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© 2026 CompareLLM. Public benchmark data aggregated from Arena Elo, LiveBench, SWE-bench & OpenRouter.

Every score has a dated snapshot.

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  2. Comparisons
  3. GLM-5.2 vs Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking

Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 17, 2026noindex (thin pair)

GLM-5.2 vs Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking benchmark

In this head-to-head showdown, GLM-5.2 is more budget-friendly at $3.74/1M per 1M output tokens. Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.

Executive Comparison Verdict

Bottom Line: Both GLM-5.2 and Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking present distinct architectural strengths. Compare the verified benchmark matrix below to choose the model tailored to your specific application requirements.
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Verified Head-to-Head Advantage Breakdown

3 direct benchmark disciplines evaluated across capability, speed, and cost

GLM-5.2 (2)Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking (1)
GLM-5.2
2 of 3 Wins
✓Output price✓Context window
Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking
1 of 3 Wins
✓Input price
Zhipu
Leads 2 of 3 metrics
GLM-5.2

Zhipu flagship. Strong Chinese/English coding and agents.

GLM-5.2Elo 1,492$3.74/1M out
Alibaba
Leads 1 of 3 metrics
Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking

Auto-discovered from OpenRouter (qwen/qwen3-max-thinking). Preview until a second source matches.

$3.9/1M out

GLM-5 Series Lineage & Sibling Variants

2 models

Currently comparing GLM-5.2 vs Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking. Alternative family tiers available.

Active: GLM-5.2
GLM-5.3$1.8
Top Rival Showdowns for GLM-5.2
All Matchups
Compare vs:vs Claude Opus 4.5vs GPT-5vs Gemini 3 Provs Grok 4.6vs DeepSeek V4 Pro
Preference Leader

No shared data

Single model data

Throughput Leader

No shared data

No latency data

Value per Dollar LeaderGLM-5.2 Wins

GLM-5.2

$3.74 / 1M output

Capability Percentiles

Relative percentile scores computed across all active models in the benchmark catalog.

Multi-Dimensional Capability Radar

Leaders Matchup Capability Radar

Comparing top Western standard models with China's leading frontier rival across 6 skill dimensions. Tap any spoke or dot to inspect.

Tap any node to inspect
0–100 %ile
Head-to-Head Comparison

Overall Matchup Breakdown

Category wins across reasoning intelligence, generation speed, and token cost.

GLM-5.2 (9)vsQwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking (1)
GLM-5.2: 9W (90%)Overall: GLM-5.2Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking: 1W (10%)
← GLM-5.2Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking →
🏆GLM-5.2(5/5)

Intelligence & Reasoning

Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy

Benchmark
GLM-5.2vsQwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking
Preference Elo
1,492vs—
Coding Elo
1,504vs—
SWE-bench
69.3%vs—
LiveBench
65.2%vs—
GPQA Diamond
79.5%vs—
GLM-5.2: 5WQwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking: 0W
🏆GLM-5.2(2/2)

Speed & Latency

Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness

Benchmark
GLM-5.2vsQwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking
Output speed
84 tok/svs—
Time to first token
270 msvs—
GLM-5.2: 2WQwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking: 0W
🏆GLM-5.2(2/3)

Pricing & Capacity

Cost per million tokens and max context window length

Benchmark
GLM-5.2vsQwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking
Output price
$3.74/1Mvs$3.9/1M+$0.16/1M
Input price
$1.19/1Mvs$0.78/1M+$0.41/1M
Context window
1Mvs262k+786k
GLM-5.2: 2WQwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking: 1W

Side-by-Side Benchmark Matrix

Preference Elo
GLM-5.21,492
lmarena · Aug 17, 2026
Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking—
Coding Elo
GLM-5.21,504
lmarena · Aug 17, 2026
Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking—
LiveBench
GLM-5.265.2%
livebench · Aug 17, 2026
Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking—
SWE-bench
GLM-5.269.3%
swebench · Aug 17, 2026
Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking—
GPQA Diamond
GLM-5.279.5%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking—
Time to first token
GLM-5.2270 ms
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking—
Output speed
GLM-5.284 tok/s
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking—
Input price+$0.41/1M
GLM-5.2$1.19/1M
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking$0.78/1M
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
Output price+$0.16/1M
GLM-5.2$3.74/1M
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking$3.9/1M
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
Context window+786k
GLM-5.21M
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking262k
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
BenchmarkGLM-5.2Qwen: Qwen3 Max ThinkingAdvantage Delta
Preference Elo
1,492
lmarena · Aug 17, 2026
——
Coding Elo
1,504
lmarena · Aug 17, 2026
——
LiveBench
65.2%
livebench · Aug 17, 2026
——
SWE-bench
69.3%
swebench · Aug 17, 2026
——
GPQA Diamond
79.5%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
——
Time to first token
270 ms
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
——
Output speed
84 tok/s
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
——
Input price
$1.19/1M
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
$0.78/1M
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
+$0.41/1M
Output price
$3.74/1M
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
$3.9/1M
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
+$0.16/1M
Context window
1M
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
262k
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
+786k
Interactive Simulator (USD)

Workload Cost & Savings Calculator

Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).

