GPT-5.6 Sol vs GLM-5.1
GPT-5.6 Sol comes out ahead, 66 to 57 on our weighted score, though GLM-5.1 is 3.7× cheaper per token.
- Our pick
OpenAI
GPT-5.6 Sol
66/100- ECI161.8
- Price$4.00 / $20.00
- Context1.05M
Z.ai (Zhipu)
GLM-5.1
57/100- ECI149.9
- Price$1.40 / $4.40
- Context200K
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Make it a three-way comparison.
GPT-5.6 Sol is our pick
GPT-5.6 Sol is the better all-round choice, scoring 66/100 against GLM-5.1 (57). It leads on capability, inputs & features and context window. GLM-5.1 wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
- CapabilityGPT-5.6 SolCapabilities Index (ECI): GPT-5.6 Sol 161.8 · GLM-5.1 149.9
- Lowest priceGLM-5.1GLM-5.1 $2.15 · GPT-5.6 Sol $8.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextGPT-5.6 SolGPT-5.6 Sol 1,050,000 · GLM-5.1 200,000 tokens
- Widest inputsGPT-5.6 SolGPT-5.6 Sol: Text, Images, PDFs · GLM-5.1: Text
- Self-hostingGLM-5.1Publishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | GPT-5.6 Sol | GLM-5.1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI) | 50% | 93 | 78 |
| Price | 25% | 7 | 34 |
| Inputs & features | 15% | 80 | 45 |
| Context window | 10% | 61 | 32 |
| Overall | 100% | 66/100 | 57/100 |
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | 161.8 (best) | 149.9 |
| ECI rank | #8 of 148 (best) | #51 of 148 |
| GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions | 93.5% (best) | 89.9% |
| FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics | 89.1% (best) | 36.8% |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics | 100% (best) | 93.3% |
| SWE-bench VerifiedFixing real GitHub issues | — | 74.2% |
| SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions | 69.7% (best) | 34.0% |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $4.00 | $1.40 (best) |
| Output | $20.00 | $4.40 (best) |
| Cached input | $0.40 | $0.26 (best) |
| Blended (3:1) | $8.00 | $2.15 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Over 272K: $8.00 / $30.00 | Same rate |
| Price source | Official OpenAI API | Official Z.AI API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 1,050,000 tokens (best) | 200,000 tokens |
| Max output | 128,000 tokens | 131,072 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | No |
| PDFs | Yes | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yeslow · medium · high · xhigh · max | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | Yes |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | gpt-5.6-sol | glm-5.1 |
| API providers | 40 | 40 |
| Released | Jul 9, 2026 | Apr 7, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Feb 16, 2026 | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
GPT-5.6 Sol$80.00
GLM-5.1$22.80
Which should you choose?
Which is better: GPT-5.6 Sol or GLM-5.1?
GPT-5.6 Sol is the better all-round choice, scoring 66/100 against GLM-5.1 (57). It leads on capability, inputs & features and context window. GLM-5.1 wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
Which is cheaper, GPT-5.6 Sol or GLM-5.1?
GLM-5.1 is cheaper at $1.40 input / $4.40 output per million tokens (official Z.AI API price). GPT-5.6 Sol costs $4.00 input / $20.00 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $2.15 per million tokens for GLM-5.1 versus $8.00 for GPT-5.6 Sol (3.7× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
GPT-5.6 Sol scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): GPT-5.6 Sol 161.8 (#8 of 148) and GLM-5.1 149.9 (#51 of 148). Their confidence ranges do not overlap (159.3–165.3 vs 148.0–151.6), so the gap is a real one. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — GPT-5.6 Sol 93.5%, GLM-5.1 89.9%; FrontierMath Tiers 1–3 — GPT-5.6 Sol 89.1%, GLM-5.1 36.8%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — GPT-5.6 Sol 100%, GLM-5.1 93.3%; SimpleQA Verified — GPT-5.6 Sol 69.7%, GLM-5.1 34.0%.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for GPT-5.6 Sol yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, GPT-5.6 Sol 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?
GPT-5.6 Sol has the largest context window at 1,050,000 tokens, against 200,000 for GLM-5.1. Maximum output per response: GPT-5.6 Sol up to 128,000, GLM-5.1 up to 131,072 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
GPT-5.6 Sol accepts text, images and PDFs; GLM-5.1 accepts text. GPT-5.6 Sol handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
GLM-5.1 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; GPT-5.6 Sol is proprietary.
Which is newer?
GPT-5.6 Sol is the newest, released Jul 9, 2026. GLM-5.1 came out Apr 7, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: GPT-5.6 Sol Feb 16, 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.