Skip to content
ModelCap

Head-to-head comparison

Gemma 4 31B vs GLM 5.3 Flash

Gemma 4 31B (Google) and GLM 5.3 Flash (Z.ai) compared on the ModelCap Index, API price, context window, provider availability, weight access and every public benchmark board they share. Figures are the same ones shown on the live rankings; nothing here is a hidden score.

Snapshot as of 9 September 2026

As of 9 September 2026, GLM 5.3 Flash holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#11 vs #27); GLM 5.3 Flash is 1.4× cheaper per output token ($0.25/1M vs $0.34/1M); and GLM 5.3 Flash offers the longer context window (1.3M vs 262K tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose Gemma 4 31B if…

  • ModelCap publishes no field on which Gemma 4 31B leads GLM 5.3 Flash for this pair.

Choose GLM 5.3 Flash if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #11 against #27 (78.7 vs 69.7 points).
  • API cost matters — $0.25/1M output tokens against $0.34/1M, about 1.4× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.075/1M against $0.09/1M.
  • you need the longer context window — 1.3M tokens against 262K.
  • you want provider choice — 26 listed API providers against 13.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1534 against 1499.
  • AA Terminal-Bench 2.1 is your yardstick — 84.3% against 29.2%.
  • AA Humanity's Last Exam is your yardstick — 39.9% against 11.8%.
  • you want the more recently listed model — GLM 5.3 Flash was listed 26 August 2026, Gemma 4 31B 2 April 2026.

Gemma 4 31B vs GLM 5.3 Flash: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Gemma 4 31B and GLM 5.3 Flash
FieldGemma 4 31BGoogleGLM 5.3 FlashZ.ai
ModelCap Index position#27#11
Index score69.778.7
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.09$0.075
Output price / 1M tokens$0.34$0.25
Context window262K tokens1.3M tokens
Max output tokens16K131K
API providers listed1326
Weight accessOpen weightsOpen weights
Input modalitiesImage, Text, VideoText, Image, Video
First listed2 April 202626 August 2026
PublisherGoogleZ.ai

Evidence: 3 public benchmark observations across 3 boards · 4 public benchmark observations across 4 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Gemma 4 31B vs GLM 5.3 Flash

Public benchmark boards where Gemma 4 31B or GLM 5.3 Flash has a published result
BoardGemma 4 31BGLM 5.3 FlashLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14991484–151415341517–1551GLM 5.3 Flash
LMArena AgentLMArena—2.0%1.1%–2.9%Only one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis—41.9intelligence-index:v4.3:reasoning-unspecifiedOnly one result
AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Artificial Analysis29.2%terminal-bench:2.1:terminus-2:e2b:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="Gemma 4 31B (Non-reasoning)":reasoning=false84.3%terminal-bench:2.1:terminus-2:e2b:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="GLM-5.3-Flash":reasoning=trueGLM 5.3 Flash
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis65.5%tau2:telecom:dual-control:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="Gemma 4 31B (Non-reasoning)":reasoning=false—Only one result
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis11.8%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="Gemma 4 31B (Non-reasoning)":reasoning=false39.9%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="GLM-5.3-Flash":reasoning=trueGLM 5.3 Flash
WildClawBench OpenClawWildClawBench37.6—Only one result

Scores are the sources' own published figures for each model's best evaluated configuration; ModelCap never re-runs a benchmark.

Want a different pairing? Open the interactive comparison tool to swap either model for any current ranked language model.

Gemma 4 31B vs GLM 5.3 Flash: common questions

Is Gemma 4 31B better than GLM 5.3 Flash?

GLM 5.3 Flash ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 9 September 2026: #11 against #27. That is a capability ranking built from public benchmark evidence with published uncertainty; whether it is "better" for you also depends on price, context and where you can run it. Their published uncertainty intervals overlap, so the rank difference alone does not establish a reliable capability advantage for your workload.

Is Gemma 4 31B cheaper than GLM 5.3 Flash?

GLM 5.3 Flash is cheaper on output tokens: $0.25/1M against $0.34/1M. Input tokens are $0.09/1M for Gemma 4 31B and $0.075/1M for GLM 5.3 Flash. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens. For 1,000 requests with 2,000 input and 500 output tokens each (2M input + 0.5M output), the listed-rate estimate is $0.35 for Gemma 4 31B versus $0.28 for GLM 5.3 Flash. GLM 5.3 Flash costs 21.4% less in this scenario. This excludes caching, batch discounts, prompt-length tiers, tool charges and retries; verify the selected endpoint before budgeting.

Which has the bigger context window, Gemma 4 31B or GLM 5.3 Flash?

GLM 5.3 Flash has the larger context window: 1.3M tokens against 262K.

Which is better for coding, Gemma 4 31B or GLM 5.3 Flash?

Arena coding: Gemma 4 31B 1499, GLM 5.3 Flash 1534 — GLM 5.3 Flash leads. AA Terminal-Bench 2.1: Gemma 4 31B 29.2%, GLM 5.3 Flash 84.3% — GLM 5.3 Flash leads.

Are Gemma 4 31B and GLM 5.3 Flash open-weight models?

Gemma 4 31B: Open weights. GLM 5.3 Flash: Open weights. Open weights mean the checkpoint can be downloaded and self-hosted under its licence; API-only models are available solely through hosted endpoints.

Where can I run Gemma 4 31B and GLM 5.3 Flash?

ModelCap currently lists 13 API providers for Gemma 4 31B and 26 for GLM 5.3 Flash, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Gemma 4 31B vs GLM 5.3 Flash comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 9 September 2026; the page re-renders within a minute of each data refresh, and the ModelCap Index positions are the same ones shown on the live rankings.

Explore further