Zhipu operates on a freemium model, offering free access to its Chat.z.ai conversational assistant. For API usage, it provides pay-per-token pricing for various GLM models, with some Flash models available at 0 cost per token, and a GLM Coding Plan with usage limits.

What are the main features of Zhipu?

Zhipu's main features include the GLM family of large language models, multimodal AI capabilities, AI Slides for presentation generation, comprehensive coding assistance (generation, debugging, refactoring), text content drafting, document summarization, and natural, multilingual conversational AI.

How does Zhipu compare to alternatives?

Zhipu competes with major AI players like OpenAI, Google AI, Anthropic, Baidu, and Tencent. It differentiates itself with its GLM model family, strong coding capabilities, multimodal features, and focus on the Chinese market, often offering a competitive price-to-performance ratio compared to Western counterparts.

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Zhipu Review

Zhipu is a Chinese artificial intelligence company known for developing the GLM family of large language models and AI agents.

shipped Jul 6, 2026aifreemium

Why it matters

1Zhipu AI launched GLM-5.2 in June 2026, featuring a 1 million token context window and approximately 745 billion total parameters.

2The company completed a Hong Kong IPO in January 2026, raising approximately HKD 4.35 billion (USD $558 million).

3GLM-4.7, a 7-billion-parameter model, achieved 82.1% on HumanEval and 78.5 on MMLU benchmarks.

4API pricing for GLM-5.2 is 1.4 per 1k input tokens and 4.4 per 1k output tokens.

Specs

API Docs

View Documentation →

API Available

Yes, public API

overview

What is Zhipu?

Zhipu is a Chinese artificial intelligence company developed by Zhipu that enables students, professionals, and developers to generate presentations, assist with coding, and engage in multilingual conversations using AI. It is known for its GLM family of large language models and AI agents, with international branding as Z.ai.

Zhipu AI, internationally branded as Z.ai, is a prominent Chinese artificial intelligence company that develops the GLM (General Language Model) series of large language models. Spun out of Tsinghua University, Zhipu AI aims to create machines that think like humans, focusing on advanced reasoning, coding, and multimodal understanding. Its core offering, the GLM series, is designed for processing and generating human-like text across a wide range of tasks. These include conversational AI, coding assistance (with specialized offerings like the GLM Coding Plan), agentic intelligence for autonomous workflows, content generation (such as 'AI Slides' for presentations), multimodal interactions involving text, images, and in some models, audio and video, and document processing with large context windows. Zhipu also provides enterprise solutions, including on-premise deployment, API access, and fine-tuning tools, particularly for organizations requiring bilingual AI features for Chinese and global markets.

features

Key Features of Zhipu

Zhipu AI's platform, including Chat.z.ai and its underlying GLM models, offers a comprehensive suite of features designed for diverse AI applications. These capabilities range from advanced language processing to multimodal interactions and specialized coding assistance.

GLM family of large language models (e.g., GLM-5.2, GLM-4.7, GLM-4.5-Air)
Multimodal AI capabilities, handling text, images, and in some models, audio and video for richer interactions.
AI Slides generation for automated creation of educational or professional presentations.
Comprehensive coding assistance, including code generation, debugging, refactoring, and agentic workflows via ZCode.
Text content drafting, rewriting, and polishing for various applications.
Document summarization and research support, leveraging large context windows for extensive documents.
Natural, open-ended, and multilingual conversational AI, particularly strong in English and Chinese.
Agentic intelligence, enabling autonomous planning, tool use, and multi-step workflows.
API access with OpenAI-compatible SDK patterns for integration into custom applications.

use cases

Who Should Use Zhipu?

Zhipu AI targets a broad spectrum of users, from individual developers and content creators to large enterprises, offering specialized tools and models for various professional and creative needs.

Developers: For coding assistance, debugging, refactoring, and building autonomous coding assistants using the GLM Coding Plan and ZCode.
Content Creators & Professionals: For generating educational or professional presentations with AI Slides, drafting, rewriting, and polishing text-based content.
Researchers & Students: For summarizing long documents, providing research support, and engaging in natural, open-ended, and multilingual conversations.
Enterprises: For on-premise deployment, API access, and fine-tuning tools, especially those requiring robust bilingual AI features for Chinese and global markets.

how to use

How to Use Zhipu

Users can engage with Zhipu AI through its web-based conversational interface, Chat.z.ai, or integrate its GLM models into their applications via API. The platform supports various tasks from content creation to coding.

1Access Chat.z.ai via the web interface (chat.z.ai) for engaging in natural, open-ended conversations and utilizing multimodal features.
2Utilize the API for integrating GLM models into custom applications, leveraging OpenAI-compatible SDK patterns.
3Subscribe to the GLM Coding Plan for specialized coding assistance, including code generation, debugging, and access to the ZCode harness.
4Leverage the 'AI Slides' feature within Chat.z.ai for automated presentation generation.
5Employ GLM models for document summarization, text drafting, rewriting, and polishing by inputting relevant content.

pricing

Zhipu Pricing & Plans

Zhipu AI operates on a freemium model, providing free access to its conversational AI assistant, Chat.z.ai, while offering a pay-per-token API for its GLM models and a specialized GLM Coding Plan. API usage is metered by tokens, with varying rates for different models and distinct deduction rules during peak and off-peak hours.

