API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewSolar Mini 4 vs GLM Latest

Pick Solar Mini 4 for lower cost; pick GLM Latest 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 Solar Mini 4 for lower cost; pick GLM Latest only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Mini 4 is estimated at $0.15 vs $1.81 for GLM Latest, saving $1.66 (91.7% lower).

Cost-first pickSolar Mini 4
Context-first pickGLM Latest
Sample savings$1.6691.7%
10x traffic gap$16.62

GLM Latest has more context, but Solar Mini 4 saves $1.66 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $16.62. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Solar Mini 4 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickSolar Mini 4GLM Latest
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputSolar Mini 4$0.35$4.06
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputSolar Mini 4$0.25$3.06
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputSolar Mini 4$1.05$13.06
Cheaper input Solar Mini 4 $0.05 vs $0.5625 / 1M

Solar Mini 4 is $0.51 cheaper per 1M input tokens (91.1% lower; 11.2x difference).

Cheaper output Solar Mini 4 $0.2 vs $2.5 / 1M

Solar Mini 4 is $2.3 cheaper per 1M output tokens (92% lower; 12.5x difference).

Larger context GLM Latest 524.29K vs 1.31M

GLM Latest has 786.43K more context (2.5x larger).

Sample workload Solar Mini 4 $0.15 vs $1.81

Solar Mini 4 is $1.66 cheaper on the standard workload (91.7% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
Solar Mini 4 Calculating… Estimated API cost
GLM Latest 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

Solar Mini 4 has the lower input price; Solar Mini 4 has the lower output price; GLM Latest offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Solar Mini 4 is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.15 for Solar Mini 4 and $1.81 for GLM Latest.

Best Fit

Choose Solar Mini 4 when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

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

Decision Notes
  • On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Mini 4 is estimated at $0.15 vs $1.81 for GLM Latest, saving $1.66 (91.7% lower).
  • Solar Mini 4 is $1.66 cheaper on the standard workload (91.7% lower).
  • Solar Mini 4 is $0.51 cheaper per 1M input tokens (91.1% lower; 11.2x difference).
  • Solar Mini 4 is $2.3 cheaper per 1M output tokens (92% lower; 12.5x difference).
  • GLM Latest has 786.43K more context (2.5x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureNewSolar Mini 4
(Upstage)		GLM Latest
(Z.ai)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M		$0.05$0.5625
Completion Price
per 1M tokens		$0.2$2.5
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output		$0.15$1.81
Context Window524.29K1.31M
Release Date

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionSolar Mini 4On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Mini 4 is estimated at $0.15 vs $1.81 for GLM Latest, saving $1.66 (91.7% lower).
High-volume input processingSolar Mini 4Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsSolar Mini 4Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workGLM LatestA larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps
  • GLM 5.2 (free) can replace GLM Latest when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • GLM 4.5 Air (free) can replace GLM Latest when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • GLM 4 32B can replace GLM Latest when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.15.
  • GLM 5.3 Flash (batch) can replace GLM Latest when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.16.
Larger context near this budget
  • No larger-context model is currently tracked within a close sample-cost band.

Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

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Upstage catalog

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Z.ai catalog

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

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Solar Mini 4

Solar Mini 4 is Upstage's compact, cost-efficient language model, a 35B-parameter mixture-of-experts with 3B active parameters and a 524K context window. It is built for agentic use cases where response...

GLM Latest

This model always redirects to the latest GLM model from Z.ai.