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Head-to-head comparison

Mistral Medium 3.5 vs GLM 5.2

Mistral Medium 3.5 (Mistral AI) and GLM 5.2 (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 18 August 2026

As of 18 August 2026, GLM 5.2 holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#11 vs #38); GLM 5.2 is 2.4× cheaper per output token ($3.15/1M vs $7.50/1M); GLM 5.2 offers the longer context window (1M vs 262K tokens); and GLM 5.2 ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose Mistral Medium 3.5 if…

  • ModelCap publishes no field on which Mistral Medium 3.5 leads GLM 5.2 for this pair.

Choose GLM 5.2 if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #11 against #38 (73.6 vs 53.9 points).
  • API cost matters — $3.15/1M output tokens against $7.50/1M, about 2.4× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.50/1M against $1.50/1M.
  • you need the longer context window — 1M tokens against 262K.
  • you want to self-host: GLM 5.2 ships open weights while Mistral Medium 3.5 is api only.
  • you want provider choice — 27 listed API providers against 1.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1506 against 1479.
  • LMArena Agent is your yardstick — 6.7% against -7.0%.
  • Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 52.6 against 30.4.
  • you want the more recently listed model — GLM 5.2 was listed 16 June 2026, Mistral Medium 3.5 30 April 2026.

Mistral Medium 3.5 vs GLM 5.2: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Mistral Medium 3.5 and GLM 5.2
FieldMistral Medium 3.5Mistral AIGLM 5.2Z.ai
ModelCap Index position#38#11
Index score53.973.6
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$1.50$0.50
Output price / 1M tokens$7.50$3.15
Context window262K tokens1M tokens
Max output tokens—131K
API providers listed127
Weight accessAPI onlyOpen weights
Input modalitiesText, Image, FileText
First listed30 April 202616 June 2026
PublisherMistral AIZ.ai

Evidence: 4 public benchmark observations across 4 boards · 6 public benchmark observations across 6 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Mistral Medium 3.5 vs GLM 5.2

Public benchmark boards where Mistral Medium 3.5 or GLM 5.2 has a published result
BoardMistral Medium 3.5GLM 5.2Leads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14791468–149015061498–1514MaxGLM 5.2
LMArena AgentLMArena-7.0%-9.0%–-5.0%6.7%5.8%–7.6%MaxGLM 5.2
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation—22.8%Only one result
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis30.4intelligence-index52.6intelligence-indexGLM 5.2
WildClawBench OpenClawWildClawBench—54.2Only 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.

Mistral Medium 3.5 vs GLM 5.2: common questions

Is Mistral Medium 3.5 better than GLM 5.2?

GLM 5.2 ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 18 August 2026: #11 against #38. 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.

Is Mistral Medium 3.5 cheaper than GLM 5.2?

GLM 5.2 is cheaper on output tokens: $3.15/1M against $7.50/1M. Input tokens are $1.50/1M for Mistral Medium 3.5 and $0.50/1M for GLM 5.2. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, Mistral Medium 3.5 or GLM 5.2?

GLM 5.2 has the larger context window: 1M tokens against 262K.

Which is better for coding, Mistral Medium 3.5 or GLM 5.2?

Arena coding: Mistral Medium 3.5 1479, GLM 5.2 1506 — GLM 5.2 leads.

Are Mistral Medium 3.5 and GLM 5.2 open-weight models?

Mistral Medium 3.5: API only. GLM 5.2: 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 Mistral Medium 3.5 and GLM 5.2?

ModelCap currently lists 1 API provider for Mistral Medium 3.5 and 27 for GLM 5.2, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Mistral Medium 3.5 vs GLM 5.2 comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 18 August 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.

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