AI model comparison

Qwen3.8 27B vs GLM 5.2

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

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

Input / 1M
$0.43
Output / 1M
$2.55
Context
1M

GLM 5.2 is a large-scale reasoning model from Z.ai.

Input / 1M
$0.06
Output / 1M
$8
Context
1.05M

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

1.9x cheaper for a typical chat

Higher intelligence score

Tie

33.7 vs 33.7 on Artificial Analysis

Larger context window

z-ai logo

GLM 5.2

1.05M vs 1M tokens

Newer release

qwen logo

Qwen3.8 27B

Released August 14, 2026

Benchmarks

Benchmark scores

Independent scores from Artificial Analysis. Higher is better.

Intelligence index

qwen logoQwen3.8 27B33.7
z-ai logoGLM 5.233.7

Coding index

qwen logoQwen3.8 27B68.1
z-ai logoGLM 5.268.8

Agentic index

qwen logoQwen3.8 27B45.8
z-ai logoGLM 5.238.4

Pricing

Qwen3.8 27B vs GLM 5.2 API pricing

Per-token API rates. Cheaper option highlighted.

Metricqwen logoQwen3.8 27Bz-ai logoGLM 5.2
Input tokensPer 1M tokens$0.43$0.06
Output tokensPer 1M tokens$2.55$8
Cached input (read)Per 1M tokens$0.09$0.06
Cache writePer 1M tokens$0.53Not 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

qwen logoQwen3.8 27B$2.13
z-ai logoGLM 5.2$4.12

Coding task

30K in, 4K out

qwen logoQwen3.8 27B$22.95$12.75 cached
z-ai logoGLM 5.2$33.80$33.77 cached

Long document summary

150K in, 2K out

qwen logoQwen3.8 27B$68.85$17.85 cached
z-ai logoGLM 5.2$25$24.85 cached

Specs

Context window and capabilities

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

Metricqwen logoQwen3.8 27Bz-ai logoGLM 5.2
Context window1M tokens1.05M tokens
Max output131K tokens944K tokens
Input typesImage, Text, VideoText
Output typesTextText
Reasoning effort levelsExtra high, Medium, LowExtra high, High
Default reasoning effortExtra highHigh
Release dateAugust 14, 2026June 16, 2026

Features

Supported features

API features available for each model.

Metricqwen logoQwen3.8 27Bz-ai logoGLM 5.2
Tool callingSupportedSupported
Structured outputsSupportedSupported
JSON modeSupportedSupported
ReasoningSupportedSupported
TemperatureSupportedSupported
Stop sequencesSupportedSupported
Deterministic seedSupportedSupported
Verbosity controlNot supportedNot supported

Our take

Qwen3.8 27B is 1.9x cheaper for a typical chat. GLM 5.2 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 Qwen3.8 27B or GLM 5.2 cheaper?

Qwen3.8 27B is cheaper for a typical chat (2K input tokens and 500 output tokens). Qwen3.8 27B costs $0.43 per 1M input tokens and $2.55 per 1M output tokens, while GLM 5.2 costs $0.06 per 1M input tokens and $8 per 1M output tokens.

Which has a bigger context window, Qwen3.8 27B or GLM 5.2?

GLM 5.2 supports up to 1.05M tokens of context, compared with 1M for Qwen3.8 27B.

Is Qwen3.8 27B smarter than GLM 5.2?

On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, Qwen3.8 27B scores 33.7 and GLM 5.2 scores 33.7, putting Qwen3.8 27B ahead. Benchmarks don't capture everything, so the best test is running your own prompts through both.

Can I use Qwen3.8 27B and GLM 5.2 at the same time?

Yes. Shortcut Chat sends one prompt to multiple models at once, so you can see Qwen3.8 27B and GLM 5.2 answer side by side and keep the better response.

qwen logoz-ai logo

Why choose? Ask both.

Send one prompt to Qwen3.8 27B and GLM 5.2 at the same time. Compare the answers side by side and keep the best one.