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GLM-5.3-Flash vs LongCat-Flash-Thinking

Comparing GLM-5.3-Flash and LongCat-Flash-Thinking across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

Zhipu AI · Meituan · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

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

On price, GLM-5.3-Flash is roughly 2.2x 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 2.2x 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

Choose LongCat-Flash-Thinking

  • you want predictable pricing at $0.30/M input and $1.20/M output

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

GLM-5.3-Flash
Zhipu AI
LongCat-Flash-Thinking
Meituan
Benchmark wins
—
—
Input price
$0.15 / M
$0.30 / M
Output price
$0.50 / M
$1.20 / M
Context window
1,000,000
128,000
Released
Aug 2026
Sep 2025
License
MIT
MIT

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

No common benchmarks found

GLM-5.3-Flash and LongCat-Flash-Thinkingdon'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 LongCat-Flash-Thinking ($0.30/1M tokens).

For output processing, GLM-5.3-Flash ($0.50/1M tokens) is 2.4x cheaper than LongCat-Flash-Thinking ($1.20/1M tokens).

In conclusion, LongCat-Flash-Thinking 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
Meituan
LongCat-Flash-Thinking
Input tokens$0.30
Output tokens$1.20
Best providerMeituan
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

240.0B diff

LongCat-Flash-Thinking has 240.0B more parameters than GLM-5.3-Flash, making it 75.0% larger.

Zhipu AI
GLM-5.3-Flash
320.0Bparameters
Meituan
LongCat-Flash-Thinking
560.0Bparameters
320.0B
GLM-5.3-Flash
560.0B
LongCat-Flash-Thinking

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

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

Zhipu AI
GLM-5.3-Flash
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Meituan
LongCat-Flash-Thinking
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Wed Aug 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

GLM-5.3-Flash supports multimodal inputs, whereas LongCat-Flash-Thinking does not.

GLM-5.3-Flash can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

GLM-5.3-Flash

Text
Images
Audio
Video

LongCat-Flash-Thinking

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Both models are licensed under MIT.

Both models share the same licensing terms, providing consistent usage rights.

GLM-5.3-Flash

MIT

Open weights

LongCat-Flash-Thinking

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

GLM-5.3-Flash was released on 2026-08-26, while LongCat-Flash-Thinking was released on 2025-09-22.

GLM-5.3-Flash is 11 months newer than LongCat-Flash-Thinking.

GLM-5.3-Flash

Aug 26, 2026

0 days ago

11mo newer
LongCat-Flash-Thinking

Sep 22, 2025

11 months ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Provider Availability

GLM-5.3-Flash is available from ZAI. LongCat-Flash-Thinking is available from Meituan.

GLM-5.3-Flash

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

LongCat-Flash-Thinking

meituan logo
Meituan
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.20/1M
* 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 LongCat-Flash-Thinking side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

GLM-5.3-Flash
✓ Preferred
LongCat-Flash-Thinking
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about GLM-5.3-Flash vs LongCat-Flash-Thinking.

Which is better, GLM-5.3-Flash or LongCat-Flash-Thinking?

GLM-5.3-Flash (Zhipu AI) and LongCat-Flash-Thinking (Meituan) 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 LongCat-Flash-Thinking 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%. LongCat-Flash-Thinking scores MATH-500: 99.2%, ZebraLogic: 95.5%, AIME 2024: 93.3%, AIME 2025: 90.6%, MMLU-Redux: 89.3%.

Is GLM-5.3-Flash cheaper than LongCat-Flash-Thinking?

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. LongCat-Flash-Thinking costs $0.30/M input and $1.20/M output via meituan.

What are the context window sizes for GLM-5.3-Flash and LongCat-Flash-Thinking?

GLM-5.3-Flash supports 1.0M tokens and LongCat-Flash-Thinking 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 LongCat-Flash-Thinking?

Key differences include context window (1.0M vs 128K), input pricing ($0.15 vs $0.30/M), multimodal support (yes vs no). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes GLM-5.3-Flash and LongCat-Flash-Thinking?

GLM-5.3-Flash is developed by Zhipu AI and LongCat-Flash-Thinking is developed by Meituan.

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