QVQ Max vs GLM-4.5V vs Palmyra X5
Too close to call on our weighted score (GLM-4.5V 49, Palmyra X5 48, QVQ Max 40). The right pick depends on what you value most.
Alibaba (Qwen)QVQ Max
40/100- ECI—
- Price$1.20 / $4.80
- Context131K
Z.ai (Zhipu)GLM-4.5V
49/100- ECI—
- Price$0.60 / $1.80
- Context64K
Writer
Palmyra X5
48/100- ECI—
- Price$0.60 / $6.00
- Context1M
Too close to call
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 1 points (GLM-4.5V 49/100, Palmyra X5 48/100, QVQ Max 40/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: GLM-4.5V on price and Palmyra X5 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-4.5VGLM-4.5V $0.90 · Palmyra X5 $1.95 · QVQ Max $2.10 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextPalmyra X5Palmyra X5 1,000,000 · QVQ Max 131,072 · GLM-4.5V 64,000 tokens
- Widest inputsGLM-4.5VQVQ Max: Text, Images · GLM-4.5V: Text, Images, Video · Palmyra X5: Text, Images
- Self-hostingGLM-4.5VPublishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | QVQ Max | GLM-4.5V | Palmyra X5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 35 | 52 | 36 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 60 | 70 | 60 |
| Context window | 20% | 24 | 12 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 40/100 | 49/100 | 48/100 |
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 | QVQ MaxAlibaba (Qwen) | GLM-4.5VZ.ai (Zhipu) | Palmyra X5Writer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $1.20 | $0.60 (best) | $0.60 (best) |
| Output | $4.80 | $1.80 (best) | $6.00 |
| Cached input | — | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $2.10 | $0.90 (best) | $1.95 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Alibaba API | Official Z.AI API | Median of 1 providers |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 131,072 tokens | 64,000 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 8,192 tokens | 16,384 tokens (best) | 8,192 tokens |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Proprietary | Open | Proprietary |
| API model ID | qvq-max | glm-4.5v | — |
| API providers | 1 | 11 (best) | 1 |
| Released | Mar 25, 2025 | Aug 11, 2025 | Apr 28, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Apr 2024 | Apr 2025 | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- QVQ Max$21.60
- GLM-4.5V$9.60
- Palmyra X5$18.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: QVQ Max, GLM-4.5V or Palmyra X5?
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 1 points (GLM-4.5V 49/100, Palmyra X5 48/100, QVQ Max 40/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: GLM-4.5V on price and Palmyra X5 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, QVQ Max, GLM-4.5V or Palmyra X5?
GLM-4.5V is cheaper at $0.60 input / $1.80 output per million tokens (official Z.AI API price). Palmyra X5 costs $0.60 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider); QVQ Max costs $1.20 input / $4.80 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.90 per million tokens for GLM-4.5V versus $1.95 for Palmyra X5 (2.2× as much) and $2.10 for QVQ Max (2.3× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. QVQ Max has not been scored yet, GLM-4.5V has not been scored yet and Palmyra X5 has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for QVQ Max, GLM-4.5V and Palmyra X5 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Palmyra X5 has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 131,072 for QVQ Max and 64,000 for GLM-4.5V. Maximum output per response: QVQ Max up to 8,192, GLM-4.5V up to 16,384, Palmyra X5 up to 8,192 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
QVQ Max accepts text and images; GLM-4.5V accepts text, images and video; Palmyra X5 accepts text and images. GLM-4.5V handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
GLM-4.5V publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; QVQ Max and Palmyra X5 is proprietary.
Which is newer?
GLM-4.5V is the newest, released Aug 11, 2025. Palmyra X5 came out Apr 28, 2025; QVQ Max came out Mar 25, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: QVQ Max Apr 2024, GLM-4.5V Apr 2025.
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.
