Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct is $0.04 cheaper per 1M input tokens (30.8% lower; 1.44x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
GLM 4.5 Air vs Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct
Pick GLM 4.5 Air for lower cost; pick Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct 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 Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct 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 $0.64 for Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct, saving $0.09 (13.3% lower).
Cost-first pickGLM 4.5 Air
Context-first pickQwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct
Sample savings$0.0913.3%
10x traffic gap$0.85
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct has more context, but GLM 4.5 Air saves $0.09 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $0.85. 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 Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct, balanced workload favors GLM 4.5 Air, and output-heavy chatbot favors GLM 4.5 Air.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | GLM 4.5 Air | Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct | $1.07 | $1 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | GLM 4.5 Air | $0.98 | $1.19 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | GLM 4.5 Air | $4.38 | $5.59 |
GLM 4.5 Air is $0.25 cheaper per 1M output tokens (22.7% lower; 1.29x difference).
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct has 131.07K more context (2x larger).
GLM 4.5 Air is $0.09 cheaper on the standard workload (13.3% 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
Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct has the lower input price; GLM 4.5 Air has the lower output price; Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct 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 $0.64 for Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct.
Choose GLM 4.5 Air when you care most about lower output-token price.
Choose Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct when you care most about lower input-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 $0.64 for Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct, saving $0.09 (13.3% lower).
- GLM 4.5 Air is $0.09 cheaper on the standard workload (13.3% lower).
- Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct is $0.04 cheaper per 1M input tokens (30.8% lower; 1.44x difference).
- GLM 4.5 Air is $0.25 cheaper per 1M output tokens (22.7% lower; 1.29x difference).
- Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct has 131.07K more context (2x larger).
| Feature | GLM 4.5 Air (Z.ai) | Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.13 | $0.09 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $0.85 | $1.1 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.55 | $0.64 |
| Context Window | 131.07K | 262.14K |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #37 | #79 |
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 $0.64 for Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct, saving $0.09 (13.3% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | GLM 4.5 Air | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct | 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.
- Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free) can replace Qwen3 Next 80B A3B 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
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