GLM-4V 9B vs Qwen3.5-397B-A17B

Name: GLM-4V 9B
Author: Tsinghua Knowledge Engineering Group (THUDM)

GLM-4V 9B (2024) and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B (2026) are frontier reasoning models from Tsinghua Knowledge Engineering Group (THUDM) and Alibaba. GLM-4V 9B ships a 131K-token context window, while Qwen3.5-397B-A17B ships a 262K-token context window. On Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding, Qwen3.5-397B-A17B leads by 36.7 pts. On pricing, GLM-4V 9B costs $0.05/1M input tokens versus $0.39/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit.

GLM-4V 9B is ~680% cheaper at $0.05/1M; pay for Qwen3.5-397B-A17B only for reasoning depth.

Decision scorecard

Local evidence first

Signal	GLM-4V 9B	Qwen3.5-397B-A17B	How to read it
Decision fit	Long context and Vision	Coding, RAG, and Agents	Primary workload tags from local decision data.
Context window	131K	262K	Higher is better when prompts, retrieval chunks, or transcripts are large.
Cheapest output	$0.25/1M tokens	$2.34/1M tokens	Cheapest tracked provider route; verify your exact region and tier.
Provider routes	1 tracked	3 tracked	Broader coverage can reduce vendor lock-in and fallback risk.
Shared benchmarks	1 rows	Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding leader	Largest visible lead is 36.7 points on Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding.

Decision tradeoffs

Choose GLM-4V 9B when...

GLM-4V 9B has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.25/1M tokens.
Local decision data tags GLM-4V 9B for Long context and Vision.

Choose Qwen3.5-397B-A17B when...

Qwen3.5-397B-A17B leads the largest shared benchmark signal on Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding by 36.7 points.
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B uniquely exposes Reasoning, Function calling, and Tool use in local model data.
Local decision data tags Qwen3.5-397B-A17B for Coding, RAG, and Agents.

Monthly cost at traffic

Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output prices on this page.

Lower estimate GLM-4V 9B

Requests / monthInput tokens / requestOutput tokens / request

GLM-4V 9B

$103

Cheapest tracked route: Replicate API

Qwen3.5-397B-A17B

$897

Cheapest tracked route: OpenRouter

Estimated monthly gap: $795. Batch, cache, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.

Switch friction

GLM-4V 9B -> Qwen3.5-397B-A17B

No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for GLM-4V 9B and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B is $2.09/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B adds Reasoning, Function calling, and Tool use in local capability data.

Qwen3.5-397B-A17B -> GLM-4V 9B

No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Qwen3.5-397B-A17B and GLM-4V 9B; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
GLM-4V 9B is $2.09/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
Check replacement coverage for Reasoning, Function calling, and Tool use before moving production traffic.

Specs

Specification	GLM-4V 9B Tsinghua Knowledge Engineering Group (THUDM)	Qwen3.5-397B-A17B Alibaba
Released	2024-06-05	2026-02-16
Context window	131K	262K
Parameters	9B	397B
Architecture	decoder only	MoE
License	Unknown	Apache 2.0
Knowledge cutoff	-	-

Pricing and availability

Pricing attribute	GLM-4V 9B	Qwen3.5-397B-A17B
Input price	$0.05/1M tokens	$0.39/1M tokens
Output price	$0.25/1M tokens	$2.34/1M tokens
Providers	Replicate API	OpenRouter Together AI Alibaba Cloud PAI-EAS

Capabilities

Capability	GLM-4V 9B	Qwen3.5-397B-A17B
Vision	No	No
Multimodal	Yes	Yes
Reasoning	No	Yes
Function calling	No	Yes
Tool use	No	Yes
Structured outputs	No	Yes
Code execution	No	No

Benchmarks

Benchmark	GLM-4V 9B	Qwen3.5-397B-A17B
Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding	48.3	85.0

Deep dive

On shared benchmark coverage, Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding has GLM-4V 9B at 48.3 and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B at 85, with Qwen3.5-397B-A17B ahead by 36.7 points. The largest visible gap is 36.7 points on Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding, which matters most when that benchmark mirrors your workload. Treat isolated benchmark wins as directional, because provider routing, prompt style, and tool access can move real application results.

The capability footprint differs most on reasoning mode: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B, function calling: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B, tool use: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B, and structured outputs: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B. Both models share multimodal input, 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, GLM-4V 9B lists $0.05/1M input and $0.25/1M output tokens, while Qwen3.5-397B-A17B lists $0.39/1M input and $2.34/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts GLM-4V 9B lower by about $0.86 per million blended tokens. Availability is 1 providers versus 3, so concentration risk also matters.

Choose GLM-4V 9B when provider fit and lower input-token cost are central to the workload. Choose Qwen3.5-397B-A17B when reasoning depth, larger context windows, and broader provider choice are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship.

FAQ

Which has a larger context window, GLM-4V 9B or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?

Qwen3.5-397B-A17B supports 262K tokens, while GLM-4V 9B supports 131K tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible. Use this as a quick comparison signal, then confirm the provider-specific limits before committing to production.

Which is cheaper, GLM-4V 9B or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?

GLM-4V 9B is cheaper on tracked token pricing. GLM-4V 9B costs $0.05/1M input and $0.25/1M output tokens. Qwen3.5-397B-A17B costs $0.39/1M input and $2.34/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.

Is GLM-4V 9B or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B open source?

GLM-4V 9B is listed under Unknown. Qwen3.5-397B-A17B is listed under Apache 2.0. 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 multimodal input, GLM-4V 9B or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?

Both GLM-4V 9B and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B expose multimodal input. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface. Use this as a quick comparison signal, then confirm the provider-specific limits before committing to production.

Which is better for reasoning mode, GLM-4V 9B or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?

Qwen3.5-397B-A17B has the clearer documented reasoning mode signal in this comparison. If reasoning mode is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.

Where can I run GLM-4V 9B and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?

GLM-4V 9B is available on Replicate API. Qwen3.5-397B-A17B is available on OpenRouter, Together AI, and Alibaba Cloud PAI-EAS. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.

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Last reviewed: 2026-05-19. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.