| Signal | GPT-5 Mini | Delta | GLM 4.5 Air |
|---|---|---|---|
Capabilities | 100 | +33 | |
Benchmarks | 66 | +66 | |
Pricing | 2 | +1 | |
Context window size | 89 | +8 | |
Recency | 90 | +2 | |
Output Capacity | 85 | +2 | |
| Overall Result | 6 wins | of 6 | 0 wins |
12
days higher
6
days
12
days higher
OpenAI
Zhipu AI
GLM 4.5 Air saves you $69.50/month
That's $834.00/year compared to GPT-5 Mini at your current usage level of 100K calls/month.
| Metric | GPT-5 Mini | GLM 4.5 Air | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 79 | 78 | GPT-5 Mini |
| Rank | #87 | #89 | GPT-5 Mini |
| Quality Rank | #87 | #89 | GPT-5 Mini |
| Adoption Rank | #87 | #89 | GPT-5 Mini |
| Parameters | -- | -- | -- |
| Context Window | 400K | 131K | GPT-5 Mini |
| Pricing | $0.25/$2.00/M | $0.13/$0.85/M | -- |
| Signal Scores | |||
| Capabilities | 100 | 67 | GPT-5 Mini |
| Benchmarks | 66 | -- | GPT-5 Mini |
| Pricing | 2 | 1 | GPT-5 Mini |
| Context window size | 89 | 81 | GPT-5 Mini |
| Recency | 90 | 88 | GPT-5 Mini |
| Output Capacity | 85 | 83 | GPT-5 Mini |
Our composite score (0–100) combines six weighted signals: benchmark performance (25%), pricing efficiency (25%), context window size (15%), model recency (15%), output capacity (10%), and capability versatility (10%). Here's what the scores mean for these two models:
Scores 79/100 (rank #87), placing it in the top 70% of all 290 models tracked.
Scores 78/100 (rank #89), placing it in the top 70% of all 290 models tracked.
With only a 1-point gap, these models are in the same performance tier. The practical difference in output quality is minimal - your choice should depend on pricing, latency requirements, and specific feature needs.
GLM 4.5 Air offers 56% better value per quality point. At 1M tokens/day, you'd spend $14.70/month with GLM 4.5 Air vs $33.75/month with GPT-5 Mini - a $19.05 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
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 also offers lower per-token costs for high-volume support
Long document analysis
Larger context window (400K tokens) can process longer documents, contracts, and research papers in a single pass
Batch data extraction
Lower output pricing ($0.85/M) reduces costs when processing thousands of records daily
Creative writing & content
Higher overall composite score (79/100) 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
GPT-5 Mini and GLM 4.5 Air are extremely close in overall performance (only 0.5 points apart). Your best choice depends entirely on which specific strengths matter most for your use case.
Best for Quality
GPT-5 Mini
Marginally better benchmark scores; both are excellent
Best for Cost
GLM 4.5 Air
56% lower pricing; better value at scale
Best for Reliability
GPT-5 Mini
Higher uptime and faster response speeds
Best for Prototyping
GPT-5 Mini
Stronger community support and better developer experience
Best for Production
GPT-5 Mini
Wider enterprise adoption and proven at scale
by OpenAI
| Capability | GPT-5 Mini | GLM 4.5 Air |
|---|---|---|
| Vision (Image Input)differs | ||
| Function Calling | ||
| Streaming | ||
| JSON Mode | ||
| Reasoning | ||
| Web Searchdiffers | ||
| Image Output |
OpenAI
Zhipu AI
GLM 4.5 Air saves you $1.60/month
That's 56% cheaper than GPT-5 Mini 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-5 Mini | GLM 4.5 Air |
|---|---|---|
| Context Window | 400K | 131K |
| Max Output Tokens | 128,000 | 98,304 |
| Open Source | No | Yes |
| Created | Aug 7, 2025 | Jul 25, 2025 |
GPT-5 Mini scores 79/100 (rank #87) compared to GLM 4.5 Air's 78/100 (rank #89), giving it a 1-point advantage. GPT-5 Mini is the stronger overall choice, though GLM 4.5 Air may excel in specific areas like cost efficiency.
GPT-5 Mini is ranked #87 and GLM 4.5 Air is ranked #89 out of 290+ AI models. Rankings use a composite score combining benchmark performance (25%), pricing (25%), context window (15%), recency (15%), output capacity (10%), and versatility (10%). Scores update hourly.
GLM 4.5 Air is cheaper at $0.85/M output tokens vs GPT-5 Mini's $2.00/M output tokens - 2.4x more expensive. Input token pricing: GPT-5 Mini at $0.25/M vs GLM 4.5 Air at $0.13/M.
GPT-5 Mini has a larger context window of 400,000 tokens compared to GLM 4.5 Air's 131,072 tokens. A larger context window means the model can process longer documents and conversations.