GLM (Z.AI) alternatives
Z.AI’s hosted GLM stack now spanning GLM-5.1, GLM-5V-Turbo, and earlier GLM branches for coding, reasoning, and multimodal workflows.
This GLM (Z.AI) alternatives guide compares pricing, strengths, tradeoffs, and related options.
GLM on Z.AI is now a broader hosted model stack rather than a single flagship. The current family includes GLM-5.1 for long-horizon agentic engineering, GLM-5V-Turbo for multimodal screenshot and GUI workflows, plus earlier GLM-5 and GLM-4.7 branches for lower-cost or narrower use cases.
Official site: https://chat.z.ai/
Company YouTube: No official company YouTube channel found during official-page review.
At a glance
| Pricing model | Freemium |
|---|---|
| Page type | Model family |
| Model source | Own models |
| API cost | Current Z.AI pricing includes GLM-5 at $1 input / $3.20 output per 1M tokens, with newer GLM branches and vision models listed separately on the live pricing page. |
| Subscription cost | GLM Coding Plan starts at $10/month for paid coding features. |
| Model last update | 2026-04-07 (Z.AI release notes GLM-5.1 entry). |
| Model versions | GLM-4.5 series launch, GLM-4.7 release, GLM-4.7-Flash release, GLM-5 release, GLM-5-Turbo release, GLM-5V-Turbo release, GLM-5.1 release |
| Related model | GLM-5.1 · GLM (Z.AI) vs GLM-5.1 |
| Key difference | GLM (Z.AI) is the managed cloud product surface covering chat, API, and multiple GLM branches, while GLM-5.1 is the newest flagship model inside that hosted stack. |
| Best for | Hosted GLM access across text and vision workloads, Cloud coding assistants and technical drafting, Teams comparing current Chinese cloud LLM API economics |
| Categories | For Solopreneurs , For Small Business , Writing , Free AI Tools , Developers , Cloud LLMs , Vision LLMs |
Model version timeline
GLM (Z.AI) release milestones
2025-07-28
2025-12-22
2026-01-19
2026-02-12
2026-03-15
2026-04-01
GLM-5V-Turbo release
Latest vision-capable GLM branch for GUI agents, screenshot coding, and multimodal execution.
Source
Latest vision-capable GLM branch for GUI agents, screenshot coding, and multimodal execution.
Source
2026-04-07
GLM-5.1 release
Current flagship GLM model for long-horizon execution and agentic engineering.
Source
Current flagship GLM model for long-horizon execution and agentic engineering.
Source
Top alternatives
- GLM-5.1 : Latest GLM flagship focused on long-horizon agentic engineering, sustained execution, and stronger tool-driven coding workflows.
- GLM-5V-Turbo : Latest GLM vision branch for multimodal coding, screenshot understanding, GUI agents, and visually grounded execution workflows.
- ChatGPT : Free cloud LLM for writing, research, and file-based analysis.
- Claude : Cloud LLM known for strong writing quality and explicit model-improvement controls.
- Gemini : Free cloud LLM with published daily prompt limits and research-focused workflows.
- Grok : xAI’s cloud LLM for real-time chat, research, and coding with X ecosystem integration.
- Qwen Chat : Alibaba’s cloud Qwen assistant with multilingual support and enterprise-grade API access through Model Studio.
Notes
GLM on Z.AI is now the umbrella entry for the hosted GLM family, but the actual latest flagship to compare is GLM-5.1.
Comparison table
| Tool | Pricing | Page type | Model source | API cost | Subscription cost | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLM (Z.AI) | Freemium | Model family | Own models | Current Z.AI pricing includes GLM-5 at $1 input / $3.20 output per 1M tokens, with newer GLM branches and vision models listed separately on the live pricing page. | GLM Coding Plan starts at $10/month for paid coding features. | Covers both flagship text and newer multimodal GLM branches; Good fit for coding, reasoning, and visually grounded agent workflows | Model and plan options can be complex to evaluate initially; Product naming and tiering evolve quickly |
| GLM-5.1 | Freemium | Model family | Own models | Check current Z.AI pricing for the live GLM-5.1 rate card; flagship GLM pricing and cached-token terms change faster than older fixed entries. | Available through Z.AI’s hosted product plans and API billing rather than a standalone open-weight download. | Latest official GLM flagship; Stronger focus on long-horizon coding and execution loops | Hosted-only experience compared with open-weight GLM options; Pricing and product packaging can shift quickly |
| GLM-5V-Turbo | Freemium | Model family | Own models | Z.AI lists vision-model pricing on its hosted API pricing page; use the current pricing table for GLM-5V-Turbo before budgeting production workloads. | No standalone subscription is required beyond the hosted Z.AI platform and billing plan. | Strong fit for screenshot and interface-aware coding tasks; Better match for GUI agents than text-only GLM entries | Hosted-only rather than local/open-weight; Token-based pricing needs monitoring for visual workloads |
| ChatGPT | Freemium | Model family | Own models | OpenAI API (text): GPT-5.2 is $1.75 input / $14 output per 1M tokens; GPT-5.2 mini is $0.25 input / $2 output per 1M tokens. | ChatGPT Plus is $20/month; ChatGPT Pro is $200/month. | Broad free-tier capabilities for drafting, planning, and general analysis; Built-in web search plus file and image uploads | Usage caps are variable rather than a fixed public quota; Consumer content can be used for model improvement unless you opt out |
| Claude | Freemium | Model family | Own models | Claude API: Sonnet 4 is $3 input / $15 output per 1M tokens; Haiku 3.5 is $0.80 input / $4 output per 1M tokens. | Claude Pro is $20/month ($17/month annual); Claude Max starts at $100/month; Team is $30/user/month ($25/user/month annual). | Strong output quality for long-form writing and editing; User-facing control over model-improvement participation | Free-tier capacity is variable and not a fixed daily allowance; Retention posture changes significantly if model improvement is enabled |
| Gemini | Freemium | Model family | Own models | Gemini API (2.5 Pro): $1.25 input / $10 output per 1M tokens for prompts <=200K tokens; $2.50 input / $15 output per 1M tokens for prompts >200K. | Google AI Pro (Gemini app) is $19.99/month; Google AI Ultra is $249.99/month (US pricing). | Published free-tier limit guidance helps planning; Good fit for research-heavy and structured planning workflows | Limits can change without fixed long-term guarantees; Privacy handling includes review pathways that may not fit sensitive work |
| Grok | Freemium | Product/service | Own models | xAI API (Grok 3): $3 input / $15 output per 1M tokens, cached input $0.75 per 1M, and live search tool calls $25 per 1K sources. | X Premium+ (which includes higher Grok limits) is $40/month or $395/year in the US. | Practical for fast ideation and coding iteration; Real-time search grounding can speed up market and news checks | Subscription access is tied to X ecosystem plans; Output still needs verification for high-stakes claims |
| Qwen Chat | Freemium | Model family | Own models | Alibaba Cloud Model Studio (Qwen): qwen-max is $0.345 input / $1.377 output per 1M tokens; qwen-plus starts at $0.115 input / $0.287 output per 1M (<=128K input tier). | No fixed Qwen API subscription is listed in Model Studio; usage is billed pay-as-you-go by tokens. | Strong multilingual performance for global workflows; Broad model line with practical cloud scaling options | Pricing varies by model and context tier; Product interfaces differ between chat and API ecosystems |
Internal links
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