API cost decision in 10 seconds

GLM 5V Turbo vs GLM 4 32B

Pick GLM 4 32B for lower cost; pick GLM 5V Turbo only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T15:08:08Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-26T18:08:02Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick GLM 4 32B for lower cost; pick GLM 5V Turbo only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GLM 4 32B is estimated at $0.15 vs $3.2 for GLM 5V Turbo, saving $3.05 (95.3% lower).

Cost-first pickGLM 4 32B

Context-first pickGLM 5V Turbo

Sample savings$3.0595.3%

10x traffic gap$30.5

GLM 5V Turbo has more context, but GLM 4 32B saves $3.05 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $30.5. 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 32B stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	GLM 5V Turbo	GLM 4 32B
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	GLM 4 32B	$8	$0.55
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	GLM 4 32B	$5.2	$0.2
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	GLM 4 32B	$21.2	$0.6

Cheaper input GLM 4 32B $1.2 vs $0.1 / 1M

GLM 4 32B is $1.1 cheaper per 1M input tokens (91.7% lower; 12x difference).

Cheaper output GLM 4 32B $4 vs $0.1 / 1M

GLM 4 32B is $3.9 cheaper per 1M output tokens (97.5% lower; 40x difference).

Larger context GLM 5V Turbo 202.75K vs 128K

GLM 5V Turbo has 74.75K more context (1.58x larger).

Sample workload GLM 4 32B $3.2 vs $0.15

GLM 4 32B is $3.05 cheaper on the standard workload (95.3% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

GLM 5V Turbo Calculating… Estimated API cost

GLM 4 32B 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 32B has the lower input price; GLM 4 32B has the lower output price; GLM 5V Turbo offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, GLM 4 32B is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $3.2 for GLM 5V Turbo and $0.15 for GLM 4 32B.

Best Fit

Choose GLM 5V Turbo when you care most about larger context window.

Choose GLM 4 32B when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GLM 4 32B is estimated at $0.15 vs $3.2 for GLM 5V Turbo, saving $3.05 (95.3% lower).
GLM 4 32B is $3.05 cheaper on the standard workload (95.3% lower).
GLM 4 32B is $1.1 cheaper per 1M input tokens (91.7% lower; 12x difference).
GLM 4 32B is $3.9 cheaper per 1M output tokens (97.5% lower; 40x difference).
GLM 5V Turbo has 74.75K more context (1.58x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	GLM 5V Turbo (Z.ai)	GLM 4 32B (Z.ai)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$1.2	$0.1
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$4	$0.1
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$3.2	$0.15
Context Window	202.75K	128K
Release Date	2026-04-01	2025-07-24
Popularity	#136	#147

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	GLM 4 32B	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, GLM 4 32B is estimated at $0.15 vs $3.2 for GLM 5V Turbo, saving $3.05 (95.3% lower).
High-volume input processing	GLM 4 32B	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	GLM 4 32B	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	GLM 5V Turbo	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 5V Turbo when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
GLM 4.7 Flash can replace GLM 5V Turbo when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.26.
GLM 4.5 Air can replace GLM 5V Turbo when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.55.
GLM 4.6V can replace GLM 5V Turbo when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.75.

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

GLM 5V Turbo

GLM-5V-Turbo is Z.ai’s first native multimodal agent foundation model, built for vision-based coding and agent-driven tasks. It natively handles image, video, and text inputs, excels at long-horizon planning, complex coding,...

GLM 4 32B

GLM 4 32B is a cost-effective foundation language model. It can efficiently perform complex tasks and has significantly enhanced capabilities in tool use, online search, and code-related intelligent tasks. It...