Inkling is $0.4 cheaper per 1M input tokens (28.6% lower; 1.4x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
NewGLM Latest vs Inkling
Pick Inkling when budget is the priority.
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Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Inkling when budget is the priority.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Inkling is estimated at $3.02 vs $3.6 for GLM Latest, saving $0.58 (16% lower).
Cost-first pickInkling
Context-first pickBoth models
Sample savings$0.5816%
10x traffic gap$5.75
The reported context window is tied, so cost and provider fit carry more weight. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $5.75. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Inkling stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | GLM Latest | Inkling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Inkling | $9.2 | $7.03 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Inkling | $5.8 | $5.05 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Inkling | $23.4 | $21.25 |
Inkling is $0.35 cheaper per 1M output tokens (8% lower; 1.09x difference).
Both models report the same context window at 1.05M tokens.
Inkling is $0.58 cheaper on the standard workload (16% 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
Inkling has the lower input price; Inkling has the lower output price; both models report the same context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Inkling is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $3.6 for GLM Latest and $3.02 for Inkling.
Choose GLM Latest when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.
Choose Inkling when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Inkling is estimated at $3.02 vs $3.6 for GLM Latest, saving $0.58 (16% lower).
- Inkling is $0.58 cheaper on the standard workload (16% lower).
- Inkling is $0.4 cheaper per 1M input tokens (28.6% lower; 1.4x difference).
- Inkling is $0.35 cheaper per 1M output tokens (8% lower; 1.09x difference).
- Both models report the same context window at 1.05M tokens.
| Feature | NewGLM Latest (Z.ai) | Inkling (Thinking Machines) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $1.4 | $1 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $4.4 | $4.05 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $3.6 | $3.02 |
| Context Window | 1.05M | 1.05M |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Inkling | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Inkling is estimated at $3.02 vs $3.6 for GLM Latest, saving $0.58 (16% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Inkling | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Inkling | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Tie | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- GLM 5.2 (free) can replace GLM Latest when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- GLM 4.5 Air (free) can replace GLM Latest when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- GLM 4 32B can replace GLM Latest when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.15.
- GLM 4.7 Flash can replace GLM Latest when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.26.
- Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
- Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 offers 1.31M context with $0.17 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash Latest offers 1.31M context with $0.11 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 · DeepSeek · #1
- MiMo-V2.5 · Xiaomi · #2
- Hy3 · Tencent · #3
- Ox Alpha · stealth · #4
Cheaper alternatives
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Inkling is an open-weight multimodal mixture-of-experts model from Thinking Machines Lab, with 41B active parameters out of 975B total. It is designed for general-purpose reasoning, coding, agentic and tool-use systems,...