Cheaper overall
GLM-5.3
73% lower blended rate
Higher benchmark scores
gpt-5.6-sol
leads on 7 of 11 figures
Bigger context window
gpt-5.6-sol
1,050,000 vs 1,000,000 tokens
Cheaper cached input
GLM-5.3
$0.26 vs $0.40, 35% less
Where each one wins
GLM-5.3
- Cheaper input tokens $1.40 vs $4.00, 65% less
- Cheaper output tokens $4.40 vs $20.00, 78% less
- Cheaper cached input $0.26 vs $0.40, 35% less
- Cheaper on all four workloads
- Higher multi-step tool use (Agentic Index) 53.1 vs 50.2
- Higher scientific coding (SciCode) 59 vs 57.8
- Higher real-world task performance (GDPval) 57.3 vs 54.4
- Ahead on 1 more benchmark figure
gpt-5.6-sol
- Larger context window 1,050,000 tokens
- Higher overall intelligence (Intelligence Index) 47 vs 44.8
- Higher coding ability (Coding Index) 78.3 vs 74.8
- Higher graduate-level science (GPQA Diamond) 94.1 vs 91.7
- Ahead on 4 more benchmark figures
- Offers Batch, Flex and Priority pricing not listed for GLM-5.3
What four workloads cost
One run, and the same run a thousand times.
The gap opens on long prompts: GLM-5.3 costs $0.5732 against $3.29, a difference of $2,716.80 over a thousand runs.
| Workload | GLM-5.3 | gpt-5.6-sol | ×1,000 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chat turn 1,000 in / 500 out | $0.0036 | $0.0140 | $3.60 / $14.00 | GLM-5.3 is 74% cheaper |
| RAG answer 10,000 in / 800 out | $0.0175 | $0.0560 | $17.52 / $56.00 | GLM-5.3 is 69% cheaper |
| Agent loop 32,000 in / 700 out × 20 calls | $0.2736 | $0.6800 | $273.60 / $680.00 | GLM-5.3 is 60% cheaper |
| Long document 400,000 in / 3,000 out | $0.5732 | $3.29 | $573.20 / $3,290.00 | GLM-5.3 is 83% cheaper |
Price per 1M tokens
Above 272,000 input tokens the rates change, and the new rate applies to the whole request, not just the tokens past that point: gpt-5.6-sol's input goes from $4.00 to $8.00. It does not change which of the two is cheaper.
| Context band | Price | GLM-5.3 | gpt-5.6-sol | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prompts up to 272,000 tokens | Input | $1.40 | $4.00 | GLM-5.3 is 65% cheaper |
| Prompts up to 272,000 tokens | Cached input | $0.26 | $0.40 | GLM-5.3 is 35% cheaper |
| Prompts up to 272,000 tokens | Output | $4.40 | $20.00 | GLM-5.3 is 78% cheaper |
| Prompts over 272,000 tokens | Input | $1.40 | $8.00 | GLM-5.3 is 83% cheaper |
| Prompts over 272,000 tokens | Cached input | $0.26 | $0.80 | GLM-5.3 is 68% cheaper |
| Prompts over 272,000 tokens | Output | $4.40 | $30.00 | GLM-5.3 is 85% cheaper |
Blended: GLM-5.3 $2.15, gpt-5.6-sol $8.00 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-5.6-sol by OpenAI. Standard tier, pay-as-you-go.
Other pricing tiers
Only gpt-5.6-sol lists Batch, Flex and Priority, 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-5.6-sol | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batch only on gpt-5.6-sol | Not offered | $2.00 in / $10.00 out 50% off Standard | — |
| Flex only on gpt-5.6-sol | Not offered | $2.00 in / $10.00 out 50% off Standard | — |
| Priority only on gpt-5.6-sol | Not offered | $8.00 in / $40.00 out | — |
Benchmarks
They share 11 figures: GLM-5.3 leads on 4, gpt-5.6-sol on 7. The widest gap is 59.8 points, on answer reliability (Omniscience Non-Hallucination).
Overall intelligence
Intelligence Index — Overall intelligence across reasoning, knowledge & math evals
gpt-5.6-sol ahead by 2.2
Coding ability
Coding Index — Coding ability across software-engineering evals
gpt-5.6-sol ahead by 3.5
Multi-step tool use
Agentic Index — Tool use & multi-step agent task performance
GLM-5.3 ahead by 2.9
Graduate-level science
GPQA Diamond — Graduate-level questions in biology, chemistry & physics
gpt-5.6-sol ahead by 2.4
Expert-exam performance
Humanity's Last Exam — Expert-level questions across many academic domains
gpt-5.6-sol ahead by 7.2
Long-context reasoning
AA-LCR — Long-context reasoning across large inputs
gpt-5.6-sol ahead by 4.3
Scientific coding
SciCode — Research-level scientific coding tasks
GLM-5.3 ahead by 1.2
Physics research reasoning
CritPt — Unpublished physics research reasoning problems
gpt-5.6-sol ahead by 13.2
Real-world task performance
GDPval — Economically valuable, real-world knowledge work
GLM-5.3 ahead by 2.9
Factual accuracy
Omniscience Accuracy — Breadth of factual knowledge across domains
gpt-5.6-sol ahead by 25.5
Answer reliability
Omniscience Non-Hallucination — How reliably the model avoids fabricated answers
GLM-5.3 ahead by 59.8
Each figure is that model's best published run, with the effort level named beside it — where these scores come from.
Specifications
gpt-5.6-sol holds 50,000 more input tokens in one request. gpt-5.6-sol also takes file and image. Only GLM-5.3 lists open weights.
| Specification | GLM-5.3 | gpt-5.6-sol |
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens | 1,050,000 tokens |
| Max output | 128,000 tokens | 128,000 tokens |
| Takes in | Text | Text, image, file |
| Puts out | Text | Text |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | 16 Feb 2026 |
| Released | 14 Aug 2026 | 9 Jul 2026 |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Sold by | Perplexity, Z.ai | OpenAI, Perplexity |
| Tool use | Yes | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Web search | Not listed | Not listed |
| Prompt caching | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | Yes | Yes |
| Computer use | Not listed | Not listed |
| Open weights | Yes | Not listed |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
FAQs
- Is GLM-5.3 cheaper than gpt-5.6-sol?
- Yes. A 1,000-token prompt with a 500-token reply costs $0.0036 on GLM-5.3 and $0.0140 on gpt-5.6-sol, and the same model is cheaper on every workload on this page.
- How much do GLM-5.3 and gpt-5.6-sol cost per 1M tokens?
- GLM-5.3 costs $1.40 for input and $4.40 for output. gpt-5.6-sol costs $4.00 and $20.00. Standard pay-as-you-go rates, as of 23 Aug 2026.
- Which is better, GLM-5.3 or gpt-5.6-sol?
- On published benchmarks, gpt-5.6-sol. It leads on 7 of the 11 figures both models report, including overall intelligence (Intelligence Index), where it scores 47 against 44.8.
- Does GLM-5.3 or gpt-5.6-sol offer batch pricing?
- gpt-5.6-sol only. Its batch input costs $2.00, 50% off its standard rate, and GLM-5.3 lists no batch tier at all.
- Does GLM-5.3 or gpt-5.6-sol have a bigger context window?
- gpt-5.6-sol, at 1,050,000 tokens against 1,000,000. That is 50,000 more input tokens in a single request.