GLM-5 & GLM-4.6 API: Complete Guide 2026

Zhipu AI (智谱AI) is one of China's leading AI research companies, and their GLM (General Language Model) family has become increasingly popular among developers worldwide. With the release of GLM-5 and the remarkably affordable GLM-4.6 Flash (available during evaluation), Zhipu AI offers compelling alternatives to both DeepSeek and GPT models.

This guide covers the entire GLM API family — including GLM-5, GLM-4.6, GLM-4.6 Flash, and GLM 5 (vision) — with pricing, code examples, and best practices.

The GLM Model Family

Model	Status	Context	Best For
GLM-5	Flagship	128K	Best overall performance, reasoning, coding
GLM-4.6	Previous gen	128K	Solid quality, slightly lower cost
GLM-4.6 Flash	Prepaid credits — pay only for what you use	128K	Testing, prototyping, high-volume apps
GLM 5 (Vision)	Vision model	128K	Image understanding & analysis
ERNIE 4.0 (Baidu)	$0.55	$0.55	Chinese NLP, search integration

All GLM models are available through the AIWave API — no Chinese phone number required.

GLM API Pricing

Model	Input (per 1M tokens)	Output (per 1M tokens)	Context
GLM-5	$0.14	$0.14	128K
GLM-4.6	$0.07	$0.07	128K
GLM-4.6 Flash	FREE 🆓	FREE	128K
GLM 5 (Vision)	$0.07	$0.07	128K
DeepSeek V4 Pro (reference)	$0.14	$0.28	128K
GPT-4o (reference)	$2.50	$10.00	128K
ERNIE 4.0 (Baidu)	$0.55	$0.55	Chinese NLP, search integration

Getting Started with GLM API

Step 1: Get Access

You can access all GLM models through AIWave's OpenAI-compatible API. Sign up for $0.20 starter credit — no Chinese phone number needed.

→ Get Your API Key at AIWave

Step 2: Install & Configure

pip install openai

Step 3: Python Examples

Using GLM-5 (Flagship):

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://aiwave.live/v1",
    api_key="***"
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="glm-5",
    messages=[
        {"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant."},
        {"role": "user", "content": "Explain the advantages of GLM-5 over GLM-4.6."}
    ]
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)

Using GLM-4.6 Flash (Free):

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="glm-5-flash",  # Free to use!
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello, how can I use the GLM API?"}]
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)

Step 4: GLM 5 Vision Model

import base64

with open("chart.png", "rb") as f:
    image_b64 = base64.b64encode(f.read()).decode()

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="glm-5",  # Vision model
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": [
                {"type": "text", "text": "Analyze this chart and explain the trends."},
                {"type": "image_url", "image_url": f"data:image/png;base64,{image_b64}"}
            ]
        }
    ]
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)

Step 5: Function Calling with GLM-5

tools = [{
    "type": "function",
    "function": {
        "name": "search_database",
        "description": "Search product database",
        "parameters": {
            "type": "object",
            "properties": {
                "query": {"type": "string"},
                "limit": {"type": "integer"}
            },
            "required": ["query"]
        }
    }
}]

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="glm-5",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Find products under $50"}],
    tools=tools
)
print(response.choices[0].message.tool_calls)

GLM vs DeepSeek vs GPT-4o

Feature	GLM-5	DeepSeek V4 Pro	GPT-4o
Input Price (1M)	$0.14	$0.14	$2.50
Output Price (1M)	$0.14 🏆	$0.28	$10.00
Context Window	128K	128K	128K
Coding	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Chinese Language	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🏆	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐
Prepaid credits — pay only for what you use Available	✅ GLM-4.6 Flash 🏆	❌	❌
Vision (Image Input)	✅ GLM 5	❌	✅
ERNIE 4.0 (Baidu)	$0.55	$0.55	Chinese NLP, search integration

Best Practices

• Start with GLM-4.6 Flash during evaluation testing and prototyping — it's ultra-low cost with identical API interface to GLM-5
• Use GLM-5 for production Chinese applications — native Chinese understanding is superior to most competitors
• Leverage GLM 5 for image analysis tasks like chart interpretation, document scanning, and visual QA
• Combine with DeepSeek V4 Pro for coding tasks — switch models by changing one parameter
• All models share one API key — no need for multiple accounts or providers

Frequently Asked Questions

Is GLM-4.6 Flash really ultra-low cost?

Yes. GLM-4.6 Flash is ultra-low cost to use through the AIWave API — no credit card required, no usage limits for standard applications.

What is the difference between GLM-5 and GLM-4.6?

GLM-5 is the latest flagship with improved reasoning, coding, and overall performance. GLM-4.6 is the previous generation, still very capable but slightly less powerful. GLM-4.6 Flash is a distilled variant optimized for speed and cost.

Does GLM support function calling?

Yes. GLM-5 supports function calling (tools), JSON mode, and streaming, making it suitable for production applications.

Can I use GLM 5 for image analysis?

Yes. GLM 5 accepts image inputs and can analyze charts, documents, photographs, and more. It's available through the same API key.