Claude Fable 5.1 (Max, Default Fallback) vs GLM-5.3 (Low)
Which is better for the money: Claude Fable 5.1 (Max, Default Fallback) by Anthropic or GLM-5.3 (Low) by Z AI? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-10-26.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
Claude Fable 5.1 (Max, Default Fallback) scores 19.1 points higher (53.4 vs 34.3) but costs 13× as much to run the benchmark ($13129 vs $1013; flagship vs premium cost classes). They are not alternatives at one budget: pick Claude Fable 5.1 (Max, Default Fallback) when you need intelligence above 34.3, and GLM-5.3 (Low) when 34.3 is enough.
| Metric | Claude Fable 5.1 (Max, Default Fallback) | GLM-5.3 (Low) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 53.4 | 34.3 | −35.8% GLM-5.3 (Low) is 35.8% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $13,128.86 | $1,012.50 | −92.3% GLM-5.3 (Low) is 92.3% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 224.26s | 29.49s | −86.9% GLM-5.3 (Low) is 86.9% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $10.0 / $50.0 | $1.40 / $4.40 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text |
GLM-5.3 (Low) vs Claude Fable 5.1 (Max, Default Fallback): 35.8% less intelligence, 92.3% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 86.9% faster end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- Claude Fable 5.1 (Max, Default Fallback) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, Claude Opus 5.5 (Max, Default Fallback) scores 57.60 for $8708.
- GLM-5.3 (Low) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) scores 51.00 for $662.
Claude Fable 5.1 (Max, Default Fallback)GLM-5.3 (Low)Today's Pareto frontierOpen-weights frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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Accept: text/markdown or ?format=md returns this page as Markdown. JSON: /api/v1/compare/claude-fable-5-1/glm-5-3-low · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/claude-fable-5-1/glm-5-3-low?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill