What is the difference between GLM 5.2 and GLM 5.3 Flash?

Both are developed by Zhipu AI but target different use cases. GLM 5.2 has a 1.0M token context window vs GLM 5.3 Flash's 1.3M. You can compare their actual outputs across 3 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

Which is better, GLM 5.2 or GLM 5.3 Flash?

It depends on your use case. GLM 5.2 and GLM 5.3 Flash each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 3 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.

How much does GLM 5.2 cost compared to GLM 5.3 Flash?

GLM 5.2 costs $1.4/M input tokens and GLM 5.3 Flash costs $0.15/M input tokens. GLM 5.3 Flash is $1.25/M cheaper per input. Check their side-by-side outputs on Rival to see if the price difference is justified by quality.

How can I compare GLM 5.2 and GLM 5.3 Flash on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of GLM 5.2 and GLM 5.3 Flash across shared challenges. You can vote on which model produced the better output in a blind duel. Browsing and voting are free. No account is needed to look; signing in only saves your votes and likes.

Updated Aug 2026

GLM 5.2vsGLM 5.3 Flash

GLM 5.3 Flash is cheaper than GLM 5.2 at $0.15/M vs $1.4/M input tokens.

GLM 5.2 and GLM 5.3 Flash compared across 3 shared prompts
Spec	GLM 5.2	GLM 5.3 Flash
Input price	$1.4/M tokens	$0.15/M tokens
Output price	$4.4/M tokens	$0.5/M tokens
Context window	1.0M tokens	1.3M tokens
Weights	Open	Open
Free API (OpenRouter)	Yes (1 provider)	No
Released	Jun 2026	Aug 2026

Side by side

Same prompt, both answers

Opening lines from 2 of the 3 prompts both answered. Formatting stripped, words untouched.

Explain Like I'm a Specific Expert

Explain how a large language model (like GPT or Claude) learns and generates text to each of these three audiences: 1. **An experienced…

GLM 5.2745 words

The Experienced Software Engineer I know "predicting the next word" sounds like a glorified T9 autocomplete or a simple Markov chain, but the magic isn't in the objective—it’s in the internal state required to achieve it. Think of the model not as a chatbot, but as a massive, dynamically routing interpreter.

Read the full answer

GLM 5.3 Flash1,276 words

The Experienced Software Engineer You know how a load balancer routes requests, how a cache stores frequently-accessed data, how a database index lets you find a needle without scanning the haystack? An LLM is a fundamentally different kind of system: it's a learned lookup, not a designed one.

Read the full answer

Simple 7-Ingredient Recipe

Create a simple recipe for a delicious dish (sweet or savory) using only 7 common pantry ingredients. Include a creative name for the dish…

GLM 5.2250 words

Dish Name: Midnight Magic Peanut Noodles Estimated Time: Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 15 minutes Ingredients (7 Common Pantry Staples): Spaghetti (or any long pasta you have on hand) Creamy peanut butter Soy sauce Rice vinegar Honey Garlic powder Crushed red pepper flakes Instructions: Cook…

Read the full answer

GLM 5.3 Flash205 words

Golden Hour Garlic Butter Pasta A silky, savory pasta that comes together faster than delivery! Ingredients (serves 2): 8 oz spaghetti or any pasta 4 tbsp butter 4 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tsp garlic powder) ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese ½ cup pasta water (reserved) 1 tsp red pepper flakes Salt Prep time: 5 minutes…

Read the full answer

Our Verdict

GLM 5.2

GLM 5.3 Flash

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, nothing separates them.

GLM 5.3 Flash costs 8.8x less per token.

Too close to call

API pricing

Cost per 1M tokens

GLM 5.2

Input

$1.40

Output

$4.40

GLM 5.3 Flash

Input

$0.15

9.3× cheaper

Output

$0.50

8.8× cheaper

GLM 5.3 Flash is cheaper on both: 9.3× input, 8.8× output.

