GLM-5.3-Flash vs GPT-5.6 Sol (Max)
Which is better for the money: GLM-5.3-Flash by Z AI or GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) 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
GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) scores 5.2 points higher (47.0 vs 41.8) but costs 11× as much to run the benchmark ($3465 vs $306; flagship vs mid-range cost classes). They are not alternatives at one budget: pick GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) when you need intelligence above 41.8, and GLM-5.3-Flash when 41.8 is enough.
| Metric | GLM-5.3-Flash | GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 41.8 | 47.0 | +12.4% GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) is 12.4% more intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $305.52 | $3,464.84 | +1034.1% GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) is 11× more expensive |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 38.89s | 92.19s | +137.1% GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) is 137.1% slower |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $0.15 / $0.50 | $4.00 / $20.0 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) vs GLM-5.3-Flash: 12.4% more intelligence, 1034.1% more cost to run the AA benchmark, and 137.1% slower end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- GLM-5.3-Flash is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, MiMo-V2.6-Pro scores 46.30 for $207.
- GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, Kimi K3.1 Pro scores 55.10 for $3117.
GLM-5.3-FlashGPT-5.6 Sol (Max)Today's Pareto frontierOpen-weights frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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