Z.ai: GLM 5 API Pricing
Z.ai: GLM 5 costs $1.00 per 1M input tokens and $3.20 per 1M output tokens (cache reads: $0.200). Context window: 205K. Prices verified 2026-10-21 · source
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Token economics
| Token type | Price | vs base input |
|---|---|---|
| Standard input | $1.00 | — |
| Cache read | $0.200 | −80% |
| Output | $3.20 | — |
Prompt caching stores repeated context server-side: reads cost far less, but writes carry a one-time premium.
Higher effort = deeper thinking = more reasoning tokens billed as output.
What would Z.ai: GLM 5 cost you per month?
| Workload | Requests/mo | Avg tokens (in/out) | Est. monthly cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light chatbot | 10,000 | 800 / 400 | $20.80 |
| Coding agent | 5,000 | 8,000 / 2,000 | $72.00 |
| RAG pipeline | 30,000 | 4,000 / 500 | $168.00 |
| Doc summarizer | 2,000 | 20,000 / 1,000 | $46.40 |
Estimates use list prices without prompt caching. Caching can cut input cost by up to 90% on repeated context.
About Z.ai: GLM 5
GLM-5 is Z.ai’s flagship open-source foundation model engineered for complex systems design and long-horizon agent workflows. Built for expert developers, it delivers production-grade performance on large-scale programming tasks, rivaling leading...
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Frequently asked questions
How much does Z.ai: GLM 5 cost?
Z.ai: GLM 5 costs $1.00 per 1M input tokens and $3.20 per 1M output tokens; cached input tokens cost $0.200 per 1M. Verified 2026-10-21 — provider source.
What is the context window?
205K tokens, with up to 131K output tokens per response. That's roughly 256 pages of text in a single request.
Does it support prompt caching?
Yes — cached input is $0.200/1M, about 80% cheaper than standard input. Agents and RAG workloads with repeated context benefit most.
What's a cheaper alternative?
ScaleDown: Summarize saves about 98% on a typical workload with comparable quality.
Official resources
- Z.ai: GLM 5 on OpenRouter — live endpoint, pricing source of record.
- Artificial Analysis leaderboard → — independent intelligence and performance rankings.
- Shred your current bill — paste a CSV and see if switching saves money.