Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 17, 2026noindex (thin pair)

GLM-5.3 vs SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20 benchmark

Name: GLM-5.3 vs SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20 AI benchmark comparison
Creator: CompareLLM
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This page compares GLM-5.3 (Zhipu) and SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20 (xAI) using the latest snapshots we have as of Aug 17, 2026. GLM-5.3 wins on output price at $1.8/1M. SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20 has the larger context window (2M tokens). Every cell below is a dated snapshot from a named public source — we do not invent missing scores, and we do not run SWE-bench ourselves.

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Zhipu

GLM-5.3

Z.ai Aug 14 2026 post-train of the GLM-5.2 744B base. Coding-plan live; open weights promised after a two-week safety review (z.ai/blog/glm-5.3).

Elo 1,558$1.8/1M out

xAI

SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20

Auto-discovered from OpenRouter (x-ai/grok-4.20). Preview until a second source matches.

$2.5/1M out

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Instant pairwise benchmark recalculation across 400+ LLMs

Model A

Model B

Quick vs:vs Claude Opus 4.5 vs Claude Opus 4.6 vs Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Claude 3.7 Sonnet

Interactive Comparison Diagram

Matchup Breakdown

Tug-of-War Matchup Matrix

Category wins across intelligence, speed, and pricing efficiency.

GLM-5.3 (9)vsSpaceXAI: Grok 4.20 (1)

GLM-5.3: 9W (90%)Overall: GLM-5.3SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20: 1W (10%)

← GLM-5.3SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20 →

GLM-5.3 (5/5)

Intelligence & Reasoning

Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy

Preference Elo

1,558vs—

Coding Elo

1,586vs—

SWE-bench

76.4%vs—

LiveBench

70.8%vs—

GPQA Diamond

83.2%vs—

GLM-5.3: 5WSpaceXAI: Grok 4.20: 0W

GLM-5.3 (2/2)

Speed & Latency

Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness

Output speed

90 tok/svs—

Time to first token

255 msvs—

GLM-5.3: 2WSpaceXAI: Grok 4.20: 0W

GLM-5.3 (2/3)

Pricing & Capacity

Cost per million tokens and max context window length

Output price

$1.8/1Mvs$2.5/1M

Input price

$0.5/1Mvs$1.25/1M

Context window

200kvs2M

GLM-5.3: 2WSpaceXAI: Grok 4.20: 1W

Capability Matchup Radar

Multi-Dimensional Capability Radar

Each spoke is a skill. Farther from the center is better (0–100th percentile). Tap any dot to inspect details.

Tap any node to inspect

Percentile 0–100

Dimensional AdvantageGLM-5.3 5/6

Preference Elo

No shared data

Throughput Speed

No shared data

Token Price Efficiency

GLM-5.3

$0.70/1M cheaper

Full Benchmark Score Matrix

—

Elo

High is better

1,558

EloHigh is better

—

Code Elo

High is better

1,586

Code EloHigh is better

—

LiveBench

High is better

70.8%

LiveBenchHigh is better

—

SWE-bench

High is better

76.4%

SWE-benchHigh is better

—

GPQA

High is better

83.2%

GPQAHigh is better

—

TTFT

Low is better

255 ms

TTFTLow is better

—

Speed

High is better

90 tok/s

SpeedHigh is better

—

In $

Low is better

+150%$0.50 / 1M

In $Low is better

$1.25 / 1M

Out $

Low is better

+39%$1.80 / 1M

Out $Low is better

$2.50 / 1M

Context

High is better

200k

ContextHigh is better

2M+900%

Interactive Simulator (USD)

Workload Cost & Savings Calculator

Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).

Save up to 45% with GLM-5.3

Monthly Volume50M tokens/mo

Quick Presets:

Token Ratio (In vs Out)70% In / 30% Out

RAG / Search (10% out)Coding / Chat (50% out)

GLM-5.3$44.50 / mo

In: $17.5Out: $27

SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20$81.25 / mo

In: $43.75Out: $37.5

Estimated Cost Delta

GLM-5.3 is estimated to save $36.75/month ($441/year).

Based on 50M tokens (30% gen)

Key Selection Recommendations

1
GLM-5.3:Pick GLM-5.3 when you are optimizing output cost.
2
SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20:Pick SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20 for million-token RAG or long-document jobs.

Recommended Workload Routing

Repo / coding agentsinsufficient data

Need SWE-bench on both sides.

High-volume chatGLM-5.3

Lower output list price ($1.8/1M).

Voice / low-latency UIinsufficient data

Need TTFT on both sides.

Long-document RAGSpaceXAI: Grok 4.20

Larger window (2M).

Screenshots / visionGLM-5.3

GLM-5.3 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.

Target Workload	Recommended Pick	Evaluation Rationale
Repo / coding agents	insufficient data	Need SWE-bench on both sides.
High-volume chat	GLM-5.3	Lower output list price ($1.8/1M).
Voice / low-latency UI	insufficient data	Need TTFT on both sides.
Long-document RAG	SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20	Larger window (2M).
Screenshots / vision	GLM-5.3	GLM-5.3 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.

Related Editorial Dispatches & Benchmark Notes

View all news

launchAug 14, 2026

GLM-5.3 (Aug 14): Z.ai post-train of the 5.2 744B base

Coding-plan live; open weights promised after a two-week safety review. Newest Zhipu row.

launchJun 18, 2026

GLM-5.2 remains the prior Zhipu flagship for upgrade pairs

Strong Chinese/English coding. 5.3 is the new row; 5.2 stays so the delta is visible.

Community Sentiment

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LIVE

Zhipu

GLM-5.3

Elo 1,558

LiveBench70.8%

SWE-bench76.4%

Speed90 tok/s

Output cost$1.8/1M

xAI

SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20

Elo n/a

LiveBench—

SWE-bench—

Speed—

Output cost$2.5/1M

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better overall, GLM-5.3 or SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20?: We do not have preference Elo for both models, so we do not declare an overall winner. Compare the metrics that exist.
Which is better at coding, GLM-5.3 or SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20?: SWE-bench is missing for at least one model, so we do not rank coding from a single number.
Which is cheaper to run in production?: GLM-5.3 output tokens are $1.8/1M versus $2.5/1M. Input prices and retry rates still move the real bill.
Which is faster, GLM-5.3 or SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20?: We do not have TTFT for both models.
Which has the larger context window?: SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20 accepts 2M tokens versus 200k.
Can I self-host either model?: Neither model is marked open-weights here. You are comparing hosted APIs.
Are these scores from CompareLLM’s own evals?: No. V1 aggregates public leaderboards (and optional first-party latency pings). Each cell names its source and date. Read /methodology.
What does preference Elo mean on this page?: Preference Elo is a crowd vote from LMArena / Arena. People see two hidden answers and pick the one they like more. The model that wins more often gets a higher Elo. That means people preferred it — not that it passed a school test. It is not SWE-bench, not accuracy, and not a number we invent. GLM-5