API cost decision in 10 seconds

gpt-oss-20b vs GLM 5V Turbo

Pick gpt-oss-20b for lower cost; pick GLM 5V Turbo only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated:  Data confirmed:  Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick gpt-oss-20b for lower cost; pick GLM 5V Turbo only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, gpt-oss-20b is estimated at $0.1 vs $3.2 for GLM 5V Turbo, saving $3.1 (96.9% lower).

Cost-first pickgpt-oss-20b
Context-first pickGLM 5V Turbo
Sample savings$3.196.9%
10x traffic gap$31

GLM 5V Turbo has more context, but gpt-oss-20b saves $3.1 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $31. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

gpt-oss-20b stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickgpt-oss-20bGLM 5V Turbo
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputgpt-oss-20b$0.22$8
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputgpt-oss-20b$0.17$5.2
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputgpt-oss-20b$0.73$21.2
Cheaper input gpt-oss-20b $0.03 vs $1.2 / 1M

gpt-oss-20b is $1.17 cheaper per 1M input tokens (97.5% lower; 40x difference).

Cheaper output gpt-oss-20b $0.14 vs $4 / 1M

gpt-oss-20b is $3.86 cheaper per 1M output tokens (96.5% lower; 28.6x difference).

Larger context GLM 5V Turbo 131.07K vs 202.75K

GLM 5V Turbo has 71.68K more context (1.55x larger).

Sample workload gpt-oss-20b $0.1 vs $3.2

gpt-oss-20b is $3.1 cheaper on the standard workload (96.9% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
gpt-oss-20b 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

gpt-oss-20b has the lower input price; gpt-oss-20b has the lower output price; GLM 5V Turbo offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, gpt-oss-20b is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.1 for gpt-oss-20b and $3.2 for GLM 5V Turbo.

Best Fit

Choose gpt-oss-20b when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Choose GLM 5V Turbo when you care most about larger context window.

Decision Notes
  • On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, gpt-oss-20b is estimated at $0.1 vs $3.2 for GLM 5V Turbo, saving $3.1 (96.9% lower).
  • gpt-oss-20b is $3.1 cheaper on the standard workload (96.9% lower).
  • gpt-oss-20b is $1.17 cheaper per 1M input tokens (97.5% lower; 40x difference).
  • gpt-oss-20b is $3.86 cheaper per 1M output tokens (96.5% lower; 28.6x difference).
  • GLM 5V Turbo has 71.68K more context (1.55x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
Featuregpt-oss-20b
(OpenAI)
GLM 5V Turbo
(Z.ai)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M
$0.03$1.2
Completion Price
per 1M tokens
$0.14$4
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output
$0.1$3.2
Context Window131.07K202.75K
Release Date
Popularity#67#136

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productiongpt-oss-20bOn the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, gpt-oss-20b is estimated at $0.1 vs $3.2 for GLM 5V Turbo, saving $3.1 (96.9% lower).
High-volume input processinggpt-oss-20bLower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsgpt-oss-20bLower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workGLM 5V TurboA 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-oss-20b when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace gpt-oss-20b when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • GLM 4.5 Air (free) can replace GLM 5V Turbo when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • GLM 4 32B can replace GLM 5V Turbo when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.15.
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.
  • Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
  • DeepSeek V4 Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.2 sample workload cost.

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

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OpenAI catalog

Review all tracked OpenAI models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

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Z.ai catalog

Check other Z.ai models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.

Open Z.ai models
gpt-oss-20b

gpt-oss-20b is an open-weight 21B parameter model released by OpenAI under the Apache 2.0 license. It uses a Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) architecture with 3.6B active parameters per forward pass, optimized for...

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,...