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AI Choice Engine

Model comparison

Gemini 3.7 Flash vs GLM 5.3 Flash

Google against Z.ai, compared on context, price, and attributed benchmark results.

Recorded profile verification October 2, 2026Individual provider fields may changeEvidence confidence: Medium — see receipts below

Google

Gemini 3.7 Flash

Budget

vs

Z.ai

GLM 5.3 Flash

Balanced · Open weights

AI model capability comparison
SpecificationGemini 3.7 FlashGLM 5.3 Flash
ProviderGoogleZ.ai
TierBudgetBalanced
Context window1.05M1.05M
Max output66KNot verifiedUnverified
Input / 1M tokens$0.75Winner: $0.15
Output / 1M tokens$3.75Winner: $0.50
WeightsClosedOpen
ParametersNot verifiedUnverified320B total / 18B active (MoE)
Reasoning levelslow, medium, highlow, high, max
Modalitiestext, image, video, audio, pdftext, image, video, file
LicenseNot verifiedUnverifiedMIT
API model idgemini-3.7-flashglm-5.3-flash
ReleasedAugust 13, 2026August 26, 2026
Terminal-Bench 2.1 · source date Gemini 3.7 Flash: 2026-08, GLM 5.3 Flash: 2026-08 (comparability not verified)85.884.3
DeepSWE 1.1 · source date Gemini 3.7 Flash: 2026-08, GLM 5.3 Flash: 2026-08 (comparability not verified)65.363.4
HLE-Verified · source date Gemini 3.7 Flash: 2026-0853.6Not verifiedUnverified
Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index · source date GLM 5.3 Flash: 2026-10-01Not verifiedUnverified42
Humanity's Last Exam · source date GLM 5.3 Flash: 2026-08Not verifiedUnverified55.3

Dates beside benchmark scores refer to the linked source’s publication or capture date unless that source explicitly states when it measured the result. A shared URL alone does not establish comparable runs; unverified setups are marked. Prices are USD per million tokens at standard rates, excluding batch and caching discounts. Values we could not confirm from the provider are shown as “Not verified” rather than estimated.

Benchmark receipts

Where each score comes from, and how far it can be compared across models.

Pricing tiers

Gemini 3.7 Flash: Intro Standard $0.75/$3.75 per MTok through December 31, 2026; $1.50/$7.50 from January 1, 2027. Output includes thinking tokens. Cached input $0.075, rising to $0.15; storage $0.50/MTok-hour, rising to $1. Batch/Flex input/output are $0.375/$1.875, rising to $0.75/$3.75. Priority $1.35/$6.75, rising to $2.70/$13.50. Grounding tools have separate charges and quotas; free-tier limits differ from paid.

GLM 5.3 Flash: Z.ai API $0.15/$0.50 per MTok; cached input $0.03 and limited-time free cache storage. Hosted docs advertise 1M context and 128K output; the checkpoint config sets 1,048,576 context. An exact endpoint-specific numeric output ceiling is not separately verified. FlashX is a distinct $0.37/$1.25 endpoint; third-party prices require their own checks.

BudgetRecord checked October 1, 2026

Gemini 3.7 Flash

Google describes Gemini 3.7 Flash as its efficient multimodal option for everyday coding and agentic tool use; the newer 3.8 is offered for more demanding workflows.

Best for

  • High-volume multimodal
  • Agent loops
  • Cost-sensitive work

Watch out

Intro rates and cache storage double January 1, 2027. Minimal thinking errors; computer use is Preview. Measure accepted-task costs and token use before switching to the newer 3.8 rather than assuming uniform savings or quality.

BalancedOpen weightsRecord checked October 2, 2026

GLM 5.3 Flash

Z.ai's multimodal MIT-licensed 320B/18B MoE checkpoint and hosted Flash endpoint, with always-enabled reasoning and publisher coding/agent evaluations.

Best for

  • Cost-efficient long-context
  • Multimodal input
  • Coding agents

Watch out

The 320B weights require substantial hardware; memory depends on quantization, runtime and context. Effort low/high/max defaults to max. Flash is on Coding Plan with three times GLM-5.3 quota; FlashX is not on the plan. Half-point off-peak/weekend use applies to plan quota, not per-token API prices. Publisher evaluation generation budgets are not hosted API output caps.

When the cheaper one wins

GLM 5.3 Flash is cheaper on output at $0.50 per million tokens against $3.75 for Gemini 3.7 Flash — about 7.5×. Use the cheaper tier for classification, extraction, summarisation, and any task where the expensive model’s extra score does not change the accepted output. The expensive one only pays if your hardest task actually fails on the cheap tier. On DeepSWE 1.1, GLM 5.3 Flash is 63.4% Pass@1 at $0.48/task versus Gemini 3.7 Flash at 65.5% / $2.03/task. This compares standard short-context token rates, not total cost per accepted task. Include input, cache, context tiers, schedules, retries and review in your pilot.

