Claude Haiku 4.5 vs GLM-5.1
Claude Haiku 4.5 and GLM-5.1 are both current production-tier models. GLM-5.1 is meaningfully cheaper at $1 / $3.2 per 1M. GLM-5.1 leads on coding, reasoning, general knowledge.
Specs side by side
| Metric | Anthropic Claude Haiku 4.5 | Z.ai GLM-5.1 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price (per 1M) | $1 | $1 |
| Output price (per 1M) | $5 | $3.2 |
| Context window | 200k tokens | 200k tokens |
| Speed tier | fast | balanced |
| Open weights | No | Yes |
| EU region | Yes | No |
| Free tier | No | bigmodel.cn |
| Prompt caching | Yes | No |
| Vision input | Yes | No |
| Extended thinking | No | Yes |
When to choose each
Choose Claude Haiku 4.5 if…
- EU data residency is required
- HIPAA eligibility is required
- You need image input / vision
Choose GLM-5.1 if…
- You need open weights for self-hosting or fine-tuning
- You want a free tier for prototyping
- Coding is central to your workload
- Reasoning is central to your workload
Benchmark delta
Claude Haiku 4.5 leads on
Claude Haiku 4.5 has no meaningful benchmark lead in this pair.
GLM-5.1 leads on
- Coding
- Reasoning
- General knowledge
- Multilingual
FAQ — Claude Haiku 4.5 vs GLM-5.1
Claude Haiku 4.5 vs GLM-5.1 — which is better?
Claude Haiku 4.5 and GLM-5.1 are both current production-tier models. GLM-5.1 is meaningfully cheaper at $1 / $3.2 per 1M. GLM-5.1 leads on coding, reasoning, general knowledge. The right pick depends on your use case — see "When to choose each" above for a data-driven decision.
How does Claude Haiku 4.5 pricing compare to GLM-5.1?
Claude Haiku 4.5 costs $1 / $5 per 1M vs GLM-5.1 at $1 / $3.2 per 1M. GLM-5.1 is cheaper on output tokens by roughly 56%. Both support prompt caching, which reduces effective cost by 80-90% on repeat system prompts.
Does Claude Haiku 4.5 or GLM-5.1 have the bigger context window?
GLM-5.1 has a 200k-token context window — 1× the 200k context of Claude Haiku 4.5. Enough for long reports and multi-document analysis.
Is there a free tier for Claude Haiku 4.5 or GLM-5.1?
Claude Haiku 4.5: no — No free API tier; new accounts get starter credits. GLM-5.1: yes — Free tier with monthly token allowance.
Which is better for coding — Claude Haiku 4.5 or GLM-5.1?
GLM-5.1 leads on coding benchmarks (Claude Haiku 4.5: 82/100, GLM-5.1: 93/100). For production coding agents also weigh tool-use performance — Claude Haiku 4.5 scores 88, GLM-5.1 scores 86.