GLM-5.3-Flash vs GPT-5.6 Terra Max: which is cheaper?

GPT-5.6 Terra Max leads the intelligence index 32.3 to 27.8. GLM-5.3-Flash costs 95% less on blended price. See token costs, speed and which to pick.

Metric	GLM-5.3-Flash	GPT-5.6 Terra (Max)
Intelligence Index	27.8	32.3
Input price (per 1M tokens)	$0.15	$2.00
Output price (per 1M tokens)	$0.50	$12.00
Output speed (tokens/s)	56	116
Time to first token	1.6s	3.4 min
Release date	2026-08-26	2026-07-09

Metric

GLM-5.3-Flash

GPT-5.6 Terra (Max)

Intelligence Index

27.8

32.3

Input price (per 1M tokens)

$0.15

$2.00

Output price (per 1M tokens)

$0.50

$12.00

Output speed (tokens/s)

116

Time to first token

1.6s

3.4 min

Release date

2026-08-26

2026-07-09

Choosing between GLM-5.3-Flash and GPT-5.6 Terra (Max) also means choosing between Z AI and OpenAI. Cost is where they split the most, with GLM-5.3-Flash working out at about 5% of GPT-5.6 Terra Max's blended rate. The figures come from tracked catalogue data, not from our own testing, so treat them as a starting point for a trial on your tasks.

Cost: GLM-5.3-Flash is cheaper

Per million tokens, GLM-5.3-Flash charges $0.15 for input and $0.50 for output, while GPT-5.6 Terra Max charges $2.00 and $12.00. For output tokens, GPT-5.6 Terra Max is 24 times the price of GLM-5.3-Flash.

Take 1 million input tokens and 200,000 output tokens: that comes to $0.25 on GLM-5.3-Flash and $4.40 on GPT-5.6 Terra Max. A bigger example, extracting fields from 20,000 pages of 1,500 tokens into 150-token records, costs $6.00 on GLM-5.3-Flash and $96.00 on GPT-5.6 Terra Max: a gap of $90.00.

Overall capability: 4.5 points apart

The catalogue puts GLM-5.3-Flash at 27.8 and GPT-5.6 Terra Max at 32.3 on its intelligence index. That is a clear margin for an index that averages many evaluations.

For context, that places GLM-5.3-Flash 63rd and GPT-5.6 Terra Max 46th out of 109 scored models still on offer.

Neither model has a separate coding or math index recorded yet, so those narrower comparisons will have to wait for more data.

Throughput and time to first token

GLM-5.3-Flash generates about 56 tokens per second and GPT-5.6 Terra Max about 116 tokens per second. GPT-5.6 Terra Max is ahead by 108% on throughput. Time to first token is 1.6 seconds for GLM-5.3-Flash and 3.4 minutes for GPT-5.6 Terra Max. On total time, GLM-5.3-Flash wins at ordinary lengths; GPT-5.6 Terra Max's higher throughput only pays off beyond about 22,000 tokens. Waits that long are felt on every chat-style request, though they matter less for batch jobs.

Add the two numbers up for a 400-token reply and GLM-5.3-Flash finishes first: 8.8 seconds for GLM-5.3-Flash, 3.5 minutes for GPT-5.6 Terra Max.

Cost per point of intelligence

A blunt value measure, blended price over intelligence score, puts GLM-5.3-Flash at $0.0085 and GPT-5.6 Terra Max at $0.14 per point. So GPT-5.6 Terra Max buys its higher score at a premium, while GLM-5.3-Flash is the value pick, paying 94% less per point.

Generation gap

GLM-5.3-Flash arrived on August 26, 2026, about 2 months after GPT-5.6 Terra Max (July 9, 2026).

Quick answers

Is GLM-5.3-Flash better than GPT-5.6 Terra Max?

It depends on what you need: GPT-5.6 Terra Max scores higher on the intelligence index, 32.3 to 27.8; GLM-5.3-Flash is 95% cheaper on blended price; GPT-5.6 Terra Max streams output 2.1 times as fast; and GLM-5.3-Flash reaches its first token sooner.

Which is newer, GLM-5.3-Flash or GPT-5.6 Terra Max?

GLM-5.3-Flash is newer. It was released on August 26, 2026, about 2 months after GPT-5.6 Terra Max (July 9, 2026).

Which is faster, GLM-5.3-Flash or GPT-5.6 Terra Max?

GPT-5.6 Terra Max generates output faster, at 116 tokens per second against 56 tokens per second. GLM-5.3-Flash reaches its first token sooner (1.6 seconds against 3.4 minutes). Counting the first-token wait, GLM-5.3-Flash finishes first for any reply shorter than about 22,000 tokens.

Are GLM-5.3-Flash and GPT-5.6 Terra Max from the same company?

GLM-5.3-Flash is made by Z AI and GPT-5.6 Terra Max by OpenAI. GLM-5.3-Flash was released on August 26, 2026 and GPT-5.6 Terra Max on July 9, 2026.

Where do these numbers come from?

The figures are the recorded benchmark, price and speed data in Franklin AI's model catalogue. This page is written from that data automatically; neither model was tested by hand for it.

Final whistle

Short answer: on balance the numbers favour GLM-5.3-Flash, though GPT-5.6 Terra Max keeps a case of its own. Pick GPT-5.6 Terra Max if you need the higher overall score (32.3 against 27.8) and you generate very long outputs, beyond about 22,000 tokens. Pick GLM-5.3-Flash if cost matters ($0.50 against $12.00 per million output tokens) and users are waiting on the first word.

Where the numbers come from

The scores, speed and prices in this comparison come from independent third-party model evaluations that Franklin AI syncs each day, and the article was written from a snapshot of them. For the latest results, open the GLM-5.3-Flash and GPT-5.6 Terra (Max) pages. The AI Benchmark methodology explains how that data is collected and shown.