Head-to-head comparison

Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs. GLM-5.3

Compare published benchmark results from matching versions and cohorts, API pricing, and technical specifications. Any documented test setup differences remain visible.

shared result series: 2
distinct benchmarks: 2
latest retrieval: 2026-09-29

First modelSecond model

Specifications

General specifications

Release date, availability, context window, architecture, and published parameter counts at a glance. Undisclosed details remain marked as unavailable.

Specifications for Claude Sonnet 4.5 and GLM-5.3
Attribute	Claude Sonnet 4.5	GLM-5.3
Provider	Anthropic	Z.ai
Released	Sep 2025	Aug 18, 2026
Availability	Active	Active
Model type	Proprietary	Open Weights
Parameters	Not published	744B, 40B active
Architecture	Not published	Mixture of Experts
Context window	200,000 tokens	1,000,000 tokens
Knowledge cutoff	January 2025	Not published
Technical sources	Model, Context	Model, Context

Pricing

API pricing compared

The table compares official standard API rates per 1M tokens, including published cache pricing. Batch, fast, priority, regional surcharges, tool calls, and cloud platform pricing are excluded.

API pricing for Claude Sonnet 4.5 and GLM-5.3
Price type	Claude Sonnet 4.5	GLM-5.3
API input	$3	$1.4
API output	$15	$4.4
Cache read	$0.3	$0.26
Cache write (5 min.)	$3.75	Not listed
Cache write (1 hr.)	$6	Not listed
Price verified	09/22/2026 Source	09/22/2026 Source

Claude Sonnet 4.5GLM-5.3

API inputUSD per 1M tokens, base tier

Claude Sonnet 4.5$3

GLM-5.3$1.4

API outputUSD per 1M tokens, base tier

Claude Sonnet 4.5$15

GLM-5.3$4.4

Cache readUSD per 1M tokens, base tier

Claude Sonnet 4.5$0.3

GLM-5.3$0.26

Key to the marks:better valuebetter, but not conclusivetie

Pricing by provider

Direct developer pricing and provider endpoint tariffs routed through OpenRouter are listed separately. Prices are in USD per 1M tokens. Context-dependent direct tiers plus regional, Flex, Priority, and other OpenRouter tariffs remain individually identifiable.

Provider pricing for Claude Sonnet 4.5 and GLM-5.3
Model	Provider	Purchase route and tariff	Input per 1M tokens	Output per 1M tokens	Source
Claude Sonnet 4.5	Anthropic	Direct from developerStandard API	Lowest listed price: $3	Lowest listed price: $15	Source09/22/2026
	Amazon Bedrock	Via OpenRouteramazon-bedrock	Lowest listed price: $3	Lowest listed price: $15	Source10/07/2026
	Amazon Bedrock	Via OpenRouteramazon-bedrock/eu-west-1	$3.3	$16.5	Source10/07/2026
	Anthropic	Via OpenRouteranthropic	Lowest listed price: $3	Lowest listed price: $15	Source10/07/2026
	Azure	Via OpenRouterazure/global	Lowest listed price: $3	Lowest listed price: $15	Source10/07/2026
	Claude Platform on AWS	Via OpenRouterclaude-on-aws	Lowest listed price: $3	Lowest listed price: $15	Source10/07/2026
	Google	Via OpenRoutergoogle-vertex/global	Lowest listed price: $3	Lowest listed price: $15	Source10/07/2026
	Google	Via OpenRoutergoogle-vertex/us-east5	$3.3	$16.5	Source10/07/2026
GLM-5.3	Z.ai	Direct from developerStandard API	$1.4	$4.4	Source09/22/2026
	AkashML	Via OpenRouterakashml/fp8	$0.19	$4.4	Source10/07/2026
	Alibaba	Via OpenRouteralibaba	$1.19	$3.74	Source10/07/2026
	Alibaba	Via OpenRouteralibaba/fast	$2.8	$8.8	Source10/07/2026
	AtlasCloud	Via OpenRouteratlas-cloud/fp8	$1.4	$4.4	Source10/07/2026
	Baidu	Via OpenRouterbaidu/fp8	$1.4	$4.4	Source10/07/2026
	BaseTen	Via OpenRouterbaseten/fast#1	$2.1	$6.6	Source10/07/2026
	BaseTen	Via OpenRouterbaseten/fast#2	$2.1	$6.6	Source10/07/2026
	BaseTen	Via OpenRouterbaseten/fp4#1	$1.4	$4.4	Source10/07/2026
	BaseTen	Via OpenRouterbaseten/fp4#2	$1.4	$4.4	Source10/07/2026
	Cloudflare	Via OpenRoutercloudflare	$1.4	$4.4	Source10/07/2026
	Crusoe	Via OpenRoutercrusoe/fp4	$1.4	$4.4	Source10/07/2026
	Decart	Via OpenRouterdecart/fp4	$1.19	$3.74	Source10/07/2026
	DigitalOcean	Via OpenRouterdigitalocean	$0.91	$2.86	Source10/07/2026
	Fireworks	Via OpenRouterfireworks	$1.4	$4.4	Source10/07/2026
	Fireworks	Via OpenRouterfireworks/fast	$2.1	$6.6	Source10/07/2026
	Friendli	Via OpenRouterfriendli	$1.26	$3.96	Source10/07/2026
	GMICloud	Via OpenRoutergmicloud/fp8	$0.98	$3.08	Source10/07/2026
	Inceptron	Via OpenRouterinceptron/fp4	$0.6	$3.39	Source10/07/2026
	InferenceNet	Via OpenRouterinference-net/fp4	$0.18	$4.4	Source10/07/2026
	Mistral	Via OpenRoutermistral/nvfp4#1	$1.4	$4.4	Source10/07/2026
	Mistral	Via OpenRoutermistral/nvfp4#2	$1.54	$4.84	Source10/07/2026
	Mistral	Via OpenRoutermistral/zdr	$1.4	$4.4	Source10/07/2026
	Modal	Via OpenRoutermodal	$1.4	$4.4	Source10/07/2026
	Morph	Via OpenRoutermorph/fp8	$0.179	$3.553	Source10/07/2026
	Nebius	Via OpenRouternebius/fp4	$1.4	$4.4	Source10/07/2026
	Novita	Via OpenRouternovita/fp8	$0.42	Lowest listed price: $1.32	Source10/07/2026
	Parasail	Via OpenRouterparasail/fp8	$1.4	$4.4	Source10/07/2026
	Phala	Via OpenRouterphala	$0.84	$2.64	Source10/07/2026
	PrimeIntellect	Via OpenRouterprimeintellect	$1.4	$4.4	Source10/07/2026
	Reka	Via OpenRouterreka	$0.17	$3	Source10/07/2026
	Relace	Via OpenRouterrelace	Lowest listed price: $0.06	$4.4	Source10/07/2026
	Sail Research	Via OpenRoutersail-research/fp8	$0.2	$3.4	Source10/07/2026
	Sail Research	Via OpenRoutersail-research/us	$0.2	$3.4	Source10/07/2026
	SiliconFlow	Via OpenRoutersiliconflow/fp8	$0.7	$2.2	Source10/07/2026
	Together	Via OpenRoutertogether	$1.4	$4.4	Source10/07/2026
	Venice	Via OpenRoutervenice	$1.4	$4.4	Source10/07/2026
	Wafer	Via OpenRouterwafer	$0.17	$7	Source10/07/2026
	Wafer	Via OpenRouterwafer/us	$0.07	$7	Source10/07/2026
	Z.AI	Via OpenRouterz-ai/fp8	$1.4	$4.4	Source10/07/2026

