Claude Haiku 4.5 vs GLM-5.1
Claude Haiku 4.5 (2025) and GLM-5.1 (2026) are frontier reasoning models from Anthropic and Zhipu AI. Claude Haiku 4.5 ships a 200k-token context window, while GLM-5.1 ships a 200k-token context window. On pricing, Claude Haiku 4.5 costs $0.8/1M input tokens versus $0.95/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit. It focuses on practical selection signals rather than broad model-family marketing.
GLM-5.1 is safer overall; choose Claude Haiku 4.5 when coding workflow support matters.
Specs
| Released | 2025-10-01 | 2026-03-27 |
| Context window | 200k | 200k |
| Parameters | — | 744B total, 40-44B active |
| Architecture | decoder only | mixture of experts |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2025-02 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | GLM-5.1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.8/1M tokens | $0.95/1M tokens |
| Output price | $4/1M tokens | $3.15/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | GLM-5.1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | ||
| Multimodal | ||
| Reasoning | ||
| Function calling | ||
| Tool use | ||
| Structured outputs | ||
| Code execution |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark rows are currently sourced for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on vision: Claude Haiku 4.5, multimodal input: Claude Haiku 4.5, and reasoning mode: GLM-5.1. Both models share function calling, tool use, structured outputs, and code execution, so the practical split is not just feature count. Use those differences to decide whether the page is about raw model quality, agentic coding support, multimodal ingestion, or predictable structured API behavior.
For cost, Claude Haiku 4.5 lists $0.8/1M input and $4/1M output tokens, while GLM-5.1 lists $0.95/1M input and $3.15/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts GLM-5.1 lower by about $0.15 per million blended tokens. Availability is 8 providers versus 2, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Claude Haiku 4.5 when coding workflow support, lower input-token cost, and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose GLM-5.1 when coding workflow support are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship. This keeps the decision grounded in measurable tradeoffs instead of brand-level assumptions. It also helps separate model capability from provider packaging, which can change cost and latency.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, Claude Haiku 4.5 or GLM-5.1?
Claude Haiku 4.5 supports 200k tokens, while GLM-5.1 supports 200k tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Which is cheaper, Claude Haiku 4.5 or GLM-5.1?
Claude Haiku 4.5 is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Claude Haiku 4.5 costs $0.8/1M input and $4/1M output tokens. GLM-5.1 costs $0.95/1M input and $3.15/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Claude Haiku 4.5 or GLM-5.1 open source?
Claude Haiku 4.5 is listed under Proprietary. GLM-5.1 is listed under Proprietary. License labels affect whether you can self-host, redistribute weights, or rely only on hosted APIs, so confirm the upstream license before deployment.
Which is better for vision, Claude Haiku 4.5 or GLM-5.1?
Claude Haiku 4.5 has the clearer documented vision signal in this comparison. If vision is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for multimodal input, Claude Haiku 4.5 or GLM-5.1?
Claude Haiku 4.5 has the clearer documented multimodal input signal in this comparison. If multimodal input is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run Claude Haiku 4.5 and GLM-5.1?
Claude Haiku 4.5 is available on Microsoft Foundry, Anthropic, Snowflake Cortex, AWS Bedrock, and GCP Vertex AI. GLM-5.1 is available on Z.ai and OpenRouter. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
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Last reviewed: 2026-04-24. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.