GLM 5
$1.00 per 1M input tokens and $3.20 per 1M output tokens · 205K context · tools, reasoning, JSON, open weights.
Prices checked Oct 21, 2026 · tracked by LLM Cost Index since Oct 21, 2026
What GLM 5 costs per month
Estimated monthly bill for typical workloads, using the cached-input price for repeated context. Try your own numbers in the cost calculator.
| Workload | Per month |
|---|---|
| Customer chatbot 1,000 conversations a day, 8 turns each | $456 |
| Document Q&A (RAG) 500 questions a day over retrieved documents | $107 |
| Coding / tool-using agent 200 tasks a day, long tool-heavy contexts | $221 |
| Content generation 30 long articles a day | $9.90 |
| Classification / extraction 100,000 short items a day | $1,044 |
Price history
We started tracking GLM 5 on Oct 21, 2026; the chart appears as soon as there is a second data point. See all recent price changes.
Where to run GLM 5: 8 providers
GMICloud is the cheapest at $0.60 input / $1.92 output per 1M tokens. Uptime is the average over the last 30 days as reported by OpenRouter; see provider reliability.
| Provider | Input / 1M | Output / 1M | Context | Uptime | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GMICloud | $0.60 | $1.92 | 203K | 99.9% | fp8 |
| StreamLake | $0.60 | $1.92 | 198K | 99.8% | fp8 |
| Baidu | $0.70 | $2.24 | 203K | 99.9% | fp8 |
| SiliconFlow | $0.95 | $2.55 | 205K | 99.4% | fp8 |
| Amazon Bedrock | $1.00 | $3.20 | 203K | 100% | — |
| Novita | $1.00 | $3.20 | 203K | 100% | fp8 |
| Venice | $1.00 | $3.20 | 198K | 99.2% | fp8 |
| Z.AI | $1.00 | $3.20 | 203K | 99.2% | fp8 |
Cheaper alternatives to GLM 5
Models with the same tool calling, structured output for at least 20% less (3:1 input/output mix), most capable first.
| Model | Input / 1M | Output / 1M | Context | Capabilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MiMo-V2.6-Pro Xiaomi | $0.435 | $0.87 | 1.05M | visionaudiotoolsreasoningJSONopen weights |
| GLM 5.3 Z.ai | $0.079 | $1.40 | 1.05M | toolsreasoningJSONopen weights |
| Claude Haiku 5.5 Anthropic | $0.10 | $0.50 | 1M | visiontoolsreasoningJSON |
| GLM 5.3 Flash Z.ai | $0.041 | $0.12 | 1.05M | visiontoolsreasoningJSONopen weights |
| Ling 3.1 Flash inclusionAI | $0.075 | $0.225 | 262K | toolsreasoningJSON |
How to pay less for GLM 5
For a customer chatbot (1,000 conversations a day, 8 turns each) that costs $629 a month at list price without caching:
| Option | Per month | You save |
|---|---|---|
| Move to MiMo-V2.6-Pro (similar capabilities) | $136 | $492 (78%) |
| Route to GMICloud | $377 | $252 (40%) |
| Use prompt caching (60% of input cached) | $456 | $173 (27%) |
Other workloads: cut-your-bill tool for GLM 5.
Specifications
| Model ID | z-ai/glm-5 |
| Input | text |
| Output | text |
| Tool calling | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes |
| Reasoning mode | Yes |
| Open weights | Yes — zai-org/GLM-5 |
| Released | Feb 11, 2026 |
FAQ
- How much does GLM 5 cost?
- $1.00 per million input tokens and $3.20 per million output tokens; cached input costs $0.20 per million. Prices as of Oct 21, 2026.
- What is the context window of GLM 5?
- 205K tokens, with up to 131K output tokens per response.
- Does GLM 5 support images, tools and structured output?
- Images as input: no. Tool calling: yes. Structured (JSON) output: yes. Reasoning mode: yes.
- What are cheaper alternatives to GLM 5?
- Models with the same key capabilities for at least 20% less include MiMo-V2.6-Pro ($0.435 / $0.87), GLM 5.3 ($0.079 / $1.40), Claude Haiku 5.5 ($0.10 / $0.50).
More from Z.ai: all Z.ai models · how we collect prices