Cheaper overall
GPT-5.4 Mini
22% lower blended rate
Higher benchmark scores
GLM 5.3
leads on 10 of 11 figures
Bigger context window
GLM 5.3
1,000,000 vs 400,000 tokens
Cheaper cached input
GPT-5.4 Mini
$0.075 vs $0.26, 71% less
Where each one wins
GLM 5.3
- Cheaper output tokens $4.40 vs $4.50, 2% less
- Larger context window 1,000,000 tokens
- Higher overall intelligence (Intelligence Index) 44.8 vs 24.1
- Higher coding ability (Coding Index) 74.8 vs 56.1
- Higher multi-step tool use (Agentic Index) 53.1 vs 17.9
- Ahead on 7 more benchmark figures
GPT-5.4 Mini
- Cheaper input tokens $0.75 vs $1.40, 46% less
- Cheaper cached input $0.075 vs $0.26, 71% less
- Cheaper on all four workloads
- Higher factual accuracy (Omniscience Accuracy) 37.5 vs 33.9
- Offers Batch and Flex pricing not listed for GLM 5.3
What four workloads cost
One run, and the same run a thousand times.
GPT-5.4 Mini is cheaper on all four workloads, by much the same margin each time — about 1.6 times, from $0.0030 against $0.0036 on a chat turn to $0.3135 against $0.5732 on a long document.
| Workload | GLM 5.3 | GPT-5.4 Mini | ×1,000 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chat turn 1,000 in / 500 out | $0.0036 | $0.0030 | $3.60 / $3.00 | GPT-5.4 Mini is 17% cheaper |
| RAG answer 10,000 in / 800 out | $0.0175 | $0.0111 | $17.52 / $11.10 | GPT-5.4 Mini is 37% cheaper |
| Agent loop 32,000 in / 700 out × 20 calls | $0.2736 | $0.1380 | $273.60 / $138.00 | GPT-5.4 Mini is 50% cheaper |
| Long document 400,000 in / 3,000 out | $0.5732 | $0.3135 | $573.20 / $313.50 | GPT-5.4 Mini is 45% cheaper |
Price per 1M tokens
Neither model changes its rate with prompt length, so these rates apply to every request.
| Context band | Price | GLM 5.3 | GPT-5.4 Mini | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any prompt length | Input | $1.40 | $0.75 | GPT-5.4 Mini is 46% cheaper |
| Any prompt length | Cached input | $0.26 | $0.075 | GPT-5.4 Mini is 71% cheaper |
| Any prompt length | Output | $4.40 | $4.50 | GLM 5.3 is 2% cheaper |
Blended: GLM 5.3 $2.15, GPT-5.4 Mini $1.6875 per 1M — one rate at 3:1 input to output, for comparing two models at a glance.
GLM 5.3 priced by Z.ai, GPT-5.4 Mini by OpenAI. Standard tier, pay-as-you-go.
Other pricing tiers
Only GPT-5.4 Mini lists Batch and Flex, at up to 50% off its own standard rate; GLM 5.3 offers none of them.
Every tier either model sells is here, so this is the whole price sheet. A saving is measured against that model's own standard rate — how we read tiers.
| Tier | GLM 5.3 | GPT-5.4 Mini | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batch only on GPT-5.4 Mini | Not offered | $0.375 in / $2.25 out 50% off Standard | — |
| Flex only on GPT-5.4 Mini | Not offered | $0.375 in / $2.25 out 50% off Standard | — |
Benchmarks
They share 11 figures: GLM 5.3 leads on 10, GPT-5.4 Mini on 1. The widest gap is 60.2 points, on answer reliability (Omniscience Non-Hallucination).
Overall intelligence
Intelligence Index — Overall intelligence across reasoning, knowledge & math evals
GLM 5.3 ahead by 20.7
Coding ability
Coding Index — Coding ability across software-engineering evals
GLM 5.3 ahead by 18.7
Multi-step tool use
Agentic Index — Tool use & multi-step agent task performance
GLM 5.3 ahead by 35.2
Graduate-level science
GPQA Diamond — Graduate-level questions in biology, chemistry & physics
GLM 5.3 ahead by 4.2
Expert-exam performance
Humanity's Last Exam — Expert-level questions across many academic domains
GLM 5.3 ahead by 14.2
Long-context reasoning
AA-LCR — Long-context reasoning across large inputs
GLM 5.3 ahead by 2.7
Scientific coding
SciCode — Research-level scientific coding tasks
GLM 5.3 ahead by 6.9
Physics research reasoning
CritPt — Unpublished physics research reasoning problems
GLM 5.3 ahead by 9.1
Real-world task performance
GDPval — Economically valuable, real-world knowledge work
GLM 5.3 ahead by 32.2
Factual accuracy
Omniscience Accuracy — Breadth of factual knowledge across domains
GPT-5.4 Mini ahead by 3.6
Answer reliability
Omniscience Non-Hallucination — How reliably the model avoids fabricated answers
GLM 5.3 ahead by 60.2
Each figure is that model's best published run, with the effort level named beside it — where these scores come from.
Specifications
GLM 5.3 holds 600,000 more input tokens in one request. GPT-5.4 Mini also takes file and image.
| Specification | GLM 5.3 | GPT-5.4 Mini |
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens | 400,000 tokens |
| Max output | 128,000 tokens | 128,000 tokens |
| Takes in | Text | Text, image, file |
| Puts out | Text | Text |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | 31 Aug 2025 |
| Released | 14 Aug 2026 | 17 Mar 2026 |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Sold by | Perplexity, Z.ai | OpenAI, Perplexity |
FAQs
- Is GLM 5.3 cheaper than GPT-5.4 Mini?
- No — the other way round. A 1,000-token prompt with a 500-token reply costs $0.0036 on GLM 5.3 and $0.0030 on GPT-5.4 Mini, and the same model is cheaper on every workload on this page.
- How much do GLM 5.3 and GPT-5.4 Mini cost per 1M tokens?
- GLM 5.3 costs $1.40 for input and $4.40 for output. GPT-5.4 Mini costs $0.75 and $4.50. Standard pay-as-you-go rates, as of 14 Aug 2026.
- Which is better, GLM 5.3 or GPT-5.4 Mini?
- On published benchmarks, GLM 5.3. It leads on 10 of the 11 figures both models report, including overall intelligence (Intelligence Index), where it scores 44.8 against 24.1.
- Does GLM 5.3 or GPT-5.4 Mini offer batch pricing?
- GPT-5.4 Mini only. Its batch input costs $0.375, 50% off its standard rate, and GLM 5.3 lists no batch tier at all.
- Does GLM 5.3 or GPT-5.4 Mini have a bigger context window?
- GLM 5.3, at 1,000,000 tokens against 400,000. That is 600,000 more input tokens in a single request.