GLM-5.3-Flash vs Inkling 2 Small
Which is better for the money: GLM-5.3-Flash by Z AI or Inkling 2 Small by Thinking Machines? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-11-06.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
Inkling 2 Small scores 2.8 points higher (30.6 vs 27.8) but costs 2.1× as much to run the benchmark ($792 vs $378; premium vs mid-range cost classes). Pick Inkling 2 Small when the extra intelligence is worth the premium, otherwise GLM-5.3-Flash.
| Metric | GLM-5.3-Flash | Inkling 2 Small | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 27.8 | 30.6 | +10.1% Inkling 2 Small is 10.1% more intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $377.94 | $791.81 | +109.5% Inkling 2 Small is 2.1× more expensive |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 43.30s | 20.92s | −51.7% Inkling 2 Small is 51.7% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $0.15 / $0.50 | $0.30 / $1.00 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
Inkling 2 Small vs GLM-5.3-Flash: 10.1% more intelligence, 109.5% more cost to run the AA benchmark, and 51.7% faster end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- GLM-5.3-Flash is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Terra (High) scores 42.40 for $267.
- Inkling 2 Small is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) scores 52.50 for $718.
GLM-5.3-FlashInkling 2 SmallToday's Pareto frontierOpen-weights frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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