API cost decision in 10 seconds

GLM 4.6 vs Mistral Medium 3.1

Pick GLM 4.6 when budget and context both matter.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T15:08:08Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-28T03:07:35Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick GLM 4.6 when budget and context both matter.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GLM 4.6 is estimated at $1.3 vs $1.4 for Mistral Medium 3.1, saving $0.1 (7.1% lower).

Cost-first pickGLM 4.6

Context-first pickGLM 4.6

Sample savings$0.17.1%

10x traffic gap$1

GLM 4.6 is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $1. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Cost winner changes by workload shape: input-heavy / RAG favors Mistral Medium 3.1, balanced workload favors GLM 4.6, and output-heavy chatbot favors GLM 4.6.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	GLM 4.6	Mistral Medium 3.1
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Mistral Medium 3.1	$3.02	$3
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	GLM 4.6	$2.17	$2.4
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	GLM 4.6	$9.13	$10.4

Cheaper input Mistral Medium 3.1 $0.43 vs $0.4 / 1M

Mistral Medium 3.1 is $0.03 cheaper per 1M input tokens (7% lower; 1.07x difference).

Cheaper output GLM 4.6 $1.74 vs $2 / 1M

GLM 4.6 is $0.26 cheaper per 1M output tokens (13% lower; 1.15x difference).

Larger context GLM 4.6 202.75K vs 131.07K

GLM 4.6 has 71.68K more context (1.55x larger).

Sample workload GLM 4.6 $1.3 vs $1.4

GLM 4.6 is $0.1 cheaper on the standard workload (7.1% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

GLM 4.6 Calculating… Estimated API cost

Mistral Medium 3.1 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

Mistral Medium 3.1 has the lower input price; GLM 4.6 has the lower output price; GLM 4.6 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, GLM 4.6 is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $1.3 for GLM 4.6 and $1.4 for Mistral Medium 3.1.

Best Fit

Choose GLM 4.6 when you care most about lower output-token price, and larger context window.

Choose Mistral Medium 3.1 when you care most about lower input-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GLM 4.6 is estimated at $1.3 vs $1.4 for Mistral Medium 3.1, saving $0.1 (7.1% lower).
GLM 4.6 is $0.1 cheaper on the standard workload (7.1% lower).
Mistral Medium 3.1 is $0.03 cheaper per 1M input tokens (7% lower; 1.07x difference).
GLM 4.6 is $0.26 cheaper per 1M output tokens (13% lower; 1.15x difference).
GLM 4.6 has 71.68K more context (1.55x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	GLM 4.6 (Z.ai)	Mistral Medium 3.1 (Mistral)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.43	$0.4
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$1.74	$2
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$1.3	$1.4
Context Window	202.75K	131.07K
Release Date	2025-09-30	2025-08-13
Popularity	#85	#147

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	GLM 4.6	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GLM 4.6 is estimated at $1.3 vs $1.4 for Mistral Medium 3.1, saving $0.1 (7.1% lower).
High-volume input processing	Mistral Medium 3.1	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	GLM 4.6	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	GLM 4.6	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 4.6 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
GLM 4 32B can replace GLM 4.6 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.15.
GLM 4.7 Flash can replace GLM 4.6 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.26.
GLM 4.5 Air can replace GLM 4.6 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.54.

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.
DeepSeek V4 Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.2 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Pro offers 1.05M context with $0.87 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

Hy3 preview · Tencent · #1
DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #2
Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4

Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

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Z.ai catalog

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Mistral catalog

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