ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

GLM-5 vs GLM-5-Turbo

Too close to call on our weighted score (GLM-5-Turbo 38, GLM-5 37). The right pick depends on what you value most.

  1. Z.ai (Zhipu)

    GLM-5

    Released Feb 12, 2026

    37/100
    • ECI145.8
    • Price$1.00 / $3.20
    • Context205K
  2. Z.ai (Zhipu)

    GLM-5-Turbo

    Released Mar 16, 2026

    38/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$1.20 / $4.00
    • Context200K
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01 — Verdict

Too close to call

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within a point (GLM-5-Turbo 38/100, GLM-5 37/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: GLM-5 on price and GLM-5 for long inputs. 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-5GLM-5 $1.55 · GLM-5-Turbo $1.90 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGLM-5GLM-5 204,800 · GLM-5-Turbo 200,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsGLM-5: Text · GLM-5-Turbo: Text
  • Self-hostingGLM-5Publishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGLM-5GLM-5-Turbo
Price50%4137
Inputs & features30%3545
Context window20%3232
Overall100%37/10038/100

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-5 vs GLM-5-Turbo specifications side by side
SpecificationGLM-5Z.ai (Zhipu)GLM-5-TurboZ.ai (Zhipu)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)145.8—
ECI rank#74 of 148—
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions87.8%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics80.0%—
SWE-bench VerifiedFixing real GitHub issues72.1%—
Price per million tokens
Input$1.00 (best)$1.20
Output$3.20 (best)$4.00
Cached input$0.20 (best)$0.24
Blended (3:1)$1.55 (best)$1.90
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Z.AI APIOfficial Z.AI API
Limits
Context window204,800 tokens (best)200,000 tokens
Max output131,072 tokens131,072 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoYes
Availability
WeightsOpenProprietary
API model IDglm-5glm-5-turbo
API providers27 (best)17
ReleasedFeb 12, 2026Mar 16, 2026
Knowledge cutoff——
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-5$16.40
  • GLM-5-Turbo$20.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: GLM-5 or GLM-5-Turbo?

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within a point (GLM-5-Turbo 38/100, GLM-5 37/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: GLM-5 on price and GLM-5 for long inputs. 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 or GLM-5-Turbo?

GLM-5 is cheaper at $1.00 input / $3.20 output per million tokens (official Z.AI 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 $1.55 per million tokens for GLM-5 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 has an ECI of 145.8 and GLM-5-Turbo has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for GLM-5-Turbo 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?

GLM-5 has the largest context window at 204,800 tokens, against 200,000 for GLM-5-Turbo. Maximum output per response: GLM-5 up to 131,072, GLM-5-Turbo up to 131,072 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

GLM-5 accepts text; GLM-5-Turbo accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

GLM-5 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; GLM-5-Turbo is proprietary.

Which is newer?

GLM-5-Turbo is the newest, released Mar 16, 2026. GLM-5 came out Feb 12, 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.