Performance

Shared benchmarks

Only published results with the same benchmark version, task, metric, and comparison cohort are paired. Different reasoning levels, agents, harnesses, or output limits appear directly in the table.

Capability profile from matched benchmarks

Each axis averages directly matched benchmark families. A value of 100 means the stronger value within this pair, not a universal quality score.

Not enough directly matched categories for a reliable radar

Only 1 of at least 5 categories have comparable, direct model measurements. The benchmark tables below show the available evidence without filling missing axes.

Claude Sonnet 4.5GLM-5.3

MedCodeOverall. Higher is better. No documented setup difference

Claude Sonnet 4.540.569 %

GLM-5.342.864 %

MedScribeOverall. Higher is better. No documented setup difference

Claude Sonnet 4.584.515 %

GLM-5.388.81 %

Key to the marks:better valuebetter, but not conclusivetie

Benchmark scores for Claude Sonnet 4.5 and GLM-5.3
Benchmark and task	Claude Sonnet 4.5	GLM-5.3	Source
MedCodeOverall Test details No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is betterClaude Sonnet 4.5: Snapshot: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929	40.569 %	Winner42.864 %	Vals AI Source details Data as of: 09/26/2026
MedScribeOverall Test details No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is betterClaude Sonnet 4.5: Snapshot: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929	84.515 %	Winner88.81 %	Vals AI Source details Data as of: 09/26/2026
Key to the marks:better valuebetter, but not conclusivetie

Our model tests

Our tests

Compare how the models respond to the same prompt. Each test shows the latest attempt, with no subsequent fixes to the generated code. Earlier runs remain available in the test details. These results do not contribute to an overall score.

Pelican on a bicycle

A community classic for free-form SVG drawing.

Claude Sonnet 4.5

Reasoning (requested): high

Current attempt

Run date: 1 Oct 2026
API provider: openrouter
Requested API model: anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5
API model reported in response: anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5
Reasoning setting: high
Pinned endpoint: Anthropic | anthropic/claude-4.5-sonnet-20250929
Temperature: Provider default
Token limit including reasoning: 8,192 tokens
Test protocol: community-visual-tests-v1
Technical checks: Passed, not a quality rating
Response time: 30.2 s

Visually reviewed. This individual test does not establish overall model quality.

GLM-5.3

Reasoning (requested): high

Current attempt

Run date: 2 Oct 2026
API provider: openrouter
Requested API model: z-ai/glm-5.3
API model reported in response: z-ai/glm-5.3
Reasoning setting: high
Pinned endpoint: Z.AI | z-ai/glm-5.3-20260816
Temperature: Provider default
Token limit including reasoning: 8,192 tokens
Test protocol: community-visual-tests-v1
Technical checks: Passed, not a quality rating
Response time: 20.4 s

Visually reviewed. This individual test does not establish overall model quality.

Earlier attempts (2)

1 Oct 2026API request failedReasoning setting: high
7 Sept 2026API request failedReasoning setting: high

Prompt and test conditions

Generate an SVG of a pelican riding a bicycle

Token limit including reasoning: 8,192 tokens

Task origin (Simon Willison)

How to read this comparison

Winning one benchmark is not an overall verdict

Your workload, budget, and required context length matter most. A coding benchmark says little about visual understanding or agent performance.

The standard price table uses direct developer rates. The provider comparison labels OpenRouter endpoints, regions, and special tariffs separately.

Every result links to its measurement source and retrieval date. Labels distinguish vendor reports, official benchmark leaderboards, and independent evaluations. Disputed or archived results are excluded.

More matchups

Compare Claude Sonnet 4.5 and GLM-5.3 with other leading models using the same data and benchmark logic.

View the complete LLM comparison