Freemium model for basic access to Chat.z.ai.
Pay-per-token API for GLM models (per 1k tokens):
GLM-5.2: 1.4 (input), 4.4 (output)
GLM-5: 1 (input), 3.2 (output)
GLM-4.7: 0.6 (input), 2.2 (output)
GLM-4.5-Air: 0.2 (input), 1.1 (output)
GLM-4.7-FlashX: 0.07 (input), 0.4 (output)
GLM-4.7-Flash / GLM-4.5-Flash: 0 (input), 0 (output)
GLM Coding Plan: Usage limits applied on a 5-hour and weekly basis, with quotas equivalent to approximately 15–30x the monthly subscription fee.
GLM-5.2 and GLM-5-Turbo usage deduction: 3x during peak hours (14:00–18:00 UTC+8) and 2x during off-peak hours (with a limited-time 1x benefit through end of September).

Pros

+Offers a strong price-to-performance ratio for API access, particularly with models like GLM-4.7.
+Provides advanced coding capabilities, including code generation, debugging, refactoring, and the ZCode harness for autonomous coding assistants.
+Features large context windows, such as GLM-5.2's 1 million tokens, enabling extensive document and codebase processing.
+Supports multimodal AI for diverse creative and reasoning tasks, handling text, images, and in some models, audio and video.
+Includes open-source availability for some models (e.g., GLM-5.1) and provides OpenAI-compatible SDK patterns for developers.
+Demonstrates independence from US-manufactured hardware, with models like GLM-5.2 trained entirely on Huawei Ascend chips.

Cons

−Users may experience occasional API throttling during periods of peak demand.
−Potential data security concerns for US enterprises, which can limit adoption in regulated industries.
−GLM-5.2 has been observed to use noticeably more output tokens per task than some open-weight peers, potentially reducing its cost advantage in practice.
−Requires API configuration in third-party tools for developers to fully leverage its capabilities.
−While strong in English and Chinese, optimization for other specific languages might be less pronounced compared to local competitors in those regions.

Policies

Free Tier

Vendor website advertises a free tier.

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Zhipu vs Competitors

Zhipu AI is positioned as a significant competitor in the global AI landscape, particularly challenging leading US and Chinese firms with its GLM models and specialized offerings. Its competitive strategy often involves a strong price-to-performance ratio and a focus on specific capabilities.

OpenAIOn Stork Compare

OpenAI is a pioneer in generative AI, known for developing the widely adopted GPT series of large language models and the popular ChatGPT conversational AI.

OpenAI offers a freemium model for ChatGPT and various API tiers for its LLMs and AI agents, similar to Zhipu's freemium approach. OpenAI has a broader global user base and a more extensive range of specialized models, while Zhipu focuses on its GLM family.

Google AI (Gemini, Vertex AI)On Stork Compare

Google AI provides a unified platform, Vertex AI, for machine learning and generative AI, deeply integrating its powerful Gemini models and AI agent building capabilities with the broader Google Cloud ecosystem.

Google offers a free tier for Gemini Pro and a $300 free trial for Vertex AI, aligning with Zhipu's freemium model. Google's offerings are highly integrated with its cloud services and target both developers and enterprises, providing a comprehensive AI development environment.

AnthropicOn Stork Compare

Anthropic specializes in developing safe and steerable AI systems, notably the Claude family of models, which are built on principles of 'Constitutional AI' and are known for strong reasoning and long context windows.

Anthropic provides a free tier for Claude.ai and offers various subscription and API plans, similar to Zhipu's freemium and API access. While both offer LLMs and AI agents, Anthropic places a strong emphasis on safety and ethical AI development, differentiating its approach.

Baidu (ERNIE Bot)↗

Baidu is a leading Chinese AI company, and its ERNIE Bot integrates large language models with Baidu's search engine to deliver current, web-sourced answers, excelling in Chinese language tasks.

Baidu offers a free version of ERNIE Bot and a professional subscription plan, directly competing with Zhipu's freemium model in the Chinese market. ERNIE Bot's strength lies in its deep integration with Baidu's search capabilities and its focus on the Chinese language and user base.

Tencent (Hunyuan)↗

Tencent's Hunyuan LLM platform is deeply integrated within Tencent's extensive ecosystem, including WeChat and Tencent Cloud, targeting enterprises with multilingual content generation and on-premise deployment options.

Hunyuan offers a free tier with limited tokens and various paid plans, similar to Zhipu's pricing structure. As a major Chinese tech giant, Tencent is a direct competitor to Zhipu, particularly for enterprise solutions that require integration with its vast ecosystem.

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