GLM-5-Turbo vs Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning)
Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) comes out ahead, 53 to 38 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
Z.ai (Zhipu)GLM-5-Turbo
38/100- ECI—
- Price$1.20 / $4.00
- Context200K
- Our pick
xAIGrok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning)
53/100- ECI—
- Price$1.25 / $2.50
- Context1M
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) is our pick
Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) is the better all-round choice, scoring 53/100 against GLM-5-Turbo (38). It leads on price, 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 priceGrok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning)Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) $1.56 · GLM-5-Turbo $1.90 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextGrok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning)Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) 1,000,000 · GLM-5-Turbo 200,000 tokens
- Widest inputsGrok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning)GLM-5-Turbo: Text · Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning): Text, Images, PDFs
- Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | GLM-5-Turbo | Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 37 | 41 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 45 | 70 |
| Context window | 20% | 32 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 38/100 | 53/100 |
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-5-TurboZ.ai (Zhipu) | Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning)xAI |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $1.20 (best) | $1.25 |
| Output | $4.00 | $2.50 (best) |
| Cached input | $0.24 | $0.20 (best) |
| Blended (3:1) | $1.90 | $1.56 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Over 200K: $2.50 / $5.00 |
| Price source | Official Z.AI API | Official xAI API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 200,000 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 131,072 tokens (best) | 30,000 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | Yes |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | Yes |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | glm-5-turbo | grok-4.20-0309-non-reasoning |
| API providers | 17 (best) | 10 |
| Released | Mar 16, 2026 | Mar 9, 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-Turbo$20.00
- Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning)$17.50
Which should you choose?
Which is better: GLM-5-Turbo or Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning)?
Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) is the better all-round choice, scoring 53/100 against GLM-5-Turbo (38). It leads on price, 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-5-Turbo or Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning)?
Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) is cheaper at $1.25 input / $2.50 output per million tokens (official xAI API price). GLM-5-Turbo costs $1.20 input / $4.00 output per million tokens (official Z.AI API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $1.56 per million tokens for Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) versus $1.90 for GLM-5-Turbo (1.2× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. GLM-5-Turbo has not been scored yet and Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for GLM-5-Turbo and Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 200,000 for GLM-5-Turbo. Maximum output per response: GLM-5-Turbo up to 131,072, Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) up to 30,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
GLM-5-Turbo accepts text; Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) accepts text, images and PDFs. Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. GLM-5-Turbo and Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
GLM-5-Turbo is the newest, released Mar 16, 2026. Grok 4.20 (Non-Reasoning) came out Mar 9, 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.
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