API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewPerceptron Mk1 vs GLM 5

Pick Perceptron Mk1 for lower cost; pick GLM 5 only if the larger context window matters more.

Pricing data updated: 2026-05-26T11:08:00Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Perceptron Mk1 for lower cost; pick GLM 5 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Perceptron Mk1 is estimated at $0.9 vs $1.56 for GLM 5, saving $0.66 (42.3% lower).

Cost-first pickPerceptron Mk1

Context-first pickGLM 5

Sample savings$0.6642.3%

10x traffic gap$6.6

GLM 5 has more context, but Perceptron Mk1 saves $0.66 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $6.6. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Perceptron Mk1 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Perceptron Mk1	GLM 5
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Perceptron Mk1	$1.5	$3.96
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Perceptron Mk1	$1.65	$2.52
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Perceptron Mk1	$7.65	$10.2

Cheaper input Perceptron Mk1 $0.15 vs $0.6 / 1M

Perceptron Mk1 is $0.45 cheaper per 1M input tokens (75% lower; 4x difference).

Cheaper output Perceptron Mk1 $1.5 vs $1.92 / 1M

Perceptron Mk1 is $0.42 cheaper per 1M output tokens (21.9% lower; 1.28x difference).

Larger context GLM 5 32.77K vs 202.75K

GLM 5 has 169.98K more context (6.19x larger).

Sample workload Perceptron Mk1 $0.9 vs $1.56

Perceptron Mk1 is $0.66 cheaper on the standard workload (42.3% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Perceptron Mk1 Calculating… Estimated API cost

GLM 5 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

Perceptron Mk1 has the lower input price; Perceptron Mk1 has the lower output price; GLM 5 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Perceptron Mk1 is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.9 for Perceptron Mk1 and $1.56 for GLM 5.

Best Fit

Choose Perceptron Mk1 when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

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

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Perceptron Mk1 is estimated at $0.9 vs $1.56 for GLM 5, saving $0.66 (42.3% lower).
Perceptron Mk1 is $0.66 cheaper on the standard workload (42.3% lower).
Perceptron Mk1 is $0.45 cheaper per 1M input tokens (75% lower; 4x difference).
Perceptron Mk1 is $0.42 cheaper per 1M output tokens (21.9% lower; 1.28x difference).
GLM 5 has 169.98K more context (6.19x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	NewPerceptron Mk1 (Perceptron)	GLM 5 (Z.ai)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.15	$0.6
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$1.5	$1.92
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0.9	$1.56
Context Window	32.77K	202.75K
Release Date	2026-05-12	2026-02-11

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Perceptron Mk1	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Perceptron Mk1 is estimated at $0.9 vs $1.56 for GLM 5, saving $0.66 (42.3% lower).
High-volume input processing	Perceptron Mk1	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Perceptron Mk1	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	GLM 5	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

GLM 4.5 Air (free) can replace GLM 5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
GLM 4 32B can replace GLM 5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.15.
GLM 4.7 Flash can replace GLM 5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.26.
GLM 4.5 Air can replace GLM 5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.55.

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.
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite offers 1.05M context with $1 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Pro offers 1.05M context with $0.87 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

No popular competitor is currently available.

Cheaper alternatives

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

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Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

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Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

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Perceptron catalog

Review all tracked Perceptron 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.

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Perceptron Mk1

Perceptron Mk1 (Mark One) is Perceptron's highest-quality vision-language model for video and embodied reasoning.** It accepts image and video inputs paired with natural language queries, and produces detailed visual understanding...

GLM 5

GLM-5 is Z.ai’s flagship open-source foundation model engineered for complex systems design and long-horizon agent workflows. Built for expert developers, it delivers production-grade performance on large-scale programming tasks, rivaling leading...