LLM Reference

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

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, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.

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
SignalGLM-4V 9BQwen3.5-397B-A17B
Best formultimodal appsreasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents
Decision fitLong context and VisionCoding, RAG, and Agents
Context window131k262k
Cheapest output$0.25/1M tokens$2.34/1M tokens
Provider routes1 tracked4 tracked
Shared benchmarks1 sharedMassive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding leader

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 holds a shared-benchmark lead on Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding, ahead 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 Vision, Reasoning, and Function calling 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 route or tier on this page.

Lower estimate GLM-4V 9B

GLM-4V 9B

$103

Cheapest tracked route/tier: Replicate API

Qwen3.5-397B-A17B

$897

Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter

Estimated monthly gap: $795. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, 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 Vision, Reasoning, and Function calling 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 Vision, Reasoning, and Function calling before moving production traffic.

Specs

Specification
Released2024-06-052026-02-16
Context window131k262k
Parameters9B397B
ArchitectureDecoder OnlyMixture of Experts
LicenseMITOSI-approvedApache 2.0OSI-approved
OpennessOpen sourceOpen source
WeightsUnknownAvailable
CodeUnknownUnknown
Commercial useCommercial use: permittedCommercial use: permitted
Knowledge cutoff--

Pricing and availability

Pricing attributeGLM-4V 9BQwen3.5-397B-A17B
Input price$0.05/1M tokens$0.39/1M tokens
Output price$0.25/1M tokens$2.34/1M tokens
Providers
Replicate API
OpenRouterTogether AIAlibaba Cloud PAI-EASNovita AI

Capabilities

CapabilityGLM-4V 9BQwen3.5-397B-A17B
VisionNoYes
MultimodalYesYes
ReasoningNoYes
Function callingNoYes
Tool useNoYes
Structured outputsNoYes
Code executionNoNo
IDE integrationNoNo
Computer useNoNo
Parallel agentsNoNo

Benchmarks

BenchmarkGLM-4V 9BQwen3.5-397B-A17B
Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding48.385.0

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 vision: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B, 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 on the cheapest tracked provider, 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 4, 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 MIT. 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 vision, GLM-4V 9B or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?

Qwen3.5-397B-A17B 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. Use this as a quick comparison signal, then confirm the provider-specific limits before committing to production.

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.

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, Alibaba Cloud PAI-EAS, and Novita AI. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.

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Last reviewed: 2026-06-29. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.