Z.ai: GLM-4.6

byZ.ai

GLM-4.6 is a reasoning model from Z.ai released on Apr 1, 2024. It reads text and writes text, with a 205K token context window and up to 131K tokens per reply.

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It costs $0.60 per million input tokens and $2.20 per million output tokens. Cached input bills at $0.11, 82% less than fresh input.

It supports tool calling, structured JSON output and prompt caching, and its weights are open, so you can host it yourself.

24 providers serve it, including Hugging Face, Novita AI and Vercel AI Gateway. The lowest input price is $0.274 per million tokens at AIHubMix.

Modalities
In / out price
$0.60 / $2.20 per 1M
Context
205K
Max output
131K
Released
Apr 1, 2024
Knowledge cutoff
Apr 2025
  • Tool calling
  • Structured output
  • Reasoning
  • Prompt caching
  • Open weights
  • Free to use

GLM-4.6 pricing

USD, as listed on Oct 15, 2026. Most bills are input heavy, so the cached input rate matters as much as the headline price.

Input$0.60 / 1M tokens
Output$2.20 / 1M tokens
Cached input (read)$0.11 / 1M tokens
Cache write$0 / 1M tokens

GLM-4.6 providers

24 providers serve it, including Hugging Face, Novita AI and Vercel AI Gateway. The lowest input price is $0.274 per million tokens at AIHubMix. Each host sets its own price and limits, so the cheapest one is not always the one with the longest context.

ProviderInput /MOutput /MCache read /MContextMax output
Zhipu AI First party$0.60$2.20$0.11205K131K
Hugging Face$0.55$2.20–205K131K
Novita AI$0.55$2.20$0.11205K131K
Vercel AI Gateway$0.60$2.20$0.11200K96K
AIHubMix$0.274$1.10$0.0548205K131K
302.AI$0.286$1.14–205K131K
ZenMux$0.2911$1.16$0.0582200K128K
Venice AI$0.43$1.75$0.08198K16K
Helicone$0.45$1.50–205K131K
Kilo Gateway$0.50$2$0.10203K131K
NanoGPT$0.50$2$0.10200K66K
DevPass (LLM Gateway)$0.55$2.20$0.11205K131K

Showing 12 of 24 providers: the lab first, then the major clouds, then the cheapest resellers.

What GLM-4.6 costs per month

Pick a workload close to yours or type your own volumes.

GLM-4.6 per month
$46.05
Without caching
$68.10
Per request
$0.0015

Supported request parameters

What you can set when you call GLM-4.6 through an OpenAI compatible API.

  • Toolstools
  • Structured outputsstructured_outputs
  • Reasoningreasoning
  • Temperaturetemperature

Alternatives to GLM-4.6

Models that take the same inputs and call tools, closest in price, cheaper ones first.

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  • Index 25.2

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    by qwenJun 2, 20261M context$0.40/M input tokens$1.60/M output tokens24 providers

  • Reads text, images and video. Tool calling, structured output, reasoning. Served by 6 providers.

    by bytedance-seedJun 23, 2026$0.50/M input tokens$2.50/M output tokens6 providers

  • Reads text and images. Tool calling, reasoning.

    by bytedanceJun 23, 2026$0.50/M input tokens$2.50/M output tokens

  • Reads text. Tool calling, structured output, reasoning. Served by 20 providers.

    by nvidiaJun 4, 2026$0.50/M input tokens$2.50/M output tokens20 providers

More from Z.ai

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  • Reads text. Tool calling, reasoning.

    by z-aiSep 23, 2026$2.80/M input tokens$8.80/M output tokens

  • Reads text and images. Tool calling, reasoning.

    by z-aiSep 19, 2026$0.15/M input tokens$0.50/M output tokens

  • Reads text, images and video. Tool calling, reasoning.

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All Z.ai models

GLM-4.6 questions

How much does the GLM-4.6 API cost?

$0.60 per million input tokens and $2.20 per million output tokens, with cached input at $0.11. The estimator on this page turns that into a monthly bill for your own workload.

What is the context window of GLM-4.6?

204,800 tokens of input, and it can write up to 131,072 tokens in one reply. As a rough guide, a million tokens is around 750,000 English words.

Which providers serve GLM-4.6?

24 providers serve it, including Hugging Face, Novita AI and Vercel AI Gateway. The lowest input price is $0.274 per million tokens at AIHubMix. Prices differ by host, so the Providers table on this page lists each one with its input and output price.

Does GLM-4.6 support tool calling?

Yes. It accepts tool definitions and can return JSON that matches a schema, which is what an agent needs to call your APIs.

Is GLM-4.6 open source?

Its weights are published, so you can run it on your own hardware or a cloud of your choice. Read the license before commercial use.

When was GLM-4.6 released?

Apr 1, 2024, with training data up to Apr 2025.

Catalog data from models.dev (MIT licensed), refreshed daily, last on Oct 15, 2026. The summary is written from these facts.

Building on GLM-4.6?

I test your real tasks on it and the two closest alternatives, then ship the agent on whichever wins on cost and accuracy.

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