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Head-to-head comparison

Qwen3.8 27B vs GLM 5.2

Qwen3.8 27B (Qwen) 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 17 August 2026

As of 17 August 2026, GLM 5.2 holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#11 vs #16); GLM 5.2 is 2.2× cheaper per output token ($1.45/1M vs $3.20/1M); and GLM 5.2 offers the longer context window (1M vs 262K tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose Qwen3.8 27B if…

  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.45/1M against $0.462/1M.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Qwen3.8 27B was listed 14 August 2026, GLM 5.2 16 June 2026.

Choose GLM 5.2 if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #11 against #16 (73.8 vs 69.6 points).
  • API cost matters — $1.45/1M output tokens against $3.20/1M, about 2.2× cheaper.
  • you need the longer context window — 1M tokens against 262K.
  • you want provider choice — 27 listed API providers against 3.
  • Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 52.6 against 52.0.

Qwen3.8 27B vs GLM 5.2: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Qwen3.8 27B and GLM 5.2
FieldQwen3.8 27BQwenGLM 5.2Z.ai
ModelCap Index position#16#11
Index score69.673.8
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.45$0.462
Output price / 1M tokens$3.20$1.45
Context window262K tokens1M tokens
Max output tokens131K131K
API providers listed327
Weight accessOpen weightsOpen weights
Input modalitiesText, Image, VideoText
First listed14 August 202616 June 2026
PublisherQwenZ.ai

Evidence: 1 public benchmark observation across 1 board · 5 public benchmark observations across 5 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Qwen3.8 27B vs GLM 5.2

Public benchmark boards where Qwen3.8 27B or GLM 5.2 has a published result
BoardQwen3.8 27BGLM 5.2Leads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)—15061498–1514MaxOnly one result
LMArena AgentLMArena—6.7%5.8%–7.6%MaxOnly one result
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation—22.8%Only one result
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis52.0intelligence-index52.6intelligence-indexGLM 5.2

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.

Qwen3.8 27B vs GLM 5.2: common questions

Is Qwen3.8 27B better than GLM 5.2?

GLM 5.2 ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 17 August 2026: #11 against #16. 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 Qwen3.8 27B cheaper than GLM 5.2?

GLM 5.2 is cheaper on output tokens: $1.45/1M against $3.20/1M. Input tokens are $0.45/1M for Qwen3.8 27B and $0.462/1M for GLM 5.2. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, Qwen3.8 27B or GLM 5.2?

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

Which is better for coding, Qwen3.8 27B or GLM 5.2?

The two models do not share a coding benchmark board on ModelCap yet, so no head-to-head coding score is published; the ModelCap Index position is the closest overall signal.

Are Qwen3.8 27B and GLM 5.2 open-weight models?

Qwen3.8 27B: Open weights. 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 Qwen3.8 27B and GLM 5.2?

ModelCap currently lists 3 API providers for Qwen3.8 27B 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 Qwen3.8 27B vs GLM 5.2 comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 17 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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