GPT-4.1 vs GLM 5
| Signal | GPT-4.1 | Delta | GLM 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
Capabilities | 83 | +17 | |
Benchmarks | 70 | -10 | |
Pricing | 92 | -5 | |
Context window size | 96 | +11 | |
Recency | 47 | -53 | |
Output Capacity | 75 | -10 | |
| Overall Result | 2 wins | of 6 | 4 wins |
Score History
67.7
current score
GLM 5
right now
78
current score
GPT-4.1
OpenAI
GLM 5
Zhipu AI
GLM 5 saves you $377.50/month
That's $4530.00/year compared to GPT-4.1 at your current usage level of 100K calls/month.
| Metric | GPT-4.1 | GLM 5 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 68 | 78 | GLM 5 |
| Rank | #127 | #73 | GLM 5 |
| Quality Rank | #127 | #73 | GLM 5 |
| Adoption Rank | #127 | #73 | GLM 5 |
| Parameters | -- | -- | -- |
| Context Window | 1048K | 205K | GPT-4.1 |
| Pricing | $2.00/$8.00/M | $0.95/$2.55/M | -- |
| Signal Scores | |||
| Capabilities | 83 | 67 | GPT-4.1 |
| Benchmarks | 70 | 81 | GLM 5 |
| Pricing | 92 | 98 | GLM 5 |
| Context window size | 96 | 84 | GPT-4.1 |
| Recency | 47 | 100 | GLM 5 |
| Output Capacity | 75 | 85 | GLM 5 |
Our score (0-100) is driven by benchmark performance (90%) from Arena Elo ratings, MMLU, GPQA, HumanEval, SWE-bench, and 15+ standardized evaluations. Capabilities and context window serve as tiebreakers (10%). Learn more about our methodology.
Scores 68/100 (rank #127), placing it in the top 57% of all 290 models tracked.
Scores 78/100 (rank #73), placing it in the top 75% of all 290 models tracked.
GLM 5 has a 10-point advantage, which typically translates to noticeably better performance on complex reasoning, code generation, and multi-step tasks.
Choose GPT-4.1 when you need:
- Processing long documents or large codebases (1048K token context)
- Multimodal workflows that require image understanding
Choose GLM 5 when you need:
- High-volume production workloads where API costs must be minimized
- Step-by-step reasoning and chain-of-thought problem solving
- Self-hosted deployments where you need full control over the model
GLM 5 offers 65% better value per quality point. At 1M tokens/day, you'd spend $52.50/month with GLM 5 vs $150.00/month with GPT-4.1 - a $97.50 monthly difference.
Both models have comparable response speeds. For most applications, the latency difference is negligible.
When latency matters most: Interactive chatbots, IDE code completion, real-time translation, and user-facing applications where response time directly impacts experience. For batch processing, background summarization, or offline analysis, latency is less critical.
Code generation & review
Based on overall model capabilities and architecture for coding tasks like generating functions, debugging, and refactoring
Customer support chatbot
Suitable for user-facing chat with competitive response times. GLM 5 also offers lower per-token costs for high-volume support
Long document analysis
Larger context window (1048K tokens) can process longer documents, contracts, and research papers in a single pass
Batch data extraction
Lower output pricing ($2.55/M) reduces costs when processing thousands of records daily
Creative writing & content
Higher overall composite score (78/100) correlates with better nuance, coherence, and style in long-form content
Image understanding & OCR
Supports vision input - can analyze screenshots, diagrams, photos, and scanned documents directly
GLM 5 clearly outperforms GPT-4.1 with a significant 10.299999999999997-point lead. For most general use cases, GLM 5 is the stronger choice. However, GPT-4.1 may still excel in niche scenarios.
By Use Case
Best for Quality
GPT-4.1
Marginally better benchmark scores; both are excellent
Best for Cost
GLM 5
65% lower pricing; better value at scale
Best for Reliability
GPT-4.1
Higher uptime and faster response speeds
Best for Prototyping
GPT-4.1
Stronger community support and better developer experience
Best for Production
GPT-4.1
Wider enterprise adoption and proven at scale
by OpenAI
- Choose for Quality - Marginally better benchmark scores; both are excellent
- Choose for Reliability - Higher uptime and faster response speeds
- Choose for Prototyping - Stronger community support and better developer experience
- Choose for Production - Wider enterprise adoption and proven at scale
| Capability | GPT-4.1 | GLM 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision (Image Input)differs | ||
| Function Calling | ||
| Streaming | ||
| JSON Mode | ||
| Reasoningdiffers | ||
| Web Searchdiffers | ||
| Image Output |
GPT-4.1
OpenAI
GLM 5
Zhipu AI
GLM 5 saves you $8.43/month
That's 64% cheaper than GPT-4.1 at 1,000 tokens/request and 100 requests/day.
Assumes 60% input / 40% output token ratio per request. Actual costs may vary based on your usage pattern.
| Parameter | GPT-4.1 | GLM 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Context Window | 1.0M | 205K |
| Max Output Tokens | 32,768 | 131,072 |
| Open Source | No | Yes |
| Created | Apr 14, 2025 | Feb 11, 2026 |