Head-to-head comparison

Grok 4.6 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: 7
distinct benchmarks: 7
latest retrieval: 2026-08-26

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 Grok 4.6 and GLM-5.3
Attribute	Grok 4.6	GLM-5.3
Provider	xAI	Z.ai
Released	Aug 12, 2026	Aug 14, 2026
Availability	Active	Active
Model type	Proprietary	Open Weights
Parameters	Not published	744B, 40B active
Architecture	Not published	Mixture of Experts
Context window	500,000 tokens	1,000,000 tokens
Knowledge cutoff	February 1, 2026	Not published
Technical sources	Model	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 Grok 4.6 and GLM-5.3
Price type	Grok 4.6	GLM-5.3
API input	$2 ≤200K / $4 >200K	$1.4
API output	$6 ≤200K / $12 >200K	$4.4
Cache read	$0.5 ≤200K / $1 >200K	$0.26
Cache write (5 min.)	Not listed	Not listed
Cache write (1 hr.)	Not listed	Not listed
Price verified	08/16/2026 Source	08/30/2026 Source

Grok 4.6GLM-5.3

API inputUSD per 1M tokens, base tier

Grok 4.6$2

GLM-5.3$1.4

API outputUSD per 1M tokens, base tier

Grok 4.6$6

GLM-5.3$4.4

Cache readUSD per 1M tokens, base tier

Grok 4.6$0.5

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 Grok 4.6 and GLM-5.3
Model	Provider	Purchase route and tariff	Input per 1M tokens	Output per 1M tokens	Source
Grok 4.6	xAI	Direct from developerUp to 200,000 context tokens	Lowest listed price: $2	Lowest listed price: $6	Source08/16/2026
	xAI	Direct from developerAbove 200,000 context tokens	$4	$12	Source08/16/2026
	Amazon Bedrock	Via OpenRouteramazon-bedrock/us-west-2	$2.2	$6.6	Source08/29/2026
	xAI	Via OpenRouterxai	Lowest listed price: $2	Lowest listed price: $6	Source08/29/2026
	xAI	Via OpenRouterxai/priority	$4	$12	Source08/29/2026
	xAI	Via OpenRouterxai/zdr	Lowest listed price: $2	Lowest listed price: $6	Source08/29/2026
	xAI	Via OpenRouterxai/zdr/priority	$4	$12	Source08/29/2026
GLM-5.3	Z.ai	Direct from developerStandard API	$1.4	$4.4	Source08/30/2026
	AkashML	Via OpenRouterakashml/fp8	$1.3	$4.4	Source08/29/2026
	AtlasCloud	Via OpenRouteratlas-cloud/fp8	$1.26	Lowest listed price: $3.96	Source08/29/2026
	BaseTen	Via OpenRouterbaseten/fp4	$1.4	$4.4	Source08/29/2026
	Cloudflare	Via OpenRoutercloudflare	$1.4	$4.4	Source08/29/2026
	DeepInfra	Via OpenRouterdeepinfra/fp8	Lowest listed price: $1.2	$4	Source08/29/2026
	DigitalOcean	Via OpenRouterdigitalocean	$1.4	$4.4	Source08/29/2026
	Fireworks	Via OpenRouterfireworks	$1.4	$4.4	Source08/29/2026
	Friendli	Via OpenRouterfriendli	$1.4	$4.4	Source08/29/2026
	GMICloud	Via OpenRoutergmicloud/fp8	$1.4	$4.4	Source08/29/2026
	Io Net	Via OpenRouterio-net/fp8	$1.25	$4.4	Source08/29/2026
	Modal	Via OpenRoutermodal	$1.4	$4.4	Source08/29/2026
	Morph	Via OpenRoutermorph/fp4	$1.4	$4.4	Source08/29/2026
	Novita	Via OpenRouternovita/fp8	$1.4	$4.4	Source08/29/2026
	Parasail	Via OpenRouterparasail/fp8	$1.4	$4.4	Source08/29/2026
	Together	Via OpenRoutertogether	$1.4	$4.4	Source08/29/2026
	Z.AI	Via OpenRouterz-ai/fp8	$1.4	$4.4	Source08/29/2026

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.

Grok 4.6

GLM-5.3

Coding: 100 / 95.5 (2 benchmark families)

Reasoning: 100 / 93.1 (1 benchmark family)

Knowledge: 100 / 97.1 (1 benchmark family)

Legal: 100 / 98.3 (1 benchmark family)

Agentic tasks: 100 / 88.3 (2 benchmark families)

7 matched rows from 7 benchmark families were considered. The radar shows 5 of 5 comparable categories.

Grok 4.6GLM-5.3

GPQA DiamondOverall. Higher is better. No documented setup difference

Grok 4.694.697 %

GLM-5.388.132 %

LegalBenchOverall. Higher is better. No documented setup difference

Grok 4.686.307 %

GLM-5.384.837 %

LiveCodeBench v6Overall. Higher is better. No documented setup difference

Grok 4.688.224 %

GLM-5.380.535 %

MMLU-ProOverall. Higher is better. No documented setup difference

Grok 4.689.4 %

GLM-5.386.77 %

SkillsBenchOverall. Higher is better. No documented setup difference

Grok 4.655.766 %

GLM-5.347.509 %

SWE-bench VerifiedOverall. Higher is better. No documented setup difference

Grok 4.695.6 %

GLM-5.395.4 %

Terminal-Bench 2.1Overall. Higher is better. No documented setup difference

Grok 4.678.277 %

GLM-5.371.536 %

Key to the marks:better valuebetter, but not conclusivetie

Benchmark scores for Grok 4.6 and GLM-5.3
Benchmark and task	Grok 4.6	GLM-5.3	Source
GPQA DiamondOverall Test details No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better	Winner94.697 %	88.132 %	Vals AI Source details Data as of: 08/19/2026
LegalBenchOverall Test details No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better	Winner86.307 %	84.837 %	Vals AI Source details Data as of: 08/19/2026
LiveCodeBench v6Overall Test details No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better	Winner88.224 %	80.535 %	Vals AI Source details Data as of: 08/19/2026
MMLU-ProOverall Test details No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better	Winner89.4 %	86.77 %	Vals AI Source details Data as of: 08/19/2026
SkillsBenchOverall Test details No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is betterSettings: Harness: OpenHands	Winner55.766 %	47.509 %	Vals AI Source details Data as of: 08/19/2026
SWE-bench VerifiedOverall Test details No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better	Winner95.6 %	95.4 %	Vals AI Source details Data as of: 08/19/2026
Terminal-Bench 2.1Overall Test details No documented difference in the test setupVersion: 2.1Metric: accuracyScoring: Higher is better	Winner78.277 %	71.536 %	Vals AI Source details Data as of: 08/19/2026
Key to the marks:better valuebetter, but not conclusivetie

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 Grok 4.6 and GLM-5.3 with other leading models using the same data and benchmark logic.

View the complete LLM comparison