z.ai

Open Source

GLM-5pricing, context window and what it's actually good for

GLM-5 from z.ai. GLM weights are open, so third-party hosts often undercut z.ai's own first-party API — the spread is real buying information and is worth publishing alongside this rate, attributed. z.ai lists cached input storage as limited-time free.

Context window
200,000 tokens
Max output
128,000 tokens
Released
12 Feb 2026
API identifier
glm-5

Pricing · per 1M tokens

Input$1.00
Output$3.20
Cached input$0.20

Cached input is 5× cheaper on this model — it pays off when you send the same context again and again.

Checked against z.ai pricing docs on 7 Aug 2026, 11:51 UTC

Used for

Where GLM-5 shows up in practice

The workflows where we shortlist GLM-5 against the alternatives. Each page says why, at what price, and where a cheaper model does the job instead.

Not sure GLM-5 fits your workload?

We'll size the right model for your use case and give you a real cost estimate. One free call, no slides.

Talk to us