GLM-5.2 (Max) vs GPT-5.6 Terra (Medium)
Which is better for the money: GLM-5.2 (Max) by Z AI or GPT-5.6 Terra (Medium) by OpenAI? 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-5.2 (Max) scores 3.6 points higher (33.7 vs 30.1) but costs 4.7× as much to run the benchmark ($2097 vs $447; flagship vs mid-range cost classes). They are not alternatives at one budget: pick GLM-5.2 (Max) when you need intelligence above 30.1, and GPT-5.6 Terra (Medium) when 30.1 is enough.
| Metric | GLM-5.2 (Max) | GPT-5.6 Terra (Medium) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 33.7 | 30.1 | −10.7% GPT-5.6 Terra (Medium) is 10.7% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $2,097.29 | $446.53 | −78.7% GPT-5.6 Terra (Medium) is 78.7% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 28.14s | 6.06s | −78.5% GPT-5.6 Terra (Medium) is 78.5% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $1.40 / $4.40 | $2.00 / $12.0 | |
| Input modalities | Text | Text, Image |
GPT-5.6 Terra (Medium) vs GLM-5.2 (Max): 10.7% less intelligence, 78.7% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 78.5% faster end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- GLM-5.2 (Max) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Max) scores 51.80 for $1082.
- GPT-5.6 Terra (Medium) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Medium) scores 47.80 for $361.
GLM-5.2 (Max)GPT-5.6 Terra (Medium)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/glm-5-2/gpt-5-6-terra-medium · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/glm-5-2/gpt-5-6-terra-medium?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill