GLM 5.3 Flash vs Qwen3.8 27B

API pricing, context window and capabilities for GLM 5.3 Flash and Qwen3.8 27B, side by side. Prices are the cheapest listed serving route per 1M tokens, from LiteLLM and OpenRouter.

Verdict

computed from the published numbers

GLM 5.3 Flash wins on Terminal-Bench, on intelligence and on context window.

Price
Tied
Terminal-Bench
GLM 5.3 Flash
Intelligence
GLM 5.3 Flash
Context window
GLM 5.3 Flash

Key takeaways

who wins on what, from the published numbers

GLM 5.3 Flash wins

  • Cheaper output ($0.35 vs $1.49 /1M)
  • Larger context window (1M vs 262K)
  • Higher max output (1M vs 33K)
  • More serving providers (13 vs 7)

Qwen3.8 27B wins

  • Cheaper input ($0.11 vs $0.04 /1M)
Cheaper overall
GLM 5.3 Flash
$0.11 + $0.35 /1M
Larger context
GLM 5.3 Flash
1M
More providers
GLM 5.3 Flash
13 providers

Pricing & specs

cheapest listed route · per 1M tokens
On-demand listed rates, OpenRouter routed quotes and Vercel reseller quotes. Enterprise commitments can be materially lower. An OpenRouter routed quote is the price of whichever upstream provider OpenRouter prefers today, so it moves day to day.
GLM 5.3 FlashQwen3.8 27B
Input $/1M$0.11via Sail $0.04OpenRouter routed quote best
Output $/1M$0.35via Sail best$1.49via Cerebras
Context window1M best262K
Max output1M best33K
Serving providers13 best7
DateReleased Aug 26, 2026 Released Aug 14, 2026

Benchmarks

Benchmark scores, side by side
GLM 5.3 FlashQwen3.8 27B
Intelligence41.8 best33.7
Terminal-Bench84% best80%
GPQA Diamond91% 91%
Output speed67 t/s best45 t/s
Latency (TTFT)2.80s best3.83s

Cost calculator

choose a serving route for each side
Input tokens / month
Output tokens / month
GLM 5.3 Flash
via Sail
$0.90
Qwen3.8 27B
via OpenRouter
$2.50

Capabilities

feature support, side by side
FeatureGLM 5.3 FlashQwen3.8 27B
Vision✓✓
Tool use✓✓
Reasoning✓✓
Audio——
Prompt caching✓✓
Structured output✓✓
Web search——

Related comparisons

Frequently asked questions

Which is cheaper, GLM 5.3 Flash or Qwen3.8 27B?
Qwen3.8 27B is cheaper for input ($0.11 vs $0.04 per 1M tokens) as an OpenRouter routed quote. GLM 5.3 Flash is cheaper for output ($0.35 vs $1.49 per 1M tokens) from Sail.
What is the context window difference between GLM 5.3 Flash and Qwen3.8 27B?
GLM 5.3 Flash has a 1M-token context window and Qwen3.8 27B has 262K tokens, so GLM 5.3 Flash can take a larger prompt.
How do GLM 5.3 Flash and Qwen3.8 27B compare on benchmarks?
On the tracked benchmarks, GLM 5.3 Flash leads on Terminal-Bench, and GLM 5.3 Flash leads on intelligence.
Listed prices from LiteLLM, OpenRouter and Vercel · last checked Oct 14, 2026

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