Model Comparison

GLM-5 vs Claude Opus 4.5Which is better in 2026?

Claude Opus 4.5 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. GLM-5 is 6.5x cheaper per token.

Verdict: GLM-5 vs Claude Opus 4.5 — which is better?

GLM-5 (by Zhipu AI) and Claude Opus 4.5 (by Anthropic) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.

GLM-5 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (MCP Atlas), while Claude Opus 4.5 is better at 2 benchmarks (SWE-Bench Verified, Terminal-Bench 2.0). Claude Opus 4.5 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

On price, GLM-5 is roughly 6.5x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Choose GLM-5 if…

  • cost matters — it's about 6.5x cheaper per token
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Feb 2026
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Choose Claude Opus 4.5 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 3 shared benchmarks

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

3 benchmarks

GLM-5 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (MCP Atlas), while Claude Opus 4.5 is better at 2 benchmarks (SWE-Bench Verified, Terminal-Bench 2.0).

Claude Opus 4.5 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Fri Jun 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

GLM-5 costs less

For input processing, GLM-5 ($1.00/1M tokens) is 5.0x cheaper than Claude Opus 4.5 ($5.00/1M tokens).

For output processing, GLM-5 ($3.20/1M tokens) is 7.8x cheaper than Claude Opus 4.5 ($25.00/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Opus 4.5 is more expensive than GLM-5.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Fri Jun 26 2026 • llm-stats.com
Zhipu AI
GLM-5
Input tokens$1.00
Output tokens$3.20
Best providerFriendliAI
Anthropic
Claude Opus 4.5
Input tokens$5.00
Output tokens$25.00
Best providerAnthropic
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Both models have the same input context window of 200,000 tokens. GLM-5 can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Claude Opus 4.5 is limited to 64,000 tokens.

Zhipu AI
GLM-5
Input200,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Anthropic
Claude Opus 4.5
Input200,000 tokens
Output64,000 tokens
Fri Jun 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Claude Opus 4.5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas GLM-5 does not.

Claude Opus 4.5 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

GLM-5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Claude Opus 4.5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

GLM-5 is licensed under MIT, while Claude Opus 4.5 uses a proprietary license.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

GLM-5

MIT

Open weights

Claude Opus 4.5

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

GLM-5 was released on 2026-02-11, while Claude Opus 4.5 was released on 2025-11-24.

GLM-5 is 3 months newer than Claude Opus 4.5.

GLM-5

Feb 11, 2026

4 months ago

2mo newer
Claude Opus 4.5

Nov 24, 2025

7 months ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Claude Opus 4.5 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-03-31, while GLM-5's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Claude Opus 4.5's training data extends to 2025-03-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without GLM-5's cutoff date.

GLM-5

—

Claude Opus 4.5

Mar 2025

Provider Availability

GLM-5 is available from FriendliAI, ZAI. Claude Opus 4.5 is available from Anthropic.

GLM-5

friendli logo
FriendliAI
Input Price:Input: $1.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $3.20/1M
z logo
Unknown Organization
Input Price:Input: $1.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $3.20/1M

Claude Opus 4.5

anthropic logo
Anthropic
Input Price:Input: $5.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $25.00/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Zhipu AI
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights
Higher MCP Atlas score (67.8% vs 62.3%)
Anthropic
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher SWE-Bench Verified score (80.9% vs 77.8%)
Higher Terminal-Bench 2.0 score (59.3% vs 56.2%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against GLM-5 and Claude Opus 4.5 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

GLM-5
✓ Preferred
Claude Opus 4.5
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Zhipu AI
GLM-5
Anthropic
Claude Opus 4.5

FAQ

Common questions about GLM-5 vs Claude Opus 4.5.

Which is better, GLM-5 or Claude Opus 4.5?

Claude Opus 4.5 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. GLM-5 is made by Zhipu AI and Claude Opus 4.5 is made by Anthropic. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does GLM-5 compare to Claude Opus 4.5 in benchmarks?

GLM-5 scores t2-bench: 89.7%, SWE-Bench Verified: 77.8%, BrowseComp: 75.9%, MCP Atlas: 67.8%, Terminal-Bench 2.0: 56.2%. Claude Opus 4.5 scores Tau2 Telecom: 98.2%, MMMLU: 90.8%, Tau2 Retail: 88.9%, GPQA: 87.0%, SWE-Bench Verified: 80.9%.

Is GLM-5 cheaper than Claude Opus 4.5?

GLM-5 is 5.0x cheaper for input tokens. GLM-5 costs $1.00/M input and $3.20/M output via friendli. Claude Opus 4.5 costs $5.00/M input and $25.00/M output via anthropic.

What are the context window sizes for GLM-5 and Claude Opus 4.5?

GLM-5 supports 200K tokens and Claude Opus 4.5 supports 200K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between GLM-5 and Claude Opus 4.5?

Key differences include input pricing ($1.00 vs $5.00/M), multimodal support (no vs yes), licensing (MIT vs Proprietary). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes GLM-5 and Claude Opus 4.5?

GLM-5 is developed by Zhipu AI and Claude Opus 4.5 is developed by Anthropic.

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