AI model comparison

GLM 5.3 vs Qwen3.8 27B

Side by side comparison of GLM 5.3 and Qwen3.8 27B on pricing, benchmark scores, context window, and more.

GLM-5.3 is a large-scale reasoning model from Z.ai, built for complex software engineering and long-horizon agent tasks.

Input / 1M
$0.07
Output / 1M
$1.40
Context
1.05M

Qwen3.8 27B is an open-weight dense vision-language model from Qwen.

Input / 1M
$0.04
Output / 1M
$1.25
Context
1M

Comparing image generators? Compare image models

At a glance

Quick verdict

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

Lower price

qwen logo

Qwen3.8 27B

1.2x cheaper for a typical chat

Higher intelligence score

z-ai logo

GLM 5.3

31.7 vs 20.1 on Artificial Analysis

Larger context window

z-ai logo

GLM 5.3

1.05M vs 1M tokens

Newer release

z-ai logo

GLM 5.3

Released August 18, 2026

Benchmarks

Benchmark scores

Independent scores from Artificial Analysis. Higher is better.

Intelligence index

z-ai logoGLM 5.331.7
qwen logoQwen3.8 27B20.1

Coding index

z-ai logoGLM 5.374.8
qwen logoQwen3.8 27B68.1

Agentic index

z-ai logoGLM 5.353.1
qwen logoQwen3.8 27B45.8

Pricing

GLM 5.3 vs Qwen3.8 27B API pricing

Per-token API rates. Cheaper option highlighted.

Metricz-ai logoGLM 5.3qwen logoQwen3.8 27B
Input tokensPer 1M tokens$0.07$0.04
Output tokensPer 1M tokens$1.40$1.25
Cached input (read)Per 1M tokens$0.07$0.00
Cache writePer 1M tokensNot availableNot available

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 5.3$0.84
qwen logoQwen3.8 27B$0.70

Coding task

30K in, 4K out

z-ai logoGLM 5.3$7.70$7.67 cached
qwen logoQwen3.8 27B$6.17$5.12 cached

Long document summary

150K in, 2K out

z-ai logoGLM 5.3$13.29$13.14 cached
qwen logoQwen3.8 27B$8.35$3.09 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 5.3qwen logoQwen3.8 27B
Context window1.05M tokens1M tokens
Max output944K tokens66K tokens
Input typesTextImage, Text, Video
Output typesTextText
Reasoning effort levelsMax, High, LowExtra high, Medium, Low, None
Default reasoning effortMaxExtra high
Release dateAugust 18, 2026August 14, 2026

Features

Supported features

API features available for each model.

Metricz-ai logoGLM 5.3qwen logoQwen3.8 27B
Tool callingSupportedSupported
Structured outputsSupportedSupported
JSON modeSupportedSupported
ReasoningSupportedSupported
TemperatureSupportedSupported
Stop sequencesSupportedSupported
Deterministic seedSupportedSupported
Verbosity controlNot supportedNot supported

Our take

Qwen3.8 27B is 1.2x cheaper for a typical chat. GLM 5.3 scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (31.7 vs 20.1). GLM 5.3 has the larger context window (1.05M vs 1M 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 or Qwen3.8 27B cheaper?

Qwen3.8 27B is cheaper for a typical chat (2K input tokens and 500 output tokens). Qwen3.8 27B costs $0.04 per 1M input tokens and $1.25 per 1M output tokens, while GLM 5.3 costs $0.07 per 1M input tokens and $1.40 per 1M output tokens.

Which has a bigger context window, GLM 5.3 or Qwen3.8 27B?

GLM 5.3 supports up to 1.05M tokens of context, compared with 1M for Qwen3.8 27B.

Is GLM 5.3 smarter than Qwen3.8 27B?

On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, GLM 5.3 scores 31.7 and Qwen3.8 27B scores 20.1, putting GLM 5.3 ahead. Benchmarks don't capture everything, so the best test is running your own prompts through both.

Can I use GLM 5.3 and Qwen3.8 27B at the same time?

Yes. Shortcut Chat sends one prompt to multiple models at once, so you can see GLM 5.3 and Qwen3.8 27B answer side by side and keep the better response.

z-ai logoqwen logo

Why choose? Ask both.

Send one prompt to GLM 5.3 and Qwen3.8 27B at the same time. Compare the answers side by side and keep the best one.