GLM 4.6
About this model
GLM 4.6 is an AI model from Z.ai (Zhipu), made available through the API on September 30, 2025. It can read up to 204,800 tokens in one request, roughly 384 pages of text, and write up to 16,384 tokens in a single answer.
Through the API it costs $0.43 per million input tokens and $1.75 per million output tokens. Its pricing sits in the middle of the market.
It supports extended reasoning: it can "think" step by step before answering, which helps on maths, code and complex questions. It can call tools and functions, so developers can connect it to search, databases or other software. Its weights are openly published (zai-org/GLM-4.6), so it can also be downloaded and run on your own hardware.
Quality scores
Rankings →Not rated yet. Independent test results usually appear a few weeks after a model is released.
Where to use it
Companies that serve this model through an API: 4. Prices per million tokens, cheapest first.
| Provider | Inputi | Outputi | Contexti | Uptime (24 h)i |
|---|---|---|---|---|
VeniceCheapestfp4 | $0.43 | $1.75 | 198K | 99.7% |
DeepInfrafp4 | $0.50 | $2 | 198K | 99.3% |
Novitabf16 | $0.55 | $2.20 | 200K | 99.5% |
Z.AIOfficialfp4 | $0.60 | $2.20 | 198K | 98.8% |
Availability and prices come from OpenRouter’s public API and are refreshed daily. Uptime is the share of successful requests over the last 24 hours. Some providers run a compressed version of open models (fp8, int4), which is cheaper but can be slightly less accurate.
Use it in your code
Call GLM 4.6 through OpenRouter’s OpenAI-compatible API: create a key on openrouter.ai, then run one of these examples.
curl https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/chat/completions \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENROUTER_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"model": "z-ai/glm-4.6", "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello! What can you do?"}]}'import os
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(base_url="https://openrouter.ai/api/v1", api_key=os.environ["OPENROUTER_API_KEY"])
reply = client.chat.completions.create(
model="z-ai/glm-4.6",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello! What can you do?"}],
)
print(reply.choices[0].message.content)import OpenAI from "openai";
const client = new OpenAI({ baseURL: "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1", apiKey: process.env.OPENROUTER_API_KEY });
const reply = await client.chat.completions.create({
model: "z-ai/glm-4.6",
messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Hello! What can you do?" }],
});
console.log(reply.choices[0].message.content);The same code works with every model on this site: only the model ID changes. Many labs also offer their own API and SDK.
What it costs in practice
- 1,000 chat replies$0.74
- Summarise a 100-page document$0.023
- An app with 10,000 requests a day for a month$339
Similar-priced alternatives
| Model | Inputi | Outputi | Contexti | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
MiMo-V2.6-ProXiaomi | $0.44 | $0.87 | 1.1M | Compare with ⇄ |
Qwen3.8 27BAlibaba Qwen | $0.42 | $3 | 1M | Compare with ⇄ |
Inkling SmallThinking Machines Lab | $0.45 | $1.20 | 512K | Compare with ⇄ |
Kimi K2.5Moonshot AI | $0.45 | $2.25 | 256K | Compare with ⇄ |
Devstral 2 2512Mistral AI | $0.40 | $2 | 256K | Compare with ⇄ |
Seed 2.1 TurboByteDance Seed | $0.50 | $2.50 | 256K | Compare with ⇄ |
News about Z.ai (Zhipu)
See all →Frequently asked questions
- How much does GLM 4.6 cost?
- GLM 4.6 costs $0.43 per million input tokens and $1.75 per million output tokens through the API. For example, 1,000 chat replies of about 500 tokens in and 300 out cost around $0.74.
- What is the context window of GLM 4.6?
- GLM 4.6 can read up to 204,800 tokens in one request, about 384 pages of text. It can write up to 16,384 tokens in a single answer.
- Is GLM 4.6 open source?
- Yes. Its weights are published (zai-org/GLM-4.6), so you can download it and run it on your own hardware, or use it through one of 4 API providers.
- Who makes GLM 4.6?
- GLM 4.6 is made by Z.ai (Zhipu). It became available through the API on September 30, 2025.
- Can GLM 4.6 read images?
- No. GLM 4.6 only accepts text as input.
- What are the alternatives to GLM 4.6?
- Models with a similar price from other companies include MiMo-V2.6-Pro, Qwen3.8 27B and Inkling Small. You can compare them side by side on this page.