GLM-5.3 vs Kimi K2.6
Price and specs side by side · USD per 1M tokens · verified 2026-10-23
// side by side
| metric | GLM-5.3 | Kimi K2.6 |
|---|
| input / 1M | $1.40 | $0.95 |
| output / 1M | $4.40 | $4.00 |
| blended (3:1) | $2.15 | $1.7125 |
| cache read / 1M | $0.26 | $0.16 |
| context | 1M | 262.1K |
| max output | 131.1K | 262.1K |
| input types | text | text · image · video |
| reasoning | yes | yes |
| tool calling | yes | yes |
| structured output | yes | yes |
| open weights | yes | yes |
| released | 2026-08-14 | 2026-04-20 |
| knowledge cutoff | n/a | 2025-01 |
| lab | Z.AI (Zhipu) | Moonshot AI |
// monthly cost scenarios
| workload | tokens in / out | GLM-5.3 | Kimi K2.6 |
|---|
| Chatbot | 10M / 2M | $22.80 | $17.50 |
| RAG app | 50M / 5M | $92.00 | $67.50 |
| Coding agent | 20M / 10M | $72.00 | $59.00 |
// verdict
- Kimi K2.6 is 20.3% cheaper than GLM-5.3 on a blended 3:1 input/output basis.
- GLM-5.3 has the larger context window (1M vs 262.1K tokens).
- Only Kimi K2.6 accepts image input.
- Chatbot (10M input / 2M output tokens per month): Kimi K2.6 costs $17.50 vs $22.80 for GLM-5.3, saving $5.30 per month.
- RAG app (50M input / 5M output tokens per month): Kimi K2.6 costs $67.50 vs $92.00 for GLM-5.3, saving $24.50 per month.
- Coding agent (20M input / 10M output tokens per month): Kimi K2.6 costs $59.00 vs $72.00 for GLM-5.3, saving $13.00 per month.
// GLM-5.3 or Kimi K2.6: which one to choose
- Choose Kimi K2.6 for cost-sensitive, high-volume workloads.
- Choose GLM-5.3 for long documents and large codebases (1M-token context).
- Choose Kimi K2.6 if you need image input.