GLM-5.3-Flash vs Inkling Small
Which is better for the money: GLM-5.3-Flash by Z AI or Inkling Small by Thinking Machines? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-10-24.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
GLM-5.3-Flash scores 16.1 points higher (41.8 vs 25.7) but costs 1.3× as much to run the benchmark ($306 vs $241; both mid-range class). Pick GLM-5.3-Flash when the extra intelligence is worth the premium, otherwise Inkling Small.
| Metric | GLM-5.3-Flash | Inkling Small | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 41.8 | 25.7 | −38.5% Inkling Small is 38.5% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $305.52 | $240.85 | −21.2% Inkling Small is 21.2% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 39.33s | 12.67s | −67.8% Inkling Small is 67.8% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $0.15 / $0.50 | $0.30 / $1.20 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image, Speech |
Inkling Small vs GLM-5.3-Flash: 38.5% less intelligence, 21.2% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 67.8% 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, MiMo-V2.6-Pro scores 46.30 for $207.
- Inkling Small is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, MiMo-V2.6-Pro scores 46.30 for $207.
GLM-5.3-FlashInkling SmallToday's Pareto frontierOpen-weights frontierEvery other model
Matchup
Compare something else
Agents:
Accept: text/markdown or ?format=md returns this page as Markdown. JSON: /api/v1/compare/glm-5-3-flash/inkling-small · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/glm-5-3-flash/inkling-small?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill