Skip to content
ModelCap

Head-to-head comparison

Qwen3.8 Max (0902) vs GLM 5.3

Qwen3.8 Max (0902) (Qwen) and GLM 5.3 (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 15 September 2026

As of 15 September 2026, Qwen3.8 Max (0902) holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#5 vs #9); GLM 5.3 is 1.4× cheaper per output token ($4.40/1M vs $6.00/1M); and GLM 5.3 offers the longer context window (1.3M vs 1M tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose Qwen3.8 Max (0902) if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #5 against #9 (83.2 vs 81.5 points).
  • AA Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 45.4 against 44.9.
  • AA Humanity's Last Exam is your yardstick — 43.1% against 42.3%.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Qwen3.8 Max (0902) was listed 3 September 2026, GLM 5.3 18 August 2026.

Choose GLM 5.3 if…

  • API cost matters — $4.40/1M output tokens against $6.00/1M, about 1.4× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $1.40/1M against $2.00/1M.
  • you need the longer context window — 1.3M tokens against 1M.
  • you want provider choice — 28 listed API providers against 1.

Qwen3.8 Max (0902) vs GLM 5.3: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Qwen3.8 Max (0902) and GLM 5.3
FieldQwen3.8 Max (0902)QwenGLM 5.3Z.ai
ModelCap Index position#5#9
Index score83.281.5
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$2.00$1.40
Output price / 1M tokens$6.00$4.40
Context window1M tokens1.3M tokens
Max output tokens131K944K
API providers listed128
Weight accessAPI onlyRestricted license
Input modalitiesText, Image, VideoText
First listed3 September 202618 August 2026
PublisherQwenZ.ai

Evidence: 1 public benchmark observation across 1 board · 4 public benchmark observations across 4 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Qwen3.8 Max (0902) vs GLM 5.3

Public benchmark boards where Qwen3.8 Max (0902) or GLM 5.3 has a published result
BoardQwen3.8 Max (0902)GLM 5.3Leads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)—15241512–1536MaxOnly one result
LMArena AgentLMArena—3.1%2.4%–3.7%MaxOnly one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis45.4intelligence-index:v4.3:reasoning-unspecified44.9intelligence-index:v4.3:maxQwen3.8 Max (0902)
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis43.1%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="Qwen3.8 Max (0902)":reasoning=true42.3%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="GLM-5.3 (max)":reasoning=trueQwen3.8 Max (0902)
Terminal-Bench 4.0Terminal-Bench (Laude Institute)—41.8%38.6%–45.1%Claude Code · MaxOnly 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.

Qwen3.8 Max (0902) vs GLM 5.3: common questions

Is Qwen3.8 Max (0902) better than GLM 5.3?

Qwen3.8 Max (0902) ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 15 September 2026: #5 against #9. 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 Qwen3.8 Max (0902) cheaper than GLM 5.3?

GLM 5.3 is cheaper on output tokens: $4.40/1M against $6.00/1M. Input tokens are $2.00/1M for Qwen3.8 Max (0902) and $1.40/1M for GLM 5.3. 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 $7.00 for Qwen3.8 Max (0902) versus $5.00 for GLM 5.3. GLM 5.3 costs 28.6% 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, Qwen3.8 Max (0902) or GLM 5.3?

GLM 5.3 has the larger context window: 1.3M tokens against 1M.

Which is better for coding, Qwen3.8 Max (0902) or GLM 5.3?

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 Max (0902) and GLM 5.3 open-weight models?

Qwen3.8 Max (0902): API only. GLM 5.3: Restricted license. 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 Max (0902) and GLM 5.3?

ModelCap currently lists 1 API provider for Qwen3.8 Max (0902) and 28 for GLM 5.3, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Qwen3.8 Max (0902) vs GLM 5.3 comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 15 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