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Evidence confidence: Medium

How strong and complete the evidence behind this comparison is — not a prediction of which model is better.

  • Pricing verified on both sides — Input and output rates are verified for both models.
  • 3/5 core specs verified on both sides — Not published for at least one side: max output, parameter count.
  • No directly aligned benchmark setup — No benchmark has matching cited sources, source dates, units, effort and recorded run details on both models.
  • Verified within the last 90 days — Older of the two catalog checks was 25 days ago.
  • Both models carry source citations — Each side has at least two catalog sources on record.

Source receipts

Each catalog figure was checked against the provider or an independent second source on the date shown.

Related comparisons

Diving deeper on one model? Gemini 3.7 Flash · GLM 5.3 Flash

Common questions

Gemini 3.7 Flash vs GLM 5.3 Flash

Answered from the verified figures on this page rather than general guidance.

Is Gemini 3.7 Flash or GLM 5.3 Flash cheaper for input?
GLM 5.3 Flash is cheaper at $0.15 per million input tokens, against $0.75 for Gemini 3.7 Flash — roughly 5.0× the price. Estimate both input and output token volume for your workload. These are base rates; Gemini 3.7 Flash: Intro Standard $0.75/$3.75 per MTok through December 31, 2026; $1.50/$7.50 from January 1, 2027. Output includes thinking tokens. Cached input $0.075, rising to $0.15; storage $0.50/MTok-hour, rising to $1. Batch/Flex input/output are $0.375/$1.875, rising to $0.75/$3.75. Priority $1.35/$6.75, rising to $2.70/$13.50. Grounding tools have separate charges and quotas; free-tier limits differ from paid. GLM 5.3 Flash: Z.ai API $0.15/$0.50 per MTok; cached input $0.03 and limited-time free cache storage. Hosted docs advertise 1M context and 128K output; the checkpoint config sets 1,048,576 context. An exact endpoint-specific numeric output ceiling is not separately verified. FlashX is a distinct $0.37/$1.25 endpoint; third-party prices require their own checks.
Is Gemini 3.7 Flash or GLM 5.3 Flash cheaper for output?
GLM 5.3 Flash is cheaper at $0.50 per million output tokens, against $3.75 for Gemini 3.7 Flash — roughly 7.5× the price. Estimate both input and output token volume for your workload. These are base rates; Gemini 3.7 Flash: Intro Standard $0.75/$3.75 per MTok through December 31, 2026; $1.50/$7.50 from January 1, 2027. Output includes thinking tokens. Cached input $0.075, rising to $0.15; storage $0.50/MTok-hour, rising to $1. Batch/Flex input/output are $0.375/$1.875, rising to $0.75/$3.75. Priority $1.35/$6.75, rising to $2.70/$13.50. Grounding tools have separate charges and quotas; free-tier limits differ from paid. GLM 5.3 Flash: Z.ai API $0.15/$0.50 per MTok; cached input $0.03 and limited-time free cache storage. Hosted docs advertise 1M context and 128K output; the checkpoint config sets 1,048,576 context. An exact endpoint-specific numeric output ceiling is not separately verified. FlashX is a distinct $0.37/$1.25 endpoint; third-party prices require their own checks.
Which has the larger context window, Gemini 3.7 Flash or GLM 5.3 Flash?
Both accept about 1.05M tokens of context, so document length will not decide between them.
Do Gemini 3.7 Flash and GLM 5.3 Flash support the same reasoning levels?
Gemini 3.7 Flash exposes low, medium, high, while GLM 5.3 Flash exposes low, high, max.
Should I use Gemini 3.7 Flash or GLM 5.3 Flash?
We classify Gemini 3.7 Flash in the budget tier and GLM 5.3 Flash in the balanced tier. Test whether either meets your accuracy, tool-use and latency requirements before choosing on price.
Can I self-host Gemini 3.7 Flash or GLM 5.3 Flash?
GLM 5.3 Flash publishes open weights, but self-hosting and third-party provider access depend on the licence, hardware, serving support, and availability. Gemini 3.7 Flash is a closed model whose supported access paths are controlled by its provider.

Next step

Choosing between them

The verified figures that separate this pair, computed from the catalog rather than restated boilerplate.

  • Input price: GLM 5.3 Flash costs $0.15 per 1M tokens versus $0.75 for Gemini 3.7 Flash — a 5x difference at the headline tier.
  • Deployment: GLM 5.3 Flash publishes weights you can self-host; the other is API-only.
  • Positioning: Gemini 3.7 Flash sits in the budget tier, GLM 5.3 Flash in the balanced tier. Compare accuracy, reliability, latency, and cost on representative tasks before choosing.
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