GLM-5.3 vs Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
Comparing GLM-5.3 and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.
Zhipu AI · Meta · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
GLM-5.3 and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct trade strengths across price, capabilities, and technical limits. The better choice depends on the workload.
On price, Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is roughly 2.4x 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 Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
- cost matters — it's about 2.4x cheaper per token
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
GLM-5.3 and Llama 3.1 405B Instructdon'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
For input processing, GLM-5.3 ($1.40/1M tokens) is 1.6x more expensive than Llama 3.1 405B Instruct ($0.89/1M tokens).
For output processing, GLM-5.3 ($4.40/1M tokens) is 4.9x more expensive than Llama 3.1 405B Instruct ($0.89/1M tokens).
In conclusion, GLM-5.3 is more expensive than Llama 3.1 405B Instruct.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
GLM-5.3 has 348.0B more parameters than Llama 3.1 405B Instruct, making it 85.9% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
GLM-5.3 accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Llama 3.1 405B Instruct's 128,000 tokens. Both models can generate responses up to 128,000 tokens.
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
GLM-5.3 was released on 2026-08-14, while Llama 3.1 405B Instruct was released on 2024-07-23.
GLM-5.3 is 25 months newer than Llama 3.1 405B Instruct.
Aug 14, 2026
1 weeks ago
2.1yr newerJul 23, 2024
2.1 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
GLM-5.3 is available from ZAI. Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is available from Lambda, DeepInfra, Fireworks, Bedrock, Together, Hyperbolic, Google, Replicate.
GLM-5.3
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against GLM-5.3 and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about GLM-5.3 vs Llama 3.1 405B Instruct.