API cost decision in 10 seconds

GPT-4.1 vs GLM 5V Turbo

Pick GLM 5V Turbo for lower cost; pick GPT-4.1 only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T15:08:08Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-26T18:08:02Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick GLM 5V Turbo for lower cost; pick GPT-4.1 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GLM 5V Turbo is estimated at $3.2 vs $6 for GPT-4.1, saving $2.8 (46.7% lower).

Cost-first pickGLM 5V Turbo

Context-first pickGPT-4.1

Sample savings$2.846.7%

10x traffic gap$28

GPT-4.1 has more context, but GLM 5V Turbo saves $2.8 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $28. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

GLM 5V Turbo stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	GPT-4.1	GLM 5V Turbo
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	GLM 5V Turbo	$14	$8
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	GLM 5V Turbo	$10	$5.2
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	GLM 5V Turbo	$42	$21.2

Cheaper input GLM 5V Turbo $2 vs $1.2 / 1M

GLM 5V Turbo is $0.8 cheaper per 1M input tokens (40% lower; 1.67x difference).

Cheaper output GLM 5V Turbo $8 vs $4 / 1M

GLM 5V Turbo is $4 cheaper per 1M output tokens (50% lower; 2x difference).

Larger context GPT-4.1 1.05M vs 202.75K

GPT-4.1 has 844.82K more context (5.17x larger).

Sample workload GLM 5V Turbo $6 vs $3.2

GLM 5V Turbo is $2.8 cheaper on the standard workload (46.7% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

GPT-4.1 Calculating… Estimated API cost

GLM 5V Turbo Calculating… Estimated API cost

Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.

Quick Decision

Verdict

GLM 5V Turbo has the lower input price; GLM 5V Turbo has the lower output price; GPT-4.1 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, GLM 5V Turbo is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $6 for GPT-4.1 and $3.2 for GLM 5V Turbo.

Best Fit

Choose GPT-4.1 when you care most about larger context window.

Choose GLM 5V Turbo when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GLM 5V Turbo is estimated at $3.2 vs $6 for GPT-4.1, saving $2.8 (46.7% lower).
GLM 5V Turbo is $2.8 cheaper on the standard workload (46.7% lower).
GLM 5V Turbo is $0.8 cheaper per 1M input tokens (40% lower; 1.67x difference).
GLM 5V Turbo is $4 cheaper per 1M output tokens (50% lower; 2x difference).
GPT-4.1 has 844.82K more context (5.17x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	GPT-4.1 (OpenAI)	GLM 5V Turbo (Z.ai)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$2	$1.2
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$8	$4
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$6	$3.2
Context Window	1.05M	202.75K
Release Date	2025-04-14	2026-04-01
Popularity	#69	#136

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	GLM 5V Turbo	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GLM 5V Turbo is estimated at $3.2 vs $6 for GPT-4.1, saving $2.8 (46.7% lower).
High-volume input processing	GLM 5V Turbo	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	GLM 5V Turbo	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	GPT-4.1	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

gpt-oss-120b (free) can replace GPT-4.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace GPT-4.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
gpt-oss-20b can replace GPT-4.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.
gpt-oss-120b can replace GPT-4.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.13.

Larger context near this budget

Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $5 sample workload cost.
Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.

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OpenAI catalog

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Z.ai catalog

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GPT-4.1

GPT-4.1 is a flagship large language model optimized for advanced instruction following, real-world software engineering, and long-context reasoning. It supports a 1 million token context window and outperforms GPT-4o and...

GLM 5V Turbo

GLM-5V-Turbo is Z.ai’s first native multimodal agent foundation model, built for vision-based coding and agent-driven tasks. It natively handles image, video, and text inputs, excels at long-horizon planning, complex coding,...