Monday, October 26, 2026 · Edition updated 6:00 AM ETMON, OCT 26 editionNext edition in Next in --:--:--
Intelligence Verdict
Compare AI models

GLM-5.3 vs GPT-6.1 Sol

Z.ai (Zhipu AI)'s GLM-5.3 and OpenAI's GPT-6.1 Sol, side by side: what each costs, how much it can read at once, whether you can run it yourself, and where independent tests place it.

  • GLM-5.3cheaper per output token
  • 1Mcontext window, GPT-6.1 Sol
  • 0–4higher placings on boards ranking both
In short

How they differ.

Worked out from the figures below. Prices and specs are the makers' own, read Oct 20, 2026.

  • GLM-5.3 is cheaper per output token: $4.40 against $10 per million tokens, so GPT-6.1 Sol costs 2.3 times as much.
  • GPT-6.1 Sol reads more at once: a context window of 1M tokens against 1M.
  • GLM-5.3 can be downloaded and run on your own machine; GPT-6.1 Sol can't.
  • On the 4 independent boards that rank both, GPT-6.1 Sol places higher on 4 and GLM-5.3 on 0.
Side by side

The specs.

GLM-5.3GPT-6.1 Sol
Made byZ.ai (Zhipu AI) · ChinaOpenAI · US
ReleasedNot statedSep 29, 2026
Price per 1M tokens$1.40 in / $4.40 out$2 in / $10 out
Context window1M1M
Takes intexttext, image
Download and run it yourselfYes (glm-5.3 (license tag shown on Hugging Face))No
Size753B (Hugging Face safetensors size field) parametersNot published
Maker says“GLM-5.3 is Z.ai's latest flagship model, delivering comprehensive advancements in complex software engineering”“Near-Astra performance for complex work at a lower cost.”
SourcesPrices, Oct 20, 2026 · DescriptionPrices, Oct 20, 2026 · Description
Independent tests

Where they place.

Position on each board we follow (1 is best). Epoch AI's and Vectara's scores are shown; the other boards are linked for their own figures.

BoardGLM-5.3GPT-6.1 Sol
Epoch Capabilities IndexEpoch AI, Oct 20, 2026#30155.91#3166.32
LMArena coding chatsLMArena, Oct 15, 2026Not listed#10
LMArena WebDevLMArena, Oct 19, 2026Not listed#4
LMArena visionLMArena, Oct 19, 2026Not listed#9
LMArena Agent ArenaLMArena, Oct 19, 2026Not listed#4
Humanity's Last ExamScale AI#15Not listed
SWE-Bench ProScale AI, Sep 22, 2026#9#7
MultiChallengeScale AI, Feb 3, 2026Not listed#1
Vals IndexVals AI, Oct 19, 2026#9#7
Terminal-Bench 4.0Vals AI, Oct 19, 2026#12#7
Vibe Code BenchVals AI, Oct 18, 2026Not listed#8
ProofBenchVals AI, Oct 12, 2026Not listed#5