Save up to 12% with Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking
Monthly Volume50M tokens/mo
Quick Presets:
Token Ratio (In vs Out)70% In / 30% Out
RAG / Search (10% out)Coding / Chat (50% out)
GLM-5.2$97.75 / mo
In: $41.65Out: $56.1
Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking$85.80 / mo
In: $27.3Out: $58.5
Estimated Cost Delta

Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking is estimated to save $11.95/month ($143/year).

Based on 50M tokens (30% gen)

Key Selection Recommendations

  • 1
    GLM-5.2:Pick GLM-5.2 when you are optimizing output cost.
  • 2
    GLM-5.2:Pick GLM-5.2 for million-token RAG or long-document jobs.

Recommended Workload Routing

Repo / coding agentsinsufficient data

Need SWE-bench on both sides.

High-volume chatGLM-5.2

Lower output list price ($3.74/1M).

Voice / low-latency UIinsufficient data

Need TTFT on both sides.

Long-document RAGGLM-5.2

Larger window (1M).

Screenshots / visionGLM-5.2

GLM-5.2 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.

Target WorkloadRecommended PickEvaluation Rationale
Repo / coding agentsinsufficient dataNeed SWE-bench on both sides.
High-volume chatGLM-5.2Lower output list price ($3.74/1M).
Voice / low-latency UIinsufficient dataNeed TTFT on both sides.
Long-document RAGGLM-5.2Larger window (1M).
Screenshots / visionGLM-5.2GLM-5.2 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.

Related Editorial Dispatches & Benchmark Notes

View all news
newsAug 16, 2026

GLM-5.2 vs GLM 5V Turbo Price and SWE-bench 2026

GLM-5.2 undercuts GLM 5V Turbo by 74.2% on input at $0.31/1M, with 1,492 Elo and 69.3% SWE-bench in dated 2026 snapshots.

launchJun 18, 2026

GLM-5.2 remains the prior Zhipu flagship for upgrade pairs

Strong Chinese/English coding. 5.3 is the new row; 5.2 stays so the delta is visible.

Community Sentiment

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CompareLLM AI Matrix

Verified Head-to-Head Telemetry

LIVE BENCHMARK
VS
Zhipu

GLM-5.2

Elo 1,492
SWE-bench69.3%
Speed (tok/s)84 tok/s
Input / 1M Tokens$1.19/1M
Output / 1M Tokens$3.74/1M
Alibaba

Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking

Elo n/a
SWE-bench—
Speed (tok/s)262k
Input / 1M Tokens$0.78/1M
Output / 1M Tokens$3.9/1M

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better overall, GLM-5.2 or Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking?
We do not have preference Elo for both models, so we do not declare an overall winner. Compare the metrics that exist.
Which is better at coding, GLM-5.2 or Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking?
SWE-bench is missing for at least one model, so we do not rank coding from a single number.
Which is cheaper to run in production?
GLM-5.2 output tokens are $3.74/1M versus $3.9/1M. Input prices and retry rates still move the real bill.
Which is faster, GLM-5.2 or Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking?
We do not have TTFT for both models.
Which has the larger context window?
GLM-5.2 accepts 1M tokens versus 262k.
Can I self-host either model?
GLM-5.2 is marked open-weights in our catalog. The other side is a closed API. Check the provider license before you ship weights.
Are these scores from CompareLLM’s own evals?
No. V1 aggregates public leaderboards (and optional first-party latency pings). Each cell names its source and date. Read /methodology.
What does preference Elo mean on this page?
Preference Elo is a crowd vote from LMArena / Arena. People see two hidden answers and pick the one they like more. The model that wins more often gets a higher Elo. That means people preferred it — not that it passed a school test. It is not SWE-bench, not accuracy, and not a number we invent. GLM-5.2 and Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking Elo cells are dated snapshots from the named source — we do not compute Arena ourselves.

Related news

  • news · Aug 16, 2026

    GLM-5.2 vs GLM 5V Turbo Price and SWE-bench 2026

  • launch · Jun 18, 2026

    GLM-5.2 remains the prior Zhipu flagship for upgrade pairs

Similar Head-to-Head Comparisons

All GLM-5.2 matchups →|All Qwen: Qwen3 Max Thinking matchups →
GLM-5.2 vs Z.ai: GLM 5V Turbo (next glm)Qwen QwQ 32B vs GLM-5.2Qwen 3 Max vs GLM-5.2GLM-5.3 vs GLM-5.2Qwen 2.5 Plus vs GLM-5.2Qwen3 235B vs GLM-5.2