Gemma 3 27B vs GLM-5.3
Comparing Gemma 3 27B and GLM-5.3 across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.
Google · Zhipu AI · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Gemma 3 27B and GLM-5.3 trade strengths across price, capabilities, and technical limits. The better choice depends on the workload.
On price, Gemma 3 27B is roughly 17.2x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
GLM-5.3 also accepts a larger context window (1,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current benchmark, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Gemma 3 27B
- cost matters — it's about 17.2x cheaper per token
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Choose GLM-5.3
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Aug 2026
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Gemma 3 27B and GLM-5.3don't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.
Arena Performance
Playground indexes and blind preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Gemma 3 27B ($0.10/1M tokens) is 14.0x cheaper than GLM-5.3 ($1.40/1M tokens).
For output processing, Gemma 3 27B ($0.20/1M tokens) is 22.0x cheaper than GLM-5.3 ($4.40/1M tokens).
In conclusion, GLM-5.3 is more expensive than Gemma 3 27B.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
GLM-5.3 has 726.0B more parameters than Gemma 3 27B, making it 2688.9% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
GLM-5.3 accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Gemma 3 27B's 131,072 tokens. Gemma 3 27B can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while GLM-5.3 is limited to 128,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Gemma 3 27B supports multimodal inputs, whereas GLM-5.3 does not.
Gemma 3 27B can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Gemma 3 27B
GLM-5.3
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Gemma 3 27B was released on 2025-03-12, while GLM-5.3 was released on 2026-08-14.
GLM-5.3 is 17 months newer than Gemma 3 27B.
Mar 12, 2025
1.5 years ago
Aug 14, 2026
1 weeks ago
1.4yr newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
Gemma 3 27B is available from DeepInfra, Novita. GLM-5.3 is available from ZAI.
Gemma 3 27B
GLM-5.3
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Gemma 3 27B and GLM-5.3 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Gemma 3 27B vs GLM-5.3.