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GLM-5.3-Flash vs Grok-3 Mini

Comparing GLM-5.3-Flash and Grok-3 Mini across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

Zhipu AI · xAI · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

GLM-5.3-Flash and Grok-3 Mini trade strengths across price, capabilities, and technical limits. The better choice depends on the workload.

On price, GLM-5.3-Flash is roughly 1.5x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

GLM-5.3-Flash 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 GLM-5.3-Flash

  • cost matters — it's about 1.5x cheaper per token
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Aug 2026
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Choose Grok-3 Mini

  • you want predictable pricing at $0.30/M input and $0.50/M output

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

GLM-5.3-Flash
Zhipu AI
Grok-3 Mini
xAI
Benchmark wins
—
—
Input price
$0.15 / M
$0.30 / M
Output price
$0.50 / M
$0.50 / M
Context window
1,000,000
128,000
Released
Aug 2026
Feb 2025
License
MIT
Proprietary

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

No common benchmarks found

GLM-5.3-Flash and Grok-3 Minidon'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

GLM-5.3-Flash costs less

For input processing, GLM-5.3-Flash ($0.15/1M tokens) is 2.0x cheaper than Grok-3 Mini ($0.30/1M tokens).

For output processing, GLM-5.3-Flash ($0.50/1M tokens) costs the same as Grok-3 Mini ($0.50/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Grok-3 Mini is more expensive than GLM-5.3-Flash.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Wed Aug 26 2026 • llm-stats.com
Zhipu AI
GLM-5.3-Flash
Input tokens$0.15
Output tokens$0.50
Best providerUnknown Organization
xAI
Grok-3 Mini
Input tokens$0.30
Output tokens$0.50
Best providerxAI
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

GLM-5.3-Flash accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Grok-3 Mini's 128,000 tokens. GLM-5.3-Flash can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Grok-3 Mini is limited to 8,000 tokens.

Zhipu AI
GLM-5.3-Flash
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
xAI
Grok-3 Mini
Input128,000 tokens
Output8,000 tokens
Wed Aug 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both GLM-5.3-Flash and Grok-3 Mini support multimodal inputs.

They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.

GLM-5.3-Flash

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Grok-3 Mini

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

GLM-5.3-Flash is licensed under MIT, while Grok-3 Mini uses a proprietary license.

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

GLM-5.3-Flash

MIT

Open weights

Grok-3 Mini

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

GLM-5.3-Flash was released on 2026-08-26, while Grok-3 Mini was released on 2025-02-17.

GLM-5.3-Flash is 19 months newer than Grok-3 Mini.

GLM-5.3-Flash

Aug 26, 2026

0 days ago

1.5yr newer
Grok-3 Mini

Feb 17, 2025

1.5 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Grok-3 Mini has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-11-17, while GLM-5.3-Flash's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Grok-3 Mini's training data extends to 2024-11-17, but cannot make a direct comparison without GLM-5.3-Flash's cutoff date.

GLM-5.3-Flash

—

Grok-3 Mini

Nov 2024

Provider Availability

GLM-5.3-Flash is available from ZAI. Grok-3 Mini is available from xAI.

GLM-5.3-Flash

z logo
Unknown Organization
Input Price:Input: $0.15/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.50/1M

Grok-3 Mini

xai logo
xAI
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.50/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against GLM-5.3-Flash and Grok-3 Mini side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

GLM-5.3-Flash
✓ Preferred
Grok-3 Mini
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about GLM-5.3-Flash vs Grok-3 Mini.

Which is better, GLM-5.3-Flash or Grok-3 Mini?

GLM-5.3-Flash (Zhipu AI) and Grok-3 Mini (xAI) each have strengths in different areas. Compare their benchmark scores, pricing, context windows, and capabilities above to determine which fits your needs.

How does GLM-5.3-Flash compare to Grok-3 Mini in benchmarks?

GLM-5.3-Flash scores CharXiv-R: 89.4%, Terminal-Bench 2.1: 84.3%, MMVU: 80.5%, Toolathlon: 78.4%, MVBench: 77.8%. Grok-3 Mini scores AIME 2024: 95.8%, AIME 2025: 90.8%, GPQA: 84.0%, LiveCodeBench: 80.4%.

Is GLM-5.3-Flash cheaper than Grok-3 Mini?

GLM-5.3-Flash is 2.0x cheaper for input tokens. GLM-5.3-Flash costs $0.15/M input and $0.50/M output via z. Grok-3 Mini costs $0.30/M input and $0.50/M output via xai.

What are the context window sizes for GLM-5.3-Flash and Grok-3 Mini?

GLM-5.3-Flash supports 1.0M tokens and Grok-3 Mini supports 128K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between GLM-5.3-Flash and Grok-3 Mini?

Key differences include context window (1.0M vs 128K), input pricing ($0.15 vs $0.30/M), licensing (MIT vs Proprietary). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes GLM-5.3-Flash and Grok-3 Mini?

GLM-5.3-Flash is developed by Zhipu AI and Grok-3 Mini is developed by xAI.

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