Model Comparison
GLM-5 vs Claude Sonnet 5Which is better in 2026?
Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. GLM-5 is 3.9x cheaper per token.
Verdict: GLM-5 vs Claude Sonnet 5 — which is better?
GLM-5 (by Zhipu AI) and Claude Sonnet 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 0 benchmarks, while Claude Sonnet 5 is better at 3 benchmarks (BrowseComp, SWE-Bench Verified, Terminal-Bench 2.0). Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, GLM-5 is roughly 3.9x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Claude Sonnet 5 also accepts a larger context window (1,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose GLM-5 if…
- cost matters — it's about 3.9x cheaper per token
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Choose Claude Sonnet 5 if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 3 of 3 shared benchmarks
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jun 2026
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
GLM-5 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Claude Sonnet 5 is better at 3 benchmarks (BrowseComp, SWE-Bench Verified, Terminal-Bench 2.0).
Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, GLM-5 ($1.00/1M tokens) is 3.0x cheaper than Claude Sonnet 5 ($3.00/1M tokens).
For output processing, GLM-5 ($3.20/1M tokens) is 4.7x cheaper than Claude Sonnet 5 ($15.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Sonnet 5 is more expensive than GLM-5.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Claude Sonnet 5 accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to GLM-5's 200,000 tokens. GLM-5 can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Claude Sonnet 5 is limited to 64,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Claude Sonnet 5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas GLM-5 does not.
Claude Sonnet 5 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
GLM-5
Claude Sonnet 5
License
Usage and distribution terms
GLM-5 is licensed under MIT, while Claude Sonnet 5 uses a proprietary license.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
MIT
Open weights
Proprietary
Closed source
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
GLM-5 was released on 2026-02-11, while Claude Sonnet 5 was released on 2026-06-30.
Claude Sonnet 5 is 5 months newer than GLM-5.
Feb 11, 2026
4 months ago
Jun 30, 2026
0 days ago
4mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
GLM-5 is available from FriendliAI, ZAI. Claude Sonnet 5 is available from Anthropic.
GLM-5
Claude Sonnet 5
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
GLM-5
View detailsZhipu AI
Claude Sonnet 5
View detailsAnthropic
Detailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against GLM-5 and Claude Sonnet 5 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
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FAQ
Common questions about GLM-5 vs Claude Sonnet 5.