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Head-to-head comparison

Qwen3 235B A22B vs GLM 4.5 Air

Qwen3 235B A22B (Qwen) and GLM 4.5 Air (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, Qwen3 235B A22B holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#64 vs #68); and GLM 4.5 Air is 2.1× cheaper per output token ($0.85/1M vs $1.82/1M).

Which should you choose?

Choose Qwen3 235B A22B if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #64 against #68 (40.0 vs 36.9 points).
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1445 against 1426.

Choose GLM 4.5 Air if…

  • API cost matters — $0.85/1M output tokens against $1.82/1M, about 2.1× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.13/1M against $0.455/1M.
  • you want provider choice — 3 listed API providers against 1.
  • you want the more recently listed model — GLM 4.5 Air was listed 25 July 2025, Qwen3 235B A22B 28 April 2025.

Qwen3 235B A22B vs GLM 4.5 Air: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Qwen3 235B A22B and GLM 4.5 Air
FieldQwen3 235B A22BQwenGLM 4.5 AirZ.ai
ModelCap Index position#64#68
Index score40.036.9
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.455$0.13
Output price / 1M tokens$1.82$0.85
Context window131K tokens131K tokens
Max output tokens8K98K
API providers listed13
Weight accessOpen weightsOpen weights
Input modalitiesTextText
First listed28 April 202525 July 2025
PublisherQwenZ.ai

Evidence: 2 public benchmark observations across 2 boards · 3 public benchmark observations across 3 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Qwen3 235B A22B vs GLM 4.5 Air

Public benchmark boards where Qwen3 235B A22B or GLM 4.5 Air has a published result
BoardQwen3 235B A22BGLM 4.5 AirLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14451438–1453No thinking14261419–1434Qwen3 235B A22B
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis—16.7intelligence-indexOnly 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.

Qwen3 235B A22B vs GLM 4.5 Air: common questions

Is Qwen3 235B A22B better than GLM 4.5 Air?

Qwen3 235B A22B ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 18 August 2026: #64 against #68. 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 Qwen3 235B A22B cheaper than GLM 4.5 Air?

GLM 4.5 Air is cheaper on output tokens: $0.85/1M against $1.82/1M. Input tokens are $0.455/1M for Qwen3 235B A22B and $0.13/1M for GLM 4.5 Air. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, Qwen3 235B A22B or GLM 4.5 Air?

Both publish a 131K-token context window.

Which is better for coding, Qwen3 235B A22B or GLM 4.5 Air?

Arena coding: Qwen3 235B A22B 1445, GLM 4.5 Air 1426 — Qwen3 235B A22B leads.

Are Qwen3 235B A22B and GLM 4.5 Air open-weight models?

Qwen3 235B A22B: Open weights. GLM 4.5 Air: 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 Qwen3 235B A22B and GLM 4.5 Air?

ModelCap currently lists 1 API provider for Qwen3 235B A22B and 3 for GLM 4.5 Air, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Qwen3 235B A22B vs GLM 4.5 Air 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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