GLM-5.3 vs Gemini 4 Argon
Official GLM (Z.ai) and Google API prices and LMArena scores, checked 2026-11-14. Add up to 2 more models to compare 4.
GLM-5.3 costs less; Gemini 4 Argon wins more LMArena tasks.
GLM-5.3 is 1.4x cheaper on input and 2.3x cheaper on output. Gemini 4 Argon scores 87 points higher for creative writing. Across 6 shared LMArena tasks, Gemini 4 Argon leads 6 to 0. A medium month (20M input + 5M output tokens) costs $50 on GLM-5.3 and $90 on Gemini 4 Argon.
- Pick GLM-5.3 if you want the lower bill ($50 vs $90 for a medium month).
- Pick Gemini 4 Argon if you care most about creative writing (+87), chat (+73) and roleplay (+71) or you reuse long prompts (cached input $0.10 vs $0.26).
Medium: 20M input + 5M output tokens a month at list price (short-context rate, no caching or batch discounts).
Marked side is better: lower for prices, higher for context and scores. Bars are scaled to the larger of the two.
| Spec | GLM-5.3 | Gemini 4 Argon |
|---|---|---|
| Price per 1M tokens | ||
| Input | $1.40 | $2 |
| Cached input | $0.26 | $0.10 |
| Output | $4.40 | $10 |
| Blend 3:1 | $2.15 | $4 |
| Sample month, medium | $50 | $90 |
| Context | ||
| Context window | Not published | 1M tokens |
| Quality (LMArena, out of 100) | ||
| Coding | 24/100 #23 of 53 | 44/100 #11 of 53 |
| Chat | 19/100 #15 of 54 | 92/100 #2 of 54 |
| Creative writing | 13/100 #15 of 54 | 100/100 #1 of 54 |
| Roleplay and characters | 6/100 #16 of 54 | 77/100 #2 of 54 |
| Reasoning and math | 46/100 #10 of 52 | 100/100 #1 of 52 |
| Vision | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| Long documents | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| Cheap bulk and agents | 23/100 #22 of 40 | 49/100 #9 of 40 |
| Details | ||
| Provider | GLM (Z.ai) | |
| API model id | glm-5.3 | gemini-4-argon |
| Notes | None | Launch price through Nov 30, 2026. From Dec 1: $4 in, $20 out. |
| Sources | ||
| Last checked | 2026-11-14 | 2026-11-14 |
| Official pricing | GLM (Z.ai) pricing | Google pricing |
Plans from data checked hourly against each vendor's official pricing page. Vendors state limits in different units, so we quote them as published. Team and enterprise plans are per seat.
API prices in USD per 1M tokens from each provider's official pricing page. Blend 3:1 = (3 x input + output) / 4. Sample month = stated input and output tokens at the list price, no caching. Quality: relative score out of 100 on each LMArena leaderboard (100 = top model we price on that board, n/a = not ranked there), data licensed CC BY 4.0. See how we pick.
Where each one ranks on LMArena
Relative score out of 100 on each leaderboard (100 = the top model we price there), with the rank among the models from our API price table that appear on that board.
- Coding (Code Arena): GLM-5.3 #23 of 53 (24/100), Gemini 4 Argon #11 of 53 (44/100)
- Chat (Text Arena): GLM-5.3 #15 of 54 (19/100), Gemini 4 Argon #2 of 54 (92/100)
- Creative writing (Text Arena creative writing): GLM-5.3 #15 of 54 (13/100), Gemini 4 Argon #1 of 54 (100/100)
- Roleplay and characters (Text Arena multi-turn): GLM-5.3 #16 of 54 (6/100), Gemini 4 Argon #2 of 54 (77/100)
- Reasoning and math (Text Arena math): GLM-5.3 #10 of 52 (46/100), Gemini 4 Argon #1 of 52 (100/100)
- Vision (Vision Arena): GLM-5.3 not ranked, Gemini 4 Argon not ranked
- Long documents (Document Arena): GLM-5.3 not ranked, Gemini 4 Argon not ranked
- Cheap bulk and agents (Agent Arena): GLM-5.3 #22 of 40 (23/100), Gemini 4 Argon #9 of 40 (49/100)
Pricing details from the official pages
GLM-5.3 lists $1.40 input, $4.40 output, $0.26 cached input per 1M tokens on GLM (Z.ai) pricing. Gemini 4 Argon lists $2 input, $10 output, $0.10 cached input per 1M tokens on Google pricing. Prices checked 2026-11-14.
- Gemini 4 Argon: Launch price through Nov 30, 2026. From Dec 1: $4 in, $20 out.
Sample monthly bill at list price, no caching: Light (2M input + 0.5M output tokens): $5 vs $9. Medium (20M input + 5M output tokens): $50 vs $90. Heavy (200M input + 50M output tokens): $500 vs $900.
FAQ
Is GLM-5.3 cheaper than Gemini 4 Argon?
GLM-5.3 costs $1.40 input and $4.40 output per 1M tokens; Gemini 4 Argon costs $2 and $10. For a medium month (20M input + 5M output tokens) GLM-5.3 is cheaper: $50 vs $90.
Which is better for coding, GLM-5.3 or Gemini 4 Argon?
On LMArena's Code Arena GLM-5.3 scores 24/100 (#23 of 53) and Gemini 4 Argon 44/100 (#11 of 53), so Gemini 4 Argon is ahead by 20 points.
Which has the bigger context window?
GLM-5.3: n/a. Gemini 4 Argon: 1M tokens.
How much do GLM-5.3 and Gemini 4 Argon cost per month?
Light (2M input + 0.5M output tokens): $5 vs $9. Medium (20M input + 5M output tokens): $50 vs $90. Heavy (200M input + 50M output tokens): $500 vs $900. Pick your own token counts in the plan vs API calculator.
Where do these numbers come from?
Prices come from each provider's official pricing page, checked daily. Quality is the relative score on the LMArena leaderboard dataset, licensed CC BY 4.0. Where a model is not ranked we show n/a.
Sources
Related
- GLM (Z.ai) API pricing, every model
- Google API pricing, every model
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