.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: GLM-5.3 or Qwen3.8 Max 0902?
Qwen3.8 Max 0902 is the better all-round choice, scoring 67/100 against GLM-5.3 (64). It leads on inputs & features. GLM-5.3 wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
Which is cheaper, GLM-5.3 or Qwen3.8 Max 0902?
GLM-5.3 is cheaper at $1.40 input / $4.40 output per million tokens (official Z.AI API price). Qwen3.8 Max 0902 costs $2.00 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (median across 6 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $2.15 per million tokens for GLM-5.3 versus $3.00 for Qwen3.8 Max 0902 (1.4× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
GLM-5.3 scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): GLM-5.3 155.8 (#24 of 148) and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 155.2 (#28 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (153.7–158.3 vs 153.2–157.3), so treat the gap as small. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — Qwen3.8 Max 0902 92.3%, GLM-5.3 90.9%; FrontierMath Tiers 1–3 — GLM-5.3 68.8%, Qwen3.8 Max 0902 65.6%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — Qwen3.8 Max 0902 100%, GLM-5.3 91.1%; SimpleQA Verified — Qwen3.8 Max 0902 47.3%, GLM-5.3 41.0%.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for GLM-5.3 and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, GLM-5.3 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-5.3 and Qwen3.8 Max 0902 share the same 1,000,000-token context window. Maximum output per response: GLM-5.3 up to 131,072, Qwen3.8 Max 0902 up to 131,072 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
GLM-5.3 accepts text; Qwen3.8 Max 0902 accepts text, images, PDFs and video. Qwen3.8 Max 0902 handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
GLM-5.3 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Qwen3.8 Max 0902 is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Qwen3.8 Max 0902 is the newest, released Sep 2, 2026. GLM-5.3 came out Aug 14, 2026.
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.
