GLM 5.3 vs Qwen3.8 Max

API pricing, context window and capabilities for GLM 5.3 and Qwen3.8 Max, 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 wins on price, on Terminal-Bench and on intelligence.

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

Key takeaways

who wins on what, from the published numbers

GLM 5.3 wins

  • Cheaper input ($0.079 vs $1.65 /1M)
  • Cheaper output ($3.08 vs $4.95 /1M)
  • Higher max output (1M vs 131K)
  • More serving providers (16 vs 10)

Qwen3.8 Max wins

  • Has web search
Cheaper overall
GLM 5.3
$0.079 + $3.08 /1M
Larger context
Tied
More providers
GLM 5.3
16 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 5.3Qwen3.8 Max
Input $/1M$0.079OpenRouter routed quote best$1.65via DeepInfra
Output $/1M$3.08via Sail best$4.95via DeepInfra
Context window1M 1M
Max output1M best131K
Serving providers16 best10
DateReleased Aug 14, 2026 Released Aug 3, 2026

Benchmarks

Benchmark scores, side by side
GLM 5.3Qwen3.8 Max
Intelligence44.8 best40.1
Terminal-Bench84% best81%
GPQA Diamond92% 93% best
Output speed62 t/s best41 t/s
Latency (TTFT)3.50s 2.57s best

Cost calculator

choose a serving route for each side
Input tokens / month
Output tokens / month
GLM 5.3
via OpenRouter
$5.20
Qwen3.8 Max
via Scx AI
$13

Capabilities

feature support, side by side
FeatureGLM 5.3Qwen3.8 Max
Vision✓✓
Tool use✓✓
Reasoning✓✓
Audio——
Prompt caching✓✓
Structured output✓✓
Web search—✓

Related comparisons

Frequently asked questions

Which is cheaper, GLM 5.3 or Qwen3.8 Max?
GLM 5.3 is cheaper for input ($0.079 vs $1.65 per 1M tokens) as an OpenRouter routed quote. GLM 5.3 is cheaper for output ($3.08 vs $4.95 per 1M tokens) from Sail.
What is the context window difference between GLM 5.3 and Qwen3.8 Max?
Both GLM 5.3 and Qwen3.8 Max have about a 1M-token context window.
How do GLM 5.3 and Qwen3.8 Max compare on benchmarks?
On the tracked benchmarks, GLM 5.3 leads on Terminal-Bench, and GLM 5.3 leads on intelligence.
Listed prices from LiteLLM, OpenRouter and Vercel · last checked Oct 14, 2026

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