AI model comparison
GLM 5.3 Flash vs Grok 4.6
Pricing, context window, benchmarks, and features compared side by side. Or skip the guesswork and send one prompt to both.
Z.ai
GLM 5.3 Flash
GLM-5.3-Flash is a native multimodal model from Z.ai. It is suited for efficient coding and long-horizon agent tasks.
- Input / 1M
- $0.02
- Output / 1M
- $1.20
- Context
- 1.05M
xAI
Grok 4.6
Grok 4.6 is a model from SpaceXAI with frontier performance on coding, knowledge work, and STEM.
- Input / 1M
- $2
- Output / 1M
- $6
- Context
- 500K
At a glance
Quick verdict
How the two models stack up on the things people ask about most.
Lower price
GLM 5.3 Flash
10.8x cheaper for a typical chat
Higher intelligence score
Grok 4.6
44.3 vs 41.8 on Artificial Analysis
Larger context window
GLM 5.3 Flash
1.05M vs 500K tokens
Newer release
GLM 5.3 Flash
Released August 26, 2026
Benchmarks
Benchmark scores
Independent scores from Artificial Analysis. Higher is better.
Intelligence index
Coding index
Agentic index
Pricing
GLM 5.3 Flash vs Grok 4.6 API pricing
Per-token API rates. Cheaper option highlighted.
| Metric | ||
|---|---|---|
| Input tokensPer 1M tokens | $0.02 | $2 |
| Output tokensPer 1M tokens | $1.20 | $6 |
| Cached input (read)Per 1M tokens | $0.02 | $0.50 |
| Cache writePer 1M tokens | Not available | Not available |
| Long-context pricingPer 1M tokens, for very long prompts | Same rate at any length | $4 in / $12 out above 200K |
| Web searchPer request | Not available | $0.005 |
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
Coding task
30K in, 4K out
Long document summary
150K in, 2K out
Specs
Context window and capabilities
How much each model can read, how much it can write, and what it accepts as input.
| Metric | ||
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 1.05M tokens | 500K tokens |
| Max output | 944K tokens | 450K tokens |
| Input types | Image, Text, Video | File, Image, Text |
| Output types | Text | Text |
| Reasoning effort levels | Max, High, Low | Extra high, High, Medium, Low |
| Default reasoning effort | Max | High |
| Release date | August 26, 2026 | August 12, 2026 |
Features
Supported features
API features available for each model.
| Metric | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tool calling | Supported | Supported |
| Structured outputs | Supported | Supported |
| JSON mode | Supported | Supported |
| Reasoning | Supported | Supported |
| Temperature | Supported | Supported |
| Stop sequences | Supported | Supported |
| Deterministic seed | Supported | Supported |
| Verbosity control | Not supported | Not supported |
Our take
GLM 5.3 Flash is 10.8x cheaper for a typical chat. Grok 4.6 scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (44.3 vs 41.8). GLM 5.3 Flash has the larger context window (1.05M vs 500K 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 5.3 Flash or Grok 4.6 cheaper?
GLM 5.3 Flash is cheaper for a typical chat (2K input tokens and 500 output tokens). GLM 5.3 Flash costs $0.02 per 1M input tokens and $1.20 per 1M output tokens, while Grok 4.6 costs $2 per 1M input tokens and $6 per 1M output tokens.
Which has a bigger context window, GLM 5.3 Flash or Grok 4.6?
GLM 5.3 Flash supports up to 1.05M tokens of context, compared with 500K for Grok 4.6.
Is GLM 5.3 Flash smarter than Grok 4.6?
On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, GLM 5.3 Flash scores 41.8 and Grok 4.6 scores 44.3, putting Grok 4.6 ahead. Benchmarks don't capture everything, so the best test is running your own prompts through both.
Can I use GLM 5.3 Flash and Grok 4.6 at the same time?
Yes. Shortcut Chat sends one prompt to multiple models at once, so you can see GLM 5.3 Flash and Grok 4.6 answer side by side and keep the better response.
Why choose? Ask both.
Send one prompt to GLM 5.3 Flash and Grok 4.6 at the same time. Compare the answers side by side and keep the best one.