Zhipu AI review
Updated September 28, 2026 · DeployCue Editorial Team · Facts checked September 26, 2026
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Our verdict
Zhipu AI suits developers and small teams who want one catalogue, a very large context window and cheap tokens for chat, coding and vision work.
Key facts
- Best for
- Cheap tokens from a single first party catalogue, with free models to try and a very large context window.
- Input price from
- CN¥0.10 to CN¥8 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Output price from
- CN¥0.10 to CN¥28 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Models offered
- GLM-5.3, GLM-5.3-Flash, GLM-5.3-FlashX, GLM-5.2, GLM-5.1, GLM-5, GLM-5-Turbo, GLM-4.7, GLM-4.7-FlashX, GLM-4.7-Flash, GLM-4.6, GLM-4.5-Air, GLM-4.5-AirX, GLM-4-Long, GLM-4-FlashX-250414, GLM-4-Flash-250414, GLM-4-Plus, GLM-4-Assistant, GLM-5V-Turbo, GLM-4.6V, GLM-4.6V-FlashX, GLM-4.6V-Flash, AutoGLM-Phone, GLM-OCR, GLM-Image, CogView-4, CogView-3-Flash, CogVideoX-3, CogVideoX-Flash, Vidu Q1, Vidu 2, GLM-TTS, GLM-TTS-Clone, GLM-ASR-2512, GLM-4-Voice, GLM-Realtime, Embedding-3, Embedding-2, CodeGeeX-4, Rerank (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Largest context window
- 1,000,000 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Free credits
- Free models with no charge: GLM-4.7-Flash, GLM-4-Flash-250414, GLM-4.6V-Flash, GLM-4.1V-Thinking-Flash, GLM-4V-Flash, CogView-3-Flash, CogVideoX-Flash (input and output listed as free) (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- OpenAI-compatible API
- Yes (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Official website
- bigmodel.cn
Pros and cons
Pros
- Largest context window is 1,000,000, so a long document set or large repository fits in one request.
- Input fees start at CNY 0.10 to CNY 8 and output fees run CNY 0.10 to CNY 28 across the paid catalogue.
- Free chat, vision, image and video models sit in the same catalogue, so a prototype costs nothing before the first bill.
- The API is OpenAI-compatible, so an existing client can be repointed without a rewrite.
Cons
- Every name in GLM 5.3, GLM 5.3 Flash and GLM 5.3 FlashX is a first party release, so a house standard on another lab's weights means adding a second provider.
- The free list is made up of Flash variants, so the top chat tiers in GLM 5.3, GLM 5.3 Flash and GLM 5.3 FlashX sit outside it.
- Prices on CNY 0.10 to CNY 8 and CNY 0.10 to CNY 28 are quoted in a single currency, so budgets elsewhere carry the conversion.
Ready to try Zhipu AI?
Scored 9.6 / 10 by DeployCue.
Who it suits
- Teams running chat, coding or vision products that want cheap tokens and free models to try on one API.
- Builders who need a 1,000,000 context window for long documents in a single request.
- Developers on an OpenAI-compatible API who want a second lab behind the same client and key.
Who should look elsewhere
- Teams that want a set gateway rate instead of per token billing: Salad lists an input price of $0.06.
- Teams that need Claude, Gemini or DeepSeek weights next to GLM: Supascale AI's DeepSeek V4 Pro, GPT 5.6 Sol and GPT 5.6 Terra covers those labs.
What it does well
The catalogue is GLM 5.3, GLM 5.3 Flash and GLM 5.3 FlashX, spanning chat tiers, vision, image, video, speech, embeddings, reranking and code. The largest context window is 1,000,000, and the API is OpenAI-compatible, so an existing client can be repointed at it.
How Zhipu AI compares
Zhipu AI vs BytePlus9.6 vs 8.7
Zhipu AI vs Zhipu AI (Z.ai)9.6 vs 9.4
Zhipu AI vs WaveSpeedAI9.6 vs 8.8
Where Zhipu AI is available
- Available
- China
Countries from the brand (Source, checked September 29, 2026)
Frequently asked questions
What does a call cost on Zhipu AI?+
Paid models start at CNY 0.10 to CNY 8 for input and CNY 0.10 to CNY 28 for output, so a chat product's bill leans on generated tokens. Those ranges cover the paid catalogue, and the free models sit inside the same API.
Which models can I call?+
The catalogue is GLM 5.3, GLM 5.3 Flash and GLM 5.3 FlashX, spanning chat tiers, vision, image, video, speech, embeddings, a reranker and code models. All of it runs through one OpenAI-compatible endpoint.
How large a context window do I get?+
The largest context window is 1,000,000 tokens, so a request can carry a long document set or a large repository in one go. On the site's context window ranking, Zhipu AI sits at position 21.
Can I try Zhipu AI without paying?+
Several models are listed as free on both input and output, covering chat, vision, image and video work. Paid models start at CNY 0.10 to CNY 8 and CNY 0.10 to CNY 28, so a prototype runs on the same API and the same account.
Can I reuse OpenAI code against it?+
The API is OpenAI-compatible, so an existing client can be repointed at Zhipu AI by changing the base address and key. Model names differ, so requests still name a GLM entry, and paid calls bill at CNY 0.10 to CNY 8 input and CNY 0.10 to CNY 28 output.
Do I get models from other labs?+
Every name in GLM 5.3, GLM 5.3 Flash and GLM 5.3 FlashX is a first party release. Other labs' weights are not on the list, so reaching them means a second provider.
How does Zhipu AI compare with Salad on price?+
Salad lists a gateway input price of $0.06, while Zhipu AI bills per token with input fees from CNY 0.10 to CNY 8 and output fees from CNY 0.10 to CNY 28. A flat gateway rate suits teams routing many calls; Zhipu AI suits teams choosing a model per task.
How does Zhipu AI score overall?+
The overall score is 7.5, with a cost part of 9.4 and an offer part of 5.6. The cost part leads, which fits fees from CNY 0.10 to CNY 8 and a context window of 1,000,000.
Sources
- docs.bigmodel.cn checked September 26, 2026
Backs: OpenAI-compatible API
“OpenAI SDK compatible - compatible with the OpenAI SDK, migrate existing applications quickly”
- docs.bigmodel.cn/cn/guide/start/model-overview checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Largest context window, Models offered
“GLM-5.3 context 1M, max output 128K; GLM-5.2 context 1M”
- docs.bigmodel.cn/cn/guide/start/pricing checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Free credits, Input price from, Output price from
“GLM-4.7-Flash: input free, output free; cache hit free”
Compiled from 3 source pages, checked September 26, 2026. We did not open an account.
Related by the facts
Guides
Zhipu AI
Cheap tokens from a single first party catalogue, with free models to try and a very large context window.