API cost decision in 10 seconds

GPT-5 Mini vs GLM 4.7

Pick GPT-5 Mini when budget and context both matter.

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 GPT-5 Mini when budget and context both matter.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GPT-5 Mini is estimated at $1.25 vs $1.27 for GLM 4.7, saving $0.02 (2% lower).

Cost-first pickGPT-5 Mini

Context-first pickGPT-5 Mini

Sample savings$0.022%

10x traffic gap$0.25

GPT-5 Mini is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $0.25. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Cost winner changes by workload shape: input-heavy / RAG favors GPT-5 Mini, balanced workload favors GLM 4.7, and output-heavy chatbot favors GLM 4.7.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	GPT-5 Mini	GLM 4.7
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	GPT-5 Mini	$2.25	$2.88
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	GLM 4.7	$2.25	$2.15
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	GLM 4.7	$10.25	$9.15

Cheaper input GPT-5 Mini $0.25 vs $0.4 / 1M

GPT-5 Mini is $0.15 cheaper per 1M input tokens (37.5% lower; 1.6x difference).

Cheaper output GLM 4.7 $2 vs $1.75 / 1M

GLM 4.7 is $0.25 cheaper per 1M output tokens (12.5% lower; 1.14x difference).

Larger context GPT-5 Mini 400K vs 202.75K

GPT-5 Mini has 197.25K more context (1.97x larger).

Sample workload GPT-5 Mini $1.25 vs $1.27

GPT-5 Mini is $0.02 cheaper on the standard workload (2% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

GPT-5 Mini Calculating… Estimated API cost

GLM 4.7 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

GPT-5 Mini has the lower input price; GLM 4.7 has the lower output price; GPT-5 Mini offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, GPT-5 Mini is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $1.25 for GPT-5 Mini and $1.27 for GLM 4.7.

Best Fit

Choose GPT-5 Mini when you care most about lower input-token price, and larger context window.

Choose GLM 4.7 when you care most about lower output-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GPT-5 Mini is estimated at $1.25 vs $1.27 for GLM 4.7, saving $0.02 (2% lower).
GPT-5 Mini is $0.02 cheaper on the standard workload (2% lower).
GPT-5 Mini is $0.15 cheaper per 1M input tokens (37.5% lower; 1.6x difference).
GLM 4.7 is $0.25 cheaper per 1M output tokens (12.5% lower; 1.14x difference).
GPT-5 Mini has 197.25K more context (1.97x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	GPT-5 Mini (OpenAI)	GLM 4.7 (Z.ai)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.25	$0.4
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$2	$1.75
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$1.25	$1.27
Context Window	400K	202.75K
Release Date	2025-08-07	2025-12-22
Popularity	#33	#71

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	GPT-5 Mini	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GPT-5 Mini is estimated at $1.25 vs $1.27 for GLM 4.7, saving $0.02 (2% lower).
High-volume input processing	GPT-5 Mini	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	GLM 4.7	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	GPT-5 Mini	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-5 Mini when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace GPT-5 Mini when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
gpt-oss-20b can replace GPT-5 Mini when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.
gpt-oss-120b can replace GPT-5 Mini 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.
Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.2 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Pro offers 1.05M context with $0.87 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

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OpenAI catalog

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Z.ai catalog

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GPT-5 Mini

GPT-5 Mini is a compact version of GPT-5, designed to handle lighter-weight reasoning tasks. It provides the same instruction-following and safety-tuning benefits as GPT-5, but with reduced latency and cost....

GLM 4.7

GLM-4.7 is Z.ai’s latest flagship model, featuring upgrades in two key areas: enhanced programming capabilities and more stable multi-step reasoning/execution. It demonstrates significant improvements in executing complex agent tasks while...