GLM-5.1 vs Llama 3.1 70B Instruct
GLM-5.1 (2026) and Llama 3.1 70B Instruct (2024) are frontier reasoning models from Zhipu AI and AI at Meta. GLM-5.1 ships a 200k-token context window, while Llama 3.1 70B Instruct ships a 128k-token context window. On pricing, Llama 3.1 70B Instruct costs $0.40/1M 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 3.1 70B Instruct is ~163% cheaper at $0.40/1M; pay for GLM-5.1 only for coding workflow support.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | GLM-5.1 | Llama 3.1 70B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps, tool-calling agents, and provider-routed production | provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | Coding, RAG, and Long context |
| Context window | 200k | 128k |
| Cheapest output | $3.50/1M tokens | $0.40/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 5 tracked | 13 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 uniquely exposes Reasoning, JSON / Tool use, and Code execution in local model data.
- Local decision data tags GLM-5.1 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- Llama 3.1 70B Instruct has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.40/1M tokens.
- Llama 3.1 70B Instruct has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- Local decision data tags Llama 3.1 70B Instruct for Coding, RAG, and Long context.
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 3.1 70B Instruct
$420
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Hyperbolic AI Inference
Estimated monthly gap: $1,295. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on Fireworks AI, OpenRouter, and Vercel AI Gateway; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Llama 3.1 70B Instruct is $3.10/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Reasoning, JSON / Tool use, and Code execution before moving production traffic.
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter, Fireworks AI, and Vercel AI Gateway; start route-level A/B tests there.
- GLM-5.1 is $3.10/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- GLM-5.1 adds Reasoning, JSON / Tool use, and Code execution in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2026-04-07 | 2024-07-23 |
| Context window | 200k | 128k |
| Parameters | 754B total, 40B active | 70B |
| Architecture | Mixture of Experts | Decoder Only |
| License | MITOSI-approved | Llama 3 Community |
| Openness | Open source | Open weights |
| Weights | Available | Available |
| 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 3.1 70B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $1.05/1M tokens | $0.40/1M tokens |
| Output price | $3.50/1M tokens | $0.40/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | GLM-5.1 | Llama 3.1 70B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| JSON / Tool use | Yes | No |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| 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.
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Last reviewed: 2026-07-11. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.