| Signal | GLM 4.5 Air (free) | Delta | GLM 4.5V |
|---|---|---|---|
Capabilities | 50 | -33 | |
Pricing | 30 | +28 | |
Context window size | 81 | +5 | |
Recency | 87 | -3 | |
Output Capacity | 83 | +13 | |
Benchmarks | 0 | -60 | |
| Overall Result | 3 wins | of 6 | 3 wins |
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Zhipu AI
Zhipu AI
GLM 4.5 Air (free) saves you $150.00/month
That's $1800.00/year compared to GLM 4.5V at your current usage level of 100K calls/month.
| Metric | GLM 4.5 Air (free) | GLM 4.5V | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 40 | 62 | GLM 4.5V |
| Rank | #216 | #90 | GLM 4.5V |
| Quality Rank | #216 | #90 | GLM 4.5V |
| Adoption Rank | #216 | #90 | GLM 4.5V |
| Parameters | -- | -- | -- |
| Context Window | 131K | 66K | GLM 4.5 Air (free) |
| Pricing | Free | $0.60/$1.80/M | -- |
| Signal Scores | |||
| Capabilities | 50 | 83 | GLM 4.5V |
| Pricing | 30 | 2 | GLM 4.5 Air (free) |
| Context window size | 81 | 76 | GLM 4.5 Air (free) |
| Recency | 87 | 90 | GLM 4.5V |
| Output Capacity | 83 | 70 | GLM 4.5 Air (free) |
| Benchmarks | -- | 60 | GLM 4.5V |
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%). Here's what the scores mean for these two models:
Scores 40/100 (rank #216), placing it in the top 26% of all 290 models tracked.
Scores 62/100 (rank #90), placing it in the top 69% of all 290 models tracked.
GLM 4.5V has a 22-point advantage, which typically translates to noticeably stronger performance on complex reasoning, code generation, and multi-step tasks.
Compare the cost per quality point to find the best value for your specific workload.
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
Higher benchmark score (0/100) indicates stronger performance on coding tasks like generating functions, debugging, and refactoring
Customer support chatbot
Faster response time (speed score 0/100) is critical for user-facing chat. GLM 4.5 Air (free) also offers lower per-token costs for high-volume support
Long document analysis
Larger context window (131K tokens) can process longer documents, contracts, and research papers in a single pass
Batch data extraction
Lower output pricing ($0.00/M) reduces costs when processing thousands of records daily
Creative writing & content
Higher overall composite score (62/100) 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 4.5V clearly outperforms GLM 4.5 Air (free) with a significant 22.299999999999997-point lead. For most general use cases, GLM 4.5V is the stronger choice. However, GLM 4.5 Air (free) may still excel in niche scenarios.
Best for Quality
GLM 4.5 Air (free)
Marginally better benchmark scores; both are excellent
Best for Cost
GLM 4.5 Air (free)
100% lower pricing; better value at scale
Best for Reliability
GLM 4.5 Air (free)
Higher uptime and faster response speeds
Best for Prototyping
GLM 4.5 Air (free)
Stronger community support and better developer experience
Best for Production
GLM 4.5 Air (free)
Wider enterprise adoption and proven at scale
by Zhipu AI
| Capability | GLM 4.5 Air (free) | GLM 4.5V |
|---|---|---|
| Vision (Image Input)differs | ||
| Function Calling | ||
| Streaming | ||
| JSON Modediffers | ||
| Reasoning | ||
| Web Search | ||
| Image Output |
Zhipu AI
Zhipu AI
GLM 4.5 Air (free) saves you $3.24/month
That's 100% cheaper than GLM 4.5V 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 | GLM 4.5 Air (free) | GLM 4.5V |
|---|---|---|
| Context Window | 131K | 66K |
| Max Output Tokens | 96,000 | 16,384 |
| Open Source | Yes | Yes |
| Created | Jul 25, 2025 | Aug 11, 2025 |
GLM 4.5V scores 62/100 (rank #90) compared to GLM 4.5 Air (free)'s 40/100 (rank #216), giving it a 22-point advantage. GLM 4.5V is the stronger overall choice, though GLM 4.5 Air (free) may excel in specific areas like cost efficiency.
GLM 4.5 Air (free) is ranked #216 and GLM 4.5V is ranked #90 out of 290+ AI models. Rankings use a composite score combining benchmark performance (90%) from MMLU, GPQA, HumanEval, SWE-bench, and 15+ standardized evaluations, with capabilities and context window as tiebreakers (10%). Scores update hourly.
GLM 4.5 Air (free) is cheaper at $0.00/M output tokens vs GLM 4.5V's $1.80/M output tokens - 1800.0x more expensive. Input token pricing: GLM 4.5 Air (free) at $0.00/M vs GLM 4.5V at $0.60/M.
GLM 4.5 Air (free) has a larger context window of 131,072 tokens compared to GLM 4.5V's 65,536 tokens. A larger context window means the model can process longer documents and conversations.