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GLM-5.3 vs Grok-3 Mini

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

Zhipu AI · xAI · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

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

On price, Grok-3 Mini is roughly 6.1x 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 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

Choose Grok-3 Mini

  • cost matters — it's about 6.1x cheaper per token

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

GLM-5.3
Zhipu AI
Grok-3 Mini
xAI
Benchmark wins
—
—
Input price
$1.40 / M
$0.30 / M
Output price
$4.40 / M
$0.50 / M
Context window
1,000,000
128,000
Released
Aug 2026
Feb 2025
License
Unknown
Proprietary

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

No common benchmarks found

GLM-5.3 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

Grok-3 Mini costs less

For input processing, GLM-5.3 ($1.40/1M tokens) is 4.7x more expensive than Grok-3 Mini ($0.30/1M tokens).

For output processing, GLM-5.3 ($4.40/1M tokens) is 8.8x more expensive than Grok-3 Mini ($0.50/1M tokens).

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

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Tue Aug 25 2026 • llm-stats.com
Zhipu AI
GLM-5.3
Input tokens$1.40
Output tokens$4.40
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 accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Grok-3 Mini's 128,000 tokens. GLM-5.3 can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Grok-3 Mini is limited to 8,000 tokens.

Zhipu AI
GLM-5.3
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
xAI
Grok-3 Mini
Input128,000 tokens
Output8,000 tokens
Tue Aug 25 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Grok-3 Mini supports multimodal inputs, whereas GLM-5.3 does not.

Grok-3 Mini can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

GLM-5.3

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Grok-3 Mini

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

GLM-5.3 was released on 2026-08-14, while Grok-3 Mini was released on 2025-02-17.

GLM-5.3 is 18 months newer than Grok-3 Mini.

GLM-5.3

Aug 14, 2026

1 weeks 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'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's cutoff date.

GLM-5.3

—

Grok-3 Mini

Nov 2024

Provider Availability

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

GLM-5.3

z logo
Unknown Organization
Input Price:Input: $1.40/1MOutput Price:Output: $4.40/1M

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 and Grok-3 Mini side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

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

FAQ

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

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

GLM-5.3 (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 compare to Grok-3 Mini in benchmarks?

GLM-5.3 scores Terminal-Bench 2.1: 88.2%, CyberGym: 84.5%, FrontierSWE: 78.1%, Toolathlon: 73.0%, DeepSWE 1.1: 66.9%. Grok-3 Mini scores AIME 2024: 95.8%, AIME 2025: 90.8%, GPQA: 84.0%, LiveCodeBench: 80.4%.

Is GLM-5.3 cheaper than Grok-3 Mini?

Grok-3 Mini is 4.7x cheaper for input tokens. GLM-5.3 costs $1.40/M input and $4.40/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 and Grok-3 Mini?

GLM-5.3 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 and Grok-3 Mini?

Key differences include context window (1.0M vs 128K), input pricing ($1.40 vs $0.30/M), multimodal support (no vs yes), licensing (Unknown vs Proprietary). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes GLM-5.3 and Grok-3 Mini?

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

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