API cost decision in 10 seconds

GLM 4.6V vs Claude Opus 4.5

Pick GLM 4.6V for lower cost; pick Claude Opus 4.5 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 GLM 4.6V for lower cost; pick Claude Opus 4.5 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GLM 4.6V is estimated at $0.75 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.5, saving $16.75 (95.7% lower).

Cost-first pickGLM 4.6V
Context-first pickClaude Opus 4.5
Sample savings$16.7595.7%
10x traffic gap$167.5

Claude Opus 4.5 has more context, but GLM 4.6V saves $16.75 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $167.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

GLM 4.6V stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickGLM 4.6VClaude Opus 4.5
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputGLM 4.6V$1.95$37.5
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputGLM 4.6V$1.2$30
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputGLM 4.6V$4.8$130
Cheaper input GLM 4.6V $0.3 vs $5 / 1M

GLM 4.6V is $4.7 cheaper per 1M input tokens (94% lower; 16.7x difference).

Cheaper output GLM 4.6V $0.9 vs $25 / 1M

GLM 4.6V is $24.1 cheaper per 1M output tokens (96.4% lower; 27.8x difference).

Larger context Claude Opus 4.5 131.07K vs 200K

Claude Opus 4.5 has 68.93K more context (1.53x larger).

Sample workload GLM 4.6V $0.75 vs $17.5

GLM 4.6V is $16.75 cheaper on the standard workload (95.7% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
GLM 4.6V Calculating… Estimated API cost
Claude Opus 4.5 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

GLM 4.6V has the lower input price; GLM 4.6V has the lower output price; Claude Opus 4.5 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, GLM 4.6V is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.75 for GLM 4.6V and $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.5.

Best Fit

Choose GLM 4.6V when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Choose Claude Opus 4.5 when you care most about larger context window.

Decision Notes
  • On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GLM 4.6V is estimated at $0.75 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.5, saving $16.75 (95.7% lower).
  • GLM 4.6V is $16.75 cheaper on the standard workload (95.7% lower).
  • GLM 4.6V is $4.7 cheaper per 1M input tokens (94% lower; 16.7x difference).
  • GLM 4.6V is $24.1 cheaper per 1M output tokens (96.4% lower; 27.8x difference).
  • Claude Opus 4.5 has 68.93K more context (1.53x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureGLM 4.6V
(Z.ai)		Claude Opus 4.5
(Anthropic)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M		$0.3$5
Completion Price
per 1M tokens		$0.9$25
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output		$0.75$17.5
Context Window131.07K200K
Release Date

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionGLM 4.6VOn the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GLM 4.6V is estimated at $0.75 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.5, saving $16.75 (95.7% lower).
High-volume input processingGLM 4.6VLower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsGLM 4.6VLower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workClaude Opus 4.5A 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 4.6V when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • GLM 4 32B can replace GLM 4.6V when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.15.
  • GLM 4.7 Flash can replace GLM 4.6V when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.26.
  • GLM 4.5 Air can replace GLM 4.6V when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.55.
Larger context near this budget
  • Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
  • Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $5 sample workload cost.
  • Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
  • GPT-5.5 offers 1.05M context with $20 sample workload cost.

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

Open cheapest models

Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

Open largest context models

Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

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Z.ai catalog

Review all tracked Z.ai models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

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Anthropic catalog

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

Open Anthropic models
GLM 4.6V

GLM-4.6V is a large multimodal model designed for high-fidelity visual understanding and long-context reasoning across images, documents, and mixed media. It supports up to 128K tokens, processes complex page layouts...

Claude Opus 4.5

Claude Opus 4.5 is Anthropic’s frontier reasoning model optimized for complex software engineering, agentic workflows, and long-horizon computer use. It offers strong multimodal capabilities, competitive performance across real-world coding and...