AI model comparison

GLM 5.1 vs Gemini 3 Flash Preview

Pricing, context window, benchmarks, and features compared side by side. Or skip the guesswork and send one prompt to both.

GLM-5.1 delivers a major leap in coding capability, with particularly significant gains in handling long-horizon tasks.

Input / 1M
$0.97
Output / 1M
$3.04
Context
205K

Gemini 3 Flash Preview is a high speed, high value thinking model designed for agentic workflows, multi turn chat, and coding assistance.

Input / 1M
$0.50
Output / 1M
$3
Context
1.05M

At a glance

Quick verdict

How the two models stack up on the things people ask about most.

Lower price

google logo

Gemini 3 Flash Preview

1.4x cheaper for a typical chat

Higher intelligence score

google logo

Gemini 3 Flash Preview

26.3 vs 26.1 on Artificial Analysis

Larger context window

google logo

Gemini 3 Flash Preview

1.05M vs 205K tokens

Newer release

z-ai logo

GLM 5.1

Released April 7, 2026

Benchmarks

Benchmark scores

Independent scores from Artificial Analysis. Higher is better.

Intelligence index

z-ai logoGLM 5.126.1
google logoGemini 3 Flash Preview26.3

Coding index

z-ai logoGLM 5.155.8
google logoGemini 3 Flash PreviewNot available

Agentic index

z-ai logoGLM 5.123.9
google logoGemini 3 Flash PreviewNot available

Pricing

GLM 5.1 vs Gemini 3 Flash Preview API pricing

Per-token API rates. Cheaper option highlighted.

Metricz-ai logoGLM 5.1google logoGemini 3 Flash Preview
Input tokensPer 1M tokens$0.97$0.50
Output tokensPer 1M tokens$3.04$3
Cached input (read)Per 1M tokens$0.18$0.05
Cache writePer 1M tokensNot available$0.08
Web searchPer requestNot available$0.014

What it costs in practice

Estimated cost per 1,000 requests at standard rates. Coding and long-document figures also show the cost when the input is already cached.

Chat message

2K in, 500 out

z-ai logoGLM 5.1$3.45
google logoGemini 3 Flash Preview$2.50

Coding task

30K in, 4K out

z-ai logoGLM 5.1$41.12$17.53 cached
google logoGemini 3 Flash Preview$27$13.50 cached

Long document summary

150K in, 2K out

z-ai logoGLM 5.1$150.97$32.98 cached
google logoGemini 3 Flash Preview$81$13.50 cached

Specs

Context window and capabilities

How much each model can read, how much it can write, and what it accepts as input.

Metricz-ai logoGLM 5.1google logoGemini 3 Flash Preview
Context window205K tokens1.05M tokens
Max output128K tokens66K tokens
Input typesTextAudio, File, Image, Text, Video
Output typesTextText
Reasoning effort levelsNot availableHigh, Medium, Low, Minimal
Default reasoning effortNot availableMedium
Release dateApril 7, 2026December 17, 2025

Features

Supported features

API features available for each model.

Metricz-ai logoGLM 5.1google logoGemini 3 Flash Preview
Tool callingSupportedSupported
Structured outputsSupportedSupported
JSON modeSupportedSupported
ReasoningSupportedSupported
TemperatureSupportedSupported
Stop sequencesSupportedSupported
Deterministic seedSupportedSupported
Verbosity controlNot supportedNot supported

Our take

Gemini 3 Flash Preview is 1.4x cheaper for a typical chat. Gemini 3 Flash Preview scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (26.3 vs 26.1). Gemini 3 Flash Preview has the larger context window (1.05M vs 205K tokens). The right pick depends on your workload, so the quickest way to settle it is to send the same prompt to both and compare.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is GLM 5.1 or Gemini 3 Flash Preview cheaper?

Gemini 3 Flash Preview is cheaper for a typical chat (2K input tokens and 500 output tokens). Gemini 3 Flash Preview costs $0.50 per 1M input tokens and $3 per 1M output tokens, while GLM 5.1 costs $0.97 per 1M input tokens and $3.04 per 1M output tokens.

Which has a bigger context window, GLM 5.1 or Gemini 3 Flash Preview?

Gemini 3 Flash Preview supports up to 1.05M tokens of context, compared with 205K for GLM 5.1.

Is GLM 5.1 smarter than Gemini 3 Flash Preview?

On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, GLM 5.1 scores 26.1 and Gemini 3 Flash Preview scores 26.3, putting Gemini 3 Flash Preview ahead. Benchmarks don't capture everything, so the best test is running your own prompts through both.

Can I use GLM 5.1 and Gemini 3 Flash Preview at the same time?

Yes. Shortcut Chat sends one prompt to multiple models at once, so you can see GLM 5.1 and Gemini 3 Flash Preview answer side by side and keep the better response.

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Why choose? Ask both.

Send one prompt to GLM 5.1 and Gemini 3 Flash Preview at the same time. Compare the answers side by side and keep the best one.