GLM-4V 9B vs Qwen3.6 Max Preview
GLM-4V 9B (2024) and Qwen3.6 Max Preview (2026) are frontier reasoning models from Tsinghua Knowledge Engineering Group (THUDM) and Alibaba. GLM-4V 9B ships a 131K-token context window, while Qwen3.6 Max Preview ships a 256K-token context window. On Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding, Qwen3.6 Max Preview leads by 33.7 pts. On pricing, GLM-4V 9B costs $0.05/1M input tokens versus $1.04/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit.
GLM-4V 9B is ~1980% cheaper at $0.05/1M; pay for Qwen3.6 Max Preview only for reasoning depth.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | GLM-4V 9B | Qwen3.6 Max Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Decision fit | Long context and Vision | RAG, Agents, and Long context |
| Context window | 131K | 256K |
| Cheapest output | $0.25/1M tokens | $6.24/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 1 tracked | 2 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 1 rows | Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding leader |
Decision tradeoffs
- 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.
- Qwen3.6 Max Preview leads the largest shared benchmark signal on Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding by 33.7 points.
- Qwen3.6 Max Preview has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Qwen3.6 Max Preview has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Qwen3.6 Max Preview uniquely exposes Vision, Reasoning, and Function calling in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Qwen3.6 Max Preview for RAG, Agents, and Long context.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output prices on this page.
GLM-4V 9B
$103
Cheapest tracked route: Replicate API
Qwen3.6 Max Preview
$2,392
Cheapest tracked route: OpenRouter
Estimated monthly gap: $2,290. Batch, cache, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for GLM-4V 9B and Qwen3.6 Max Preview; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Qwen3.6 Max Preview is $5.99/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Qwen3.6 Max Preview adds Vision, Reasoning, and Function calling in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Qwen3.6 Max Preview and GLM-4V 9B; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- GLM-4V 9B is $5.99/1M 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 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-06-05 | 2026-04-20 |
| Context window | 131K | 256K |
| Parameters | 9B | — |
| Architecture | decoder only | moe |
| License | Unknown | Proprietary |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | GLM-4V 9B | Qwen3.6 Max Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.05/1M tokens | $1.04/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.25/1M tokens | $6.24/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | GLM-4V 9B | Qwen3.6 Max Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | Yes |
| 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 | Qwen3.6 Max Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding | 48.3 | 82.0 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding has GLM-4V 9B at 48.3 and Qwen3.6 Max Preview at 82, with Qwen3.6 Max Preview ahead by 33.7 points. The largest visible gap is 33.7 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: Qwen3.6 Max Preview, reasoning mode: Qwen3.6 Max Preview, function calling: Qwen3.6 Max Preview, tool use: Qwen3.6 Max Preview, and structured outputs: Qwen3.6 Max Preview. 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 Qwen3.6 Max Preview lists $1.04/1M input and $6.24/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts GLM-4V 9B lower by about $2.49 per million blended tokens. Availability is 1 providers versus 2, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose GLM-4V 9B when provider fit and lower input-token cost are central to the workload. Choose Qwen3.6 Max Preview 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 Qwen3.6 Max Preview?
Qwen3.6 Max Preview supports 256K 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.
Which is cheaper, GLM-4V 9B or Qwen3.6 Max Preview?
GLM-4V 9B is cheaper on tracked token pricing. GLM-4V 9B costs $0.05/1M input and $0.25/1M output tokens. Qwen3.6 Max Preview costs $1.04/1M input and $6.24/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is GLM-4V 9B or Qwen3.6 Max Preview open source?
GLM-4V 9B is listed under Unknown. Qwen3.6 Max Preview 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, GLM-4V 9B or Qwen3.6 Max Preview?
Qwen3.6 Max Preview 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, GLM-4V 9B or Qwen3.6 Max Preview?
Both GLM-4V 9B and Qwen3.6 Max Preview expose multimodal input. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface.
Where can I run GLM-4V 9B and Qwen3.6 Max Preview?
GLM-4V 9B is available on Replicate API. Qwen3.6 Max Preview is available on OpenRouter and Alibaba Cloud PAI-EAS. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-05-12. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.