GLM 4.5 Air is $0.07 cheaper per 1M input tokens (35% lower; 1.54x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
GLM 4.5 Air vs DeepSeek V3 0324
Pick GLM 4.5 Air for lower cost; pick DeepSeek V3 0324 only if the larger context window matters more.
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Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick GLM 4.5 Air for lower cost; pick DeepSeek V3 0324 only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GLM 4.5 Air is estimated at $0.55 vs $0.58 for DeepSeek V3 0324, saving $0.03 (5.1% lower).
Cost-first pickGLM 4.5 Air
Context-first pickDeepSeek V3 0324
Sample savings$0.035.1%
10x traffic gap$0.3
DeepSeek V3 0324 has more context, but GLM 4.5 Air saves $0.03 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $0.3. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Cost winner changes by workload shape: input-heavy / RAG favors GLM 4.5 Air, balanced workload favors DeepSeek V3 0324, and output-heavy chatbot favors DeepSeek V3 0324.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | GLM 4.5 Air | DeepSeek V3 0324 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | GLM 4.5 Air | $1.07 | $1.39 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | DeepSeek V3 0324 | $0.98 | $0.97 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | DeepSeek V3 0324 | $4.38 | $4.05 |
DeepSeek V3 0324 is $0.08 cheaper per 1M output tokens (9.4% lower; 1.1x difference).
DeepSeek V3 0324 has 32.77K more context (1.25x larger).
GLM 4.5 Air is $0.03 cheaper on the standard workload (5.1% lower).
Estimate your workload cost
Your Workload Cost
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
GLM 4.5 Air has the lower input price; DeepSeek V3 0324 has the lower output price; DeepSeek V3 0324 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, GLM 4.5 Air is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.55 for GLM 4.5 Air and $0.58 for DeepSeek V3 0324.
Choose GLM 4.5 Air when you care most about lower input-token price.
Choose DeepSeek V3 0324 when you care most about lower output-token price, and larger context window.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GLM 4.5 Air is estimated at $0.55 vs $0.58 for DeepSeek V3 0324, saving $0.03 (5.1% lower).
- GLM 4.5 Air is $0.03 cheaper on the standard workload (5.1% lower).
- GLM 4.5 Air is $0.07 cheaper per 1M input tokens (35% lower; 1.54x difference).
- DeepSeek V3 0324 is $0.08 cheaper per 1M output tokens (9.4% lower; 1.1x difference).
- DeepSeek V3 0324 has 32.77K more context (1.25x larger).
| Feature | GLM 4.5 Air (Z.ai) | DeepSeek V3 0324 (DeepSeek) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.13 | $0.2 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $0.85 | $0.77 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.55 | $0.58 |
| Context Window | 131.07K | 163.84K |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #37 | #52 |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | GLM 4.5 Air | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GLM 4.5 Air is estimated at $0.55 vs $0.58 for DeepSeek V3 0324, saving $0.03 (5.1% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | GLM 4.5 Air | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | DeepSeek V3 0324 | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | DeepSeek V3 0324 | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- GLM 4.5 Air (free) can replace GLM 4.5 Air when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- GLM 4 32B can replace GLM 4.5 Air when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.15.
- GLM 4.7 Flash can replace GLM 4.5 Air when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.26.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash (free) can replace DeepSeek V3 0324 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- 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.
- Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite offers 1.05M context with $0.3 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
- Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
- Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4
Cheaper alternatives
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