ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

GPT-6 Astra vs GLM-5.3

GPT-6 Astra comes out ahead, 68 to 63 on our weighted score, though GLM-5.3 is 9.3× cheaper per token.

  1. Our pick

    OpenAI

    GPT-6 Astra

    Released Sep 4, 2026New

    68/100
    • ECI169.1
    • Price$10.00 / $50.00
    • Context1.05M
  2. Z.ai (Zhipu)

    GLM-5.3

    Released Aug 14, 2026

    63/100
    • ECI156.2
    • Price$1.40 / $4.40
    • Context1M
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01 — Verdict

GPT-6 Astra is our pick

GPT-6 Astra is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against GLM-5.3 (63). It leads on capability and inputs & features. GLM-5.3 wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityGPT-6 AstraCapabilities Index (ECI): GPT-6 Astra 169.1 · GLM-5.3 156.2
  • Lowest priceGLM-5.3GLM-5.3 $2.15 · GPT-6 Astra $20.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGPT-6 AstraGPT-6 Astra 1,050,000 · GLM-5.3 1,000,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsGPT-6 AstraGPT-6 Astra: Text, Images, PDFs · GLM-5.3: Text
  • Self-hostingGLM-5.3Publishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGPT-6 AstraGLM-5.3
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%10084
Price25%033
Inputs & features15%8045
Context window10%6160
Overall100%68/10063/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

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

GPT-6 Astra vs GLM-5.3 specifications side by side
SpecificationGPT-6 AstraOpenAIGLM-5.3Z.ai (Zhipu)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)169.1 (best)156.2
ECI rank#1 of 165 (best)#33 of 165
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions95.8% (best)90.9%
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics93.7% (best)68.8%
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics100% (best)91.1%
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions75.6% (best)41.0%
Price per million tokens
Input$10.00$1.40 (best)
Output$50.00$4.40 (best)
Cached input$1.00$0.26 (best)
Blended (3:1)$20.00$2.15 (best)
Long-context rateOver 272K: $20.00 / $75.00Same rate
Price sourceOfficial OpenAI APIOfficial Z.AI API
Limits
Context window1,050,000 tokens (best)1,000,000 tokens
Max output128,000 tokens131,072 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesNo
PDFsYesNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYeslow · medium · high · xhigh · maxYeslow · high · max
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesYes
Availability
WeightsProprietaryOpen
API model IDgpt-6-astraglm-5.3
API providers3783 (best)
ReleasedSep 4, 2026Aug 14, 2026
Knowledge cutoffApr 30, 2026—
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.

  • GPT-6 Astra$200.00
  • GLM-5.3$22.80
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: GPT-6 Astra or GLM-5.3?

GPT-6 Astra is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against GLM-5.3 (63). It leads on capability and inputs & features. GLM-5.3 wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, GPT-6 Astra or GLM-5.3?

GLM-5.3 is cheaper at $1.40 input / $4.40 output per million tokens (official Z.AI API price). GPT-6 Astra costs $10.00 input / $50.00 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-5.3 versus $20.00 for GPT-6 Astra (9.3× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

GPT-6 Astra scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): GPT-6 Astra 169.1 (#1 of 165) and GLM-5.3 156.2 (#33 of 165). Their confidence ranges do not overlap (165.9–174.3 vs 154.3–158.5), so the gap is a real one. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — GPT-6 Astra 95.8%, GLM-5.3 90.9%; FrontierMath Tiers 1–3 — GPT-6 Astra 93.7%, GLM-5.3 68.8%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — GPT-6 Astra 100%, GLM-5.3 91.1%; SimpleQA Verified — GPT-6 Astra 75.6%, GLM-5.3 41.0%.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for GPT-6 Astra and GLM-5.3 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, GPT-6 Astra 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-6 Astra has the largest context window at 1,050,000 tokens, against 1,000,000 for GLM-5.3. Maximum output per response: GPT-6 Astra up to 128,000, GLM-5.3 up to 131,072 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

GPT-6 Astra accepts text, images and PDFs; GLM-5.3 accepts text. GPT-6 Astra handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

GLM-5.3 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; GPT-6 Astra is proprietary.

Which is newer?

GPT-6 Astra is the newest, released Sep 4, 2026. GLM-5.3 came out Aug 14, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: GPT-6 Astra Apr 30, 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 Nov 2, 2026.