Where to run it

53 hosts, cheapest first

GLM 5.223 hosts

HostInOutContextUptime

Baidu Qianfanfp8$0.56 in$1.76 out1M99.9% up DeepInfrafp4$0.56 in$1.80 out1M98.8% up Ambientfp8$0.60 in$2.00 out203k99.1% up StreamLakefp8$0.64 in$2.01 out1M99.5% up Novitafp8$0.65 in$2.04 out1M99.9% up DigitalOcean$0.70 in$2.20 out262k98.1% up

17 more hosts

CoreWeavefp4$0.76 in$2.42 out1M99.9% up AtlasCloudfp8$0.94 in$2.95 out1M99.9% up Alibaba Cloudfp8$0.97 in$3.04 out1M99.9% up Inceptronfp4$1.01 in$3.18 out1M98.7% up SiliconFlowfp8$1.19 in$3.74 out1M99.9% up Phalafp8$1.26 in$3.00 out1M99.2% up Basetenfp8$1.40 in$4.40 out1M100% up Cloudflare Workers AI$1.40 in$4.40 out262k99.9% up Fireworks$1.40 in$4.40 out1M99.9% up Friendli$1.40 in$4.40 out1M99.8% up GMI Cloudfp8$1.40 in$4.40 out1M98.8% up Parasailfp4$1.40 in$4.40 out262k99.9% up Together$1.40 in$4.40 out512k99.5% up Venicefp8$1.40 in$4.40 out1M99.8% up Wafer$1.40 in$4.40 out1M99.5% up Z.aifp8$1.40 in$4.40 out1M99.7% up Decartfp4$2.25 in$8.00 out1M99.8% up

GLM 5.3 Flash30 hosts

HostInOutContextUptime

DeepInfrafp4$0.07 in$0.25 out1M99.2% up GMI Cloudfp8$0.07 in$0.25 out1M99.1% up Morph$0.08 in$0.28 out1M99.9% up InferenceNetfp4$0.09 in$0.28 out1M97% up Wafer$0.10 in$0.35 out1M99.8% up Relace$0.11 in$0.36 out1M99.6% up

24 more hosts

Phalafp8$0.13 in$0.42 out1M99.4% up Novitafp8$0.13 in$0.44 out1M99.3% up StreamLakefp8$0.14 in$0.47 out1M99.1% up Sail Researchfp8$0.14 in$0.47 out1M98.7% up AtlasCloudfp8$0.15 in$0.50 out1M99.6% up Basetenfp8$0.15 in$0.50 out1M99.2% up Cloudflare Workers AI$0.15 in$0.50 out1.3M99.8% up CoreWeavenvfp4$0.15 in$0.50 out1M99.5% up DigitalOcean$0.15 in$0.50 out1M94.3% up Fireworks$0.15 in$0.50 out1M99% up Friendli$0.15 in$0.50 out1M99.4% up Inceptronfp8$0.15 in$0.50 out1M98% up io.netfp8$0.15 in$0.50 out262k99.2% up Near AIfp8$0.15 in$0.50 out1M98.8% up Parasailfp8$0.15 in$0.50 out1M98.9% up Rekafp8$0.15 in$0.50 out262k99.1% up SiliconFlowfp8$0.15 in$0.50 out1M99.7% up Together$0.15 in$0.50 out1M99.5% up Venice$0.15 in$0.50 out1M98.7% up Z.aifp8$0.15 in$0.50 out1M97.1% up Modalfp8$0.45 in$1.50 out1M99.6% up OpenInferencefp4degraded$0.10 in$0.50 out1M98.5% up Crusoefp4degraded$0.15 in$0.50 out1M93% up NextBitfp8degraded$0.18 in$0.60 out1M98.3% up

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 22 Sep 2026.

Research

What we learned reading every model

FAQ

Common questions

Keep exploring

More comparisons

Same prompt, both answers

Explain Like I'm a Specific Expert

Simple 7-Ingredient Recipe

Cost per 1M tokens

53 hosts, cheapest first

What we learned reading every model

Common questions

What is the difference between GLM 5.2 and GLM 5.3 Flash?

Which is better, GLM 5.2 or GLM 5.3 Flash?

How much does GLM 5.2 cost compared to GLM 5.3 Flash?

How can I compare GLM 5.2 and GLM 5.3 Flash on Rival?

More comparisons

Against the newest arrivals

Same lab, same size, long tail

Model pages

Same prompt, both answers

Explain Like I'm a Specific Expert

Simple 7-Ingredient Recipe

Cost per 1M tokens

53 hosts, cheapest first

What we learned reading every model

Common questions

What is the difference between GLM 5.2 and GLM 5.3 Flash?

Which is better, GLM 5.2 or GLM 5.3 Flash?

How much does GLM 5.2 cost compared to GLM 5.3 Flash?

How can I compare GLM 5.2 and GLM 5.3 Flash on Rival?

More comparisons

Against the newest arrivals

Same lab, same size, long tail

Model pages