GLM-5.1 (Reasoning) vs Qwen3 Coder Next
Which is better for the money: GLM-5.1 (Reasoning) by Z AI or Qwen3 Coder Next by Alibaba? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-10-25.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
GLM-5.1 (Reasoning) scores 16.9 points higher (26.1 vs 9.2) but costs 3.7× as much to run the benchmark ($1487 vs $405; premium vs mid-range cost classes). They are not alternatives at one budget: pick GLM-5.1 (Reasoning) when you need intelligence above 9.2, and Qwen3 Coder Next when 9.2 is enough.
| Metric | GLM-5.1 (Reasoning) | Qwen3 Coder Next | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 26.1 | 9.2 | −64.8% Qwen3 Coder Next is 64.8% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $1,486.78 | $405.10 | −72.8% Qwen3 Coder Next is 72.8% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 62.92s | 6.13s | −90.3% Qwen3 Coder Next is 90.3% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $1.28 / $4.07 | $0.31 / $1.00 | |
| Input modalities | Text | Text |
Qwen3 Coder Next vs GLM-5.1 (Reasoning): 64.8% less intelligence, 72.8% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 90.3% faster end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- GLM-5.1 (Reasoning) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Max) scores 51.80 for $1082.
- Qwen3 Coder Next is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Medium) scores 47.80 for $361.
GLM-5.1 (Reasoning)Qwen3 Coder NextToday's Pareto frontierOpen-weights frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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