API cost decision in 10 seconds

GLM 5 vs Claude 3.5 Haiku

Pick GLM 5 when budget and context both matter.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T15:08:08Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-26T19:08:13Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick GLM 5 when budget and context both matter.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GLM 5 is estimated at $1.56 vs $2.8 for Claude 3.5 Haiku, saving $1.24 (44.3% lower).

Cost-first pickGLM 5

Context-first pickGLM 5

Sample savings$1.2444.3%

10x traffic gap$12.4

GLM 5 is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $12.4. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

GLM 5 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	GLM 5	Claude 3.5 Haiku
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	GLM 5	$3.96	$6
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	GLM 5	$2.52	$4.8
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	GLM 5	$10.2	$20.8

Cheaper input GLM 5 $0.6 vs $0.8 / 1M

GLM 5 is $0.2 cheaper per 1M input tokens (25% lower; 1.33x difference).

Cheaper output GLM 5 $1.92 vs $4 / 1M

GLM 5 is $2.08 cheaper per 1M output tokens (52% lower; 2.08x difference).

Larger context GLM 5 202.75K vs 200K

GLM 5 has 2.75K more context (1.01x larger).

Sample workload GLM 5 $1.56 vs $2.8

GLM 5 is $1.24 cheaper on the standard workload (44.3% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

GLM 5 Calculating… Estimated API cost

Claude 3.5 Haiku 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 5 has the lower input price; GLM 5 has the lower output price; GLM 5 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, GLM 5 is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $1.56 for GLM 5 and $2.8 for Claude 3.5 Haiku.

Best Fit

Choose GLM 5 when you care most about lower input-token price, lower output-token price, and larger context window.

Choose Claude 3.5 Haiku when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GLM 5 is estimated at $1.56 vs $2.8 for Claude 3.5 Haiku, saving $1.24 (44.3% lower).
GLM 5 is $1.24 cheaper on the standard workload (44.3% lower).
GLM 5 is $0.2 cheaper per 1M input tokens (25% lower; 1.33x difference).
GLM 5 is $2.08 cheaper per 1M output tokens (52% lower; 2.08x difference).
GLM 5 has 2.75K more context (1.01x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	GLM 5 (Z.ai)	Claude 3.5 Haiku (Anthropic)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.6	$0.8
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$1.92	$4
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$1.56	$2.8
Context Window	202.75K	200K
Release Date	2026-02-11	2024-11-04
Popularity	#38	#104

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	GLM 5	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GLM 5 is estimated at $1.56 vs $2.8 for Claude 3.5 Haiku, saving $1.24 (44.3% lower).
High-volume input processing	GLM 5	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	GLM 5	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	GLM 5	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 5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
GLM 4 32B can replace GLM 5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.15.
GLM 4.7 Flash can replace GLM 5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.26.
GLM 4.5 Air can replace GLM 5 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.
Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 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.

Popular competitors

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 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.

Open provider hubs

Z.ai catalog

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

Open Z.ai models

Anthropic catalog

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

Open Anthropic models

GLM 5

GLM-5 is Z.ai’s flagship open-source foundation model engineered for complex systems design and long-horizon agent workflows. Built for expert developers, it delivers production-grade performance on large-scale programming tasks, rivaling leading...

Claude 3.5 Haiku

Claude 3.5 Haiku features offers enhanced capabilities in speed, coding accuracy, and tool use. Engineered to excel in real-time applications, it delivers quick response times that are essential for dynamic...