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Text & reasoningStable
Z.aiGLM-5.3
Z.ai's open-weight long-context reasoning model for coding, tools, and agentic work across self-hosted and managed routes.
Plain-English overview
What GLM-5.3 actually is
GLM-5.3 is a large open model designed for long-horizon reasoning and coding. It can be downloaded and served directly, or accessed from hosted providers that add their own context limits, reasoning settings, tool interfaces, and token prices.
That flexibility is its main attraction: a team can start through OpenRouter or QwenCloud and later move to controlled infrastructure. It also makes comparisons more complicated because the same model name can sit behind very different serving stacks.
Good fit for
- Long-context coding agents
- Open-weight enterprise experiments
- Teams that want several inference-provider choices
Category comparison
The facts that matter for text models
These are provider-published specifications, not Cody benchmark scores. Follow the linked sources for current limits and endpoint-specific exceptions.
- Context window
- Up to 1.31M on OpenRouter; 1M on QwenCloudMaximum combined prompt and working context documented by the provider.
- Maximum output
- Up to 262,144 tokens on OpenRouterProvider-published response limit, where available.
- Knowledge cutoff
- Not publishedLatest reliable knowledge date explicitly published by the model provider. Search and connected tools can retrieve newer information but do not change the model's built-in cutoff.
- Input price
- From $1.15 / 1M on OpenRouterCurrent standard list price per million input tokens unless noted.
- Output price
- From $3.50 / 1M on OpenRouterCurrent standard list price per million output tokens unless noted.
- Inputs
- TextMedia types accepted by the listed model endpoint.
- Tools & agents
- Tools, structured outputs, controllable reasoning on supported routesSelected native tools and agent-building capabilities, not an exhaustive list.
Pricing & comparisons
Estimate your cost
Set your usage. Your estimate updates as you type.
Example: 6,000 input tokens for 10 pages, plus a 500-token summary. Page lengths vary; adjust the numbers below.
One run sends your input to the model once and receives an answer. Tokens are pieces of text: input is what you send, output is the answer you receive.
Advanced options
GLM-5.3
Z.ai
Estimated total (USD)
For the usage above · USD · API pricing, not a subscription
How this estimate works
Estimates exclude taxes, tools, cache storage/writes, free allowances and custom discounts. Image estimates cover output only, not prompt or reference-image charges. Quality modes differ by model. Unlisted settings are not treated as free.
API and provider access
Where to get GLM-5.3
Availability
Regions and access stage
Open weights are available from Z.ai, with hosted access through QwenCloud, OpenRouter, and other inference providers.
Self-hosting gives the operator location control. Hosted regions and country access depend on the selected provider.
Check live availabilityData and training
The route matters.
Self-hosted weights keep prompts inside infrastructure you control. QwenCloud says it does not retain API inputs or outputs for training; OpenRouter and other providers apply their own route policies.
This is a concise reading of the cited provider material, not legal advice. A third-party gateway can have different storage, routing, training, and residency terms from the model maker's direct API.
Read the provider policyFrequently asked questions
GLM-5.3 FAQ
What is GLM-5.3?
Z.ai's open-weight long-context reasoning model for coding, tools, and agentic work across self-hosted and managed routes. GLM-5.3 is a large open model designed for long-horizon reasoning and coding. It can be downloaded and served directly, or accessed from hosted providers that add their own context limits, reasoning settings, tool interfaces, and token prices.
When was GLM-5.3 released?
GLM-5.3 was released on August 18, 2026 according to the cited provider materials.
Where can I access GLM-5.3?
Open weights are available from Z.ai, with hosted access through QwenCloud, OpenRouter, and other inference providers. The access routes listed in this guide are Hugging Face, QwenCloud, and OpenRouter.
How much does GLM-5.3 cost?
From $1.15 input · $3.50 output / 1M tokens on OpenRouter. OpenRouter prices and providers can change. Open weights shift cost to the hardware and serving stack; QwenCloud has its own marketplace rate.
Where is GLM-5.3 available?
Open weights are available from Z.ai, with hosted access through QwenCloud, OpenRouter, and other inference providers. Self-hosting gives the operator location control. Hosted regions and country access depend on the selected provider.
Is my GLM-5.3 API data used for training?
Self-hosted weights keep prompts inside infrastructure you control. QwenCloud says it does not retain API inputs or outputs for training; OpenRouter and other providers apply their own route policies. The policy belongs to the provider route and account terms, so verify it again before production use.
Price comparison
USD per million tokens for the shown API routes at standard context length. Cache and long-context rates may differ. Models without matching reviewed prices are omitted; lower cost does not mean better quality.
- Mistral Small 4$0.15
Mistral AI
- Gemini 3.8 Flash$0.75
Google
- GPT-5.6 Sol$4.00
OpenAI
- GPT-6 Astra$10.00
OpenAI
- Claude Fable 5.1$10.00
Anthropic
- Mistral Small 4$0.60
Mistral AI
- Gemini 3.8 Flash$3.75
Google
- GPT-5.6 Sol$20.00
OpenAI
- GPT-6 Astra$50.00
OpenAI
- Claude Fable 5.1$50.00
Anthropic
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Head-to-head comparisons
GLM-5.3 vs GPT-6 Astra
OpenAI's most capable model for difficult end-to-end work, combining frontier reasoning with a million-token context window and a broad set of agent tools.
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NVIDIA's compact 30B mixture-of-experts model for efficient specialist agents and high-volume text workflows.
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DeepSeek's lower-cost V4 model for high-volume reasoning, coding, agents, and million-token text workloads.
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