GLM 4.5 Air is $0.28 cheaper per 1M input tokens (68.8% lower; 3.2x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
GLM 4.5 Air vs Llama 3.1 70B Instruct
Pick GLM 4.5 Air when budget is the priority.
Page updated:
Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick GLM 4.5 Air when budget is the priority.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GLM 4.5 Air is estimated at $0.54 vs $0.6 for Llama 3.1 70B Instruct, saving $0.06 (9.2% lower).
Cost-first pickGLM 4.5 Air
Context-first pickBoth models
Sample savings$0.069.2%
10x traffic gap$0.55
The reported context window is tied, so cost and provider fit carry more weight. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $0.55. 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 Llama 3.1 70B Instruct, and output-heavy chatbot favors Llama 3.1 70B Instruct.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | GLM 4.5 Air | Llama 3.1 70B Instruct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | GLM 4.5 Air | $1.04 | $2.2 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Llama 3.1 70B Instruct | $0.96 | $0.8 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Llama 3.1 70B Instruct | $4.33 | $2.4 |
Llama 3.1 70B Instruct is $0.44 cheaper per 1M output tokens (52.4% lower; 2.1x difference).
Both models report the same context window at 131.07K tokens.
GLM 4.5 Air is $0.06 cheaper on the standard workload (9.2% 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; Llama 3.1 70B Instruct has the lower output price; both models report the same 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 $0.54 for GLM 4.5 Air and $0.6 for Llama 3.1 70B Instruct.
Choose GLM 4.5 Air when you care most about lower input-token price.
Choose Llama 3.1 70B Instruct when you care most about lower output-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GLM 4.5 Air is estimated at $0.54 vs $0.6 for Llama 3.1 70B Instruct, saving $0.06 (9.2% lower).
- GLM 4.5 Air is $0.06 cheaper on the standard workload (9.2% lower).
- GLM 4.5 Air is $0.28 cheaper per 1M input tokens (68.8% lower; 3.2x difference).
- Llama 3.1 70B Instruct is $0.44 cheaper per 1M output tokens (52.4% lower; 2.1x difference).
- Both models report the same context window at 131.07K tokens.
| Feature | GLM 4.5 Air (Z.ai) | Llama 3.1 70B Instruct (Meta) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.125 | $0.4 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $0.84 | $0.4 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.54 | $0.6 |
| Context Window | 131.07K | 131.07K |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #37 | #87 |
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 $0.54 vs $0.6 for Llama 3.1 70B Instruct, saving $0.06 (9.2% 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 | Llama 3.1 70B Instruct | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Tie | 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.
- Llama 3.3 70B Instruct (free) can replace Llama 3.1 70B Instruct 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
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
Open cheapest modelsLarger context alternatives
Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.
Open largest context modelsProvider catalogs
Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.
Open provider hubsZ.ai catalog
Review all tracked Z.ai models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.
Open Z.ai modelsMeta catalog
Check other Meta models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.
Open Meta modelsGLM-4.5-Air is the lightweight variant of our latest flagship model family, also purpose-built for agent-centric applications. Like GLM-4.5, it adopts the Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) architecture but with a more compact parameter...
Meta's latest class of model (Llama 3.1) launched with a variety of sizes & flavors. This 70B instruct-tuned version is optimized for high quality dialogue usecases. It has demonstrated strong...