Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs GLM-5 9B
Claude Sonnet 4.6 (2026) and GLM-5 9B (2026) are frontier-tier reasoning models from Anthropic and Zhipu AI. Claude Sonnet 4.6 ships a 1m-token context window, while GLM-5 9B ships a 262k-token context window. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads. It focuses on practical selection signals rather than broad model-family marketing.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is safer overall; choose GLM-5 9B when provider fit matters.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | GLM-5 9B |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents | reasoning-heavy apps and tool-calling agents |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | RAG, Agents, and Long context |
| Context window | 1m | 262k |
| Cheapest output | $15/1M tokens | - |
| Provider routes | 6 tracked | 0 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 shared | 0 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 uniquely exposes Vision, Multimodal, and Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Claude Sonnet 4.6 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- Local decision data tags GLM-5 9B for RAG, Agents, and Long context.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Claude Sonnet 4.6
$6,150
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
GLM-5 9B
Unavailable
No complete token price in local provider data
Cost delta unavailable until both models have sourced input and output token prices.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Claude Sonnet 4.6 and GLM-5 9B; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for GLM-5 9B and Claude Sonnet 4.6; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 adds Vision, Multimodal, and Structured outputs in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2026-02-17 | 2026-02-15 |
| Context window | 1m | 262k |
| Parameters | — | 9 |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Decoder Only |
| License | Proprietary | MITOSI-approved |
| Openness | Proprietary | Open source |
| Weights | Not released | Available |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: permitted |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2025-08 | 2025-11 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | GLM-5 9B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $3/1M tokens | - |
| Output price | $15/1M tokens | - |
| Providers | - |
Capabilities
| Capability | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | GLM-5 9B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | No |
| Multimodal | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| JSON / Tool use | Yes | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | No |
| Code execution | Yes | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | Yes | No |
| Parallel agents | Yes | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark scores are currently available for this pair.
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Last reviewed: 2026-07-26. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.