GLM-5.1 vs Llama Guard 3 1B
GLM-5.1 (2026) and Llama Guard 3 1B (2024) are frontier reasoning models from Zhipu AI and AI at Meta. GLM-5.1 ships a 200k-token context window, while Llama Guard 3 1B ships a 128k-token context window. On pricing, Llama Guard 3 1B costs $0.10/1M input tokens versus $1.05/1M 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.
Llama Guard 3 1B is ~950% cheaper at $0.10/1M; pay for GLM-5.1 only for coding workflow support.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | GLM-5.1 | Llama Guard 3 1B |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps, tool-calling agents, and provider-routed production | general production evaluation |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | Long context and Classification |
| Context window | 200k | 128k |
| Cheapest output | $3.50/1M tokens | $0.10/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 5 tracked | 1 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 shared | 0 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- GLM-5.1 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- GLM-5.1 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- GLM-5.1 uniquely exposes Reasoning, JSON / Tool use, and Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags GLM-5.1 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- Llama Guard 3 1B has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.10/1M tokens.
- Local decision data tags Llama Guard 3 1B for Long context and Classification.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
GLM-5.1
$1,715
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Llama Guard 3 1B
$105
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Fireworks AI
Estimated monthly gap: $1,610. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on Fireworks AI; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Llama Guard 3 1B is $3.40/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Reasoning, JSON / Tool use, and Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
- Provider overlap exists on Fireworks AI; start route-level A/B tests there.
- GLM-5.1 is $3.40/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- GLM-5.1 adds Reasoning, JSON / Tool use, and Structured outputs in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2026-04-07 | 2024-09-25 |
| Context window | 200k | 128k |
| Parameters | 754B total, 40B active | 1B |
| Architecture | Mixture of Experts | Decoder Only |
| License | MITOSI-approved | Llama 2 Community |
| Openness | Open source | Open weights |
| Weights | Available | Unknown |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: permitted | Commercial use: conditional |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2025-11 | 2023-12 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | GLM-5.1 | Llama Guard 3 1B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $1.05/1M tokens | $0.10/1M tokens |
| Output price | $3.50/1M tokens | $0.10/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | GLM-5.1 | Llama Guard 3 1B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| JSON / Tool use | Yes | No |
| Structured outputs | Yes | No |
| Code execution | Yes | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark scores are currently available for this pair.
Continue comparing
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Last reviewed: 2026-07-09. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.