Updated September 28, 2026 · DeployCue Editorial Team
FriendliAI vs Zhipu AI (Z.ai)
Compare FriendliAI and Zhipu AI (Z.ai) using recorded catalog facts and pricing.
| Fact | FriendliAI | Zhipu AI (Z.ai) |
|---|---|---|
| Published offerings | 0 | 2 |
What sets them apart
| Fact | FriendliAI | Zhipu AI (Z.ai) |
|---|---|---|
| Input price from | $0.14 to $1.40 | $0.030 to $2.20Lower |
| Output price from | $0.40 to $4.40 | $0.030 to $8.90Lower |
| Models offered | GLM 5.3, GLM 5.3 Flash, GLM 5.2, GLM 5.1, Gemma 4 31B it, DeepSeek V3.2, MiniMax M2.5, Whisper large v3 | GLM 5.3 Flash, GLM 5.3 FlashX, GLM 5.3, GLM 5.2, GLM 5.1, GLM 5, GLM 4.7, GLM 4.7 FlashX, GLM 4.7 Flash, GLM 4.6, GLM 4.5, GLM 4.5 X, GLM 4.5 Air, GLM 4.5 AirX, GLM 4.5 Flash, GLM 4 32B 0414 128K, GLM 4.6V, GLM 4.6V FlashX, GLM 4.6V Flash, GLM 4.5V, GLM OCR, GLM Image, CogView 4, CogVideoX 3, GLM ASR 2512 |
| Free credits | Not confirmed | Free models: GLM-4.7-Flash, GLM-4.5-Flash, GLM-4.6V-Flash; cached input storage limited-time free |
| Compliance certifications | SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA | Not confirmed |
Same on both: Largest context window (1,000,000), OpenAI-compatible API (Yes).
Key differences
- Zhipu AI (Z.ai) scores higher overall: 9.40 vs 8.90.
- Input price from is lower at Zhipu AI (Z.ai): $0.030 to $2.20 vs $0.14 to $1.40.
- Output price from is lower at Zhipu AI (Z.ai): $0.030 to $8.90 vs $0.40 to $4.40.
- Models offered: only FriendliAI offers Gemma 4 31B it, DeepSeek V3.2, MiniMax M2.5.
- Models offered: only Zhipu AI (Z.ai) offers GLM 5.3 FlashX, GLM 5, GLM 4.7.
Score breakdown
| Area | FriendliAI | Zhipu AI (Z.ai) |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | 8.80Dedicated GPU hours start at $2.90 against a €1.40 category median, and input price ranks 52. | 9.70HigherInput fees of $0.03 to $2.20 sit under the site median of €0.07, and free models add savings. |
| Offer | 9.00A 1,000,000 context window ranks 21, with SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA and an OpenAI-compatible API. | 9.20HigherA wide GLM family, an OpenAI compatible API and a 1,000,000 window, but support is email, help centre and community only. |
| Trust | 8.60 | Not confirmed |
How they score
FriendliAI
- Cost8.8
- Offer9.0
Zhipu AI (Z.ai)
- Cost9.7
- Offer9.2
- Zhipu AI (Z.ai) leads on cost by 0.9 points (9.7 vs 8.8).
- Offer is level, 9.0 each.
Availability and regulation
| Country | FriendliAI | Zhipu AI (Z.ai) |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | United States | Singapore |
The bill, worked out
10M input and 2M output tokens, cheapest model
FriendliAI
$2.20 to $22.80
10 × $0.14 to $1.40 + 2 × $0.40 to $4.40
Zhipu AI (Z.ai)
$0.36 to $39.80
10 × $0.03 to $2.20 + 2 × $0.03 to $8.90
Zhipu AI (Z.ai) costs $1.84 less.
Worked out from the stated prices and rates; your own total depends on how you use it.
Every fact side by side
| Fact | FriendliAI | Zhipu AI (Z.ai) |
|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | FriendliAI Corp. | JINGSHENG HENGXING TECHNOLOGY PTE.LTD |
| Headquarters | United States | Singapore |
| Founded | 2021 | Not confirmed |
| Support channels | Email, Help centre, Community | Email, Help centre, Community |
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