GLM-4.5 vs Grok 3
A complete head-to-head: pricing, context window, benchmarks, modality coverage, and openness, with a programmatic verdict synthesized from the underlying data.
Updated
GLM-4.5 specs · Grok 3 specs- PriceGrok 3
Grok 3 publishes pricing ($15.00 / 1M output tokens) while GLM-4.5 does not.
- Context windowTie
Both ship a 128K-token context window.
- BenchmarksTie
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores.
- ModalitiesTie
Both handle text, vision.
- OpennessGLM-4.5
GLM-4.5 ships open weights (MIT); Grok 3 is API-only.
It's a genuine coin-flip between GLM-4.5 and Grok 3: 1 category wins each, with the rest tied. Grok 3 publishes pricing ($15.00 / 1M output tokens) while GLM-4.5 does not. Both ship a 128K-token context window.
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores. Both target the same set of modalities (text, vision), so the deciding factors are price, context, and raw quality. GLM-4.5 ships open weights (MIT); Grok 3 is API-only.
GLM-4.5 is the newer of the two, released 5 months after Grok 3, which usually means a more recent knowledge cutoff and updated safety post-training. GLM-4.5 is usually picked for chinese llm and open source llm workloads, while Grok 3 sees more deployments in chatbots and research agent. If pricing matters more than every last benchmark point, run the numbers in the calculator below before committing.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | GLM-4.5 | Grok 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Other | xAI |
| Released | Jul 2025 | Feb 2025 |
| Modalities | text, vision | text, vision |
| Context window | 128K tokens | 128K tokens |
| Max output | , | , |
| Input · 1M | Pricing not published | $3.00 / 1M tokens |
| Output · 1M | Pricing not published | $15.00 / 1M tokens |
| Knowledge cutoff | , | 2024-08 |
| Open weights | Yes (MIT) | No |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
Pricing at scale
What you'd actually pay at typical workloads. Numbers come from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day, vs $31.50
- Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day, vs $315
- RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day, vs $540
Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates).
Estimated spend for the listed models at your usage. Numbers are derived from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- GLM-4.5Pricing unavailable
- Grok 3$1.05
Benchmarks compared
Only sourced numbers. Where a benchmark is missing for one model we show the available value rather than fabricating the other.
GLM-4.5 fits when…
- MIT license
- Strong Chinese
- Multimodal
- Self-hosting and on-prem requirements, open weights (MIT).
Grok 3 fits when…
- Real-time X access
- Reasoning modes
Consider DBRX
Databricks' 132B MoE, a notable 2024 open-weight release tuned for enterprise.
Frequently asked
Is GLM-4.5 or Grok 3 cheaper?
Per-token pricing isn't published for at least one of these models, check each model's spec page for current rates.Which has the larger context window?
Both GLM-4.5 and Grok 3 ship a 128K-token context window.Is GLM-4.5 or Grok 3 better for coding?
Both GLM-4.5 and Grok 3 are competitive on coding benchmarks. See each model's individual spec page for HumanEval and SWE-bench scores where published. For an opinionated pick, consult our Best LLM for Coding ranking.Are either of these models open source?
GLM-4.5 ships open weights (MIT). Grok 3 is API-only.When were GLM-4.5 and Grok 3 released?
GLM-4.5 was released by Other on 2025-07-28. Grok 3 was released by xAI on 2025-02-17.
The week's AI launches, in your inbox.
One short email every Friday, new models, leaks, and quietly-shipped APIs you missed.