DeepSeek V4 vs GLM 5
DeepSeek · China | Z.ai · China · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick DeepSeek V4 for near-frontier coding at ~1/12 the cost or open mit-licensed weights you can self-host. Pick GLM 5 for agentic planning and long-horizon coding workflows or complex systems design and backend reasoning. On a tight budget at scale, DeepSeek V4 is the value pick.
DeepSeek V4 (DeepSeek) and GLM 5 (Z.ai) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. DeepSeek V4 is china's open-weight price earthquake — near-frontier capability at roughly a twelfth of GPT-5.5's cost. GLM 5 is z.ai's flagship open-weight (MIT) MoE foundation model, engineered for complex systems design and long-horizon agentic coding. They diverge most on price, context window and coding benchmarks — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
- ▸Price: DeepSeek V4 is about 1.5× cheaper on input ($0.66/$1.98 per 1M tokens vs $1/$3.2 per 1M tokens) — modest, but it adds up at steady volume.
- ▸Context window: DeepSeek V4 holds 5× more — 1M (~1,500 pages) vs 200K (~300 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
- ▸Coding: DeepSeek V4 leads SWE-Bench Verified by 2.8 points (80.6% vs 77.8%) — a real edge on hard, real-world software tasks.
- ▸Recency: DeepSeek V4 is the newer model by about 2 months (released April 24, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | DeepSeek V4 | GLM 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | DeepSeek (China) | Z.ai (China) |
| Released | April 24, 2026 | February 12, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M (~1,500 pages) | 200K (~300 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $0.66/$1.98 per 1M tokens | $1/$3.2 per 1M tokens |
| Open weight? | Yes — self-hostable | Yes — self-hostable |
| Modalities | text, code | text, code |
| SWE-Bench Verified | 80.6% | 77.8% |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | Not published | Not published |
Who wins what
Near-frontier coding at ~1/12 the cost
DeepSeek V4
It scores 80.6% on SWE-Bench Verified against GLM 5's 77.8% — a 2.8-point edge on real repository work.
Open MIT-licensed weights you can self-host
DeepSeek V4
China's open-weight price earthquake — near-frontier capability at roughly a twelfth of GPT-5.5's cost — and it leads SWE-Bench Verified 80.6% to 77.8%.
No long-context surcharge
DeepSeek V4
Its 1M window holds about 5× more than GLM 5's 200K in a single prompt.
Agentic planning and long-horizon coding workflows
GLM 5
DeepSeek V4 is comparatively weak here — trails the very best on hardest agentic coding
Complex systems design and backend reasoning
GLM 5
GLM 5 lists complex systems design and backend reasoning among its strengths; DeepSeek V4 does not.
Iterative self-correction on autonomous tasks
GLM 5
GLM 5 lists iterative self-correction on autonomous tasks among its strengths; DeepSeek V4 does not.
Lowest cost at scale
DeepSeek V4
At $0.66/$1.98 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Largest single-prompt input
DeepSeek V4
Its 1M window is about 5× larger than GLM 5's 200K, fitting roughly 1,500 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ DeepSeek V4
At $0.66/$1.98 per 1M tokens it undercuts GLM 5, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ DeepSeek V4
Larger 1M window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is near-frontier coding at ~1/12 the cost
→ DeepSeek V4
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is agentic planning and long-horizon coding workflows
→ GLM 5
That is its strongest area.
DeepSeek V4: where it fits
China's open-weight price earthquake — near-frontier capability at roughly a twelfth of GPT-5.5's cost. Released April 24, 2026 by DeepSeek, it is built for near-frontier coding at ~1/12 the cost, open MIT-licensed weights you can self-host, no long-context surcharge, and highest LiveCodeBench result.
Its trade-offs are real: this generic 'V4' entry mirrors DeepSeek V4-Pro's specs - see DeepSeek V4-Pro and DeepSeek V4-Flash for DeepSeek's actual named product tiers, trails the very best on hardest agentic coding, and text/code focused, less multimodal. At $0.66 in / $1.98 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
GLM 5: where it fits
Z.ai's flagship open-weight (MIT) MoE foundation model, engineered for complex systems design and long-horizon agentic coding. Released February 12, 2026 by Z.ai, it is built for agentic planning and long-horizon coding workflows, complex systems design and backend reasoning, iterative self-correction on autonomous tasks, and open weights under the permissive MIT license.
Its trade-offs: 200K context trails 1M-context rivals, and quickly superseded by GLM-5.1 and GLM-5.2. At $1 in / $3.2 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
DeepSeek V4 and GLM 5 overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. DeepSeek V4 costs less per token; DeepSeek V4 holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — DeepSeek V4 for near-frontier coding at ~1/12 the cost, GLM 5 for agentic planning and long-horizon coding workflows. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Want both DeepSeek V4 and GLM 5 without two subscriptions? LumiChats gives you these plus 40+ models under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day) — draft with one, cross-check with the other.
See pricingFrequently asked questions
Is DeepSeek V4 or GLM 5 better for coding?
On SWE-Bench Verified, DeepSeek V4 scores 80.6% and GLM 5 scores 77.8% — DeepSeek V4 has the measurable edge.
Which is cheaper, DeepSeek V4 or GLM 5?
DeepSeek V4 is cheaper — $0.66/$1.98 per 1M tokens vs $1/$3.2 per 1M tokens, roughly 1.5× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
DeepSeek V4 — 1M vs 200K, about 5× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both DeepSeek V4 and GLM 5 together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you DeepSeek V4, GLM 5 and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, DeepSeek V4 or GLM 5?
DeepSeek V4 — released April 24, 2026, about 2 months after GLM 5.
Related comparisons
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.