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 2026-08-31.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
GLM-5.1 (Reasoning) scores 19.7 points higher (41.0 vs 21.3) but costs 2.7× as much to run the benchmark ($686 vs $250; premium vs mid-range cost classes). Pick GLM-5.1 (Reasoning) when the extra intelligence is worth the premium, otherwise Qwen3 Coder Next.
| Metric | GLM-5.1 (Reasoning) | Qwen3 Coder Next | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 41.0 | 21.3 | −48.0% Qwen3 Coder Next is 48.0% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $685.79 | $250.18 | −63.5% Qwen3 Coder Next is 63.5% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 72.37s | 4.80s | −93.4% Qwen3 Coder Next is 93.4% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $1.38 / $4.40 | $0.35 / $1.20 | |
| Input modalities | Not reported | Not reported |
Qwen3 Coder Next vs GLM-5.1 (Reasoning): 48.0% less intelligence, 63.5% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 93.4% 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, GLM-5.3-Flash scores 57.50 for $138.
- Qwen3 Coder Next is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GLM-5.3-Flash scores 57.50 for $138.
GLM-5.1 (Reasoning)Qwen3 Coder NextToday's Pareto frontierOpen-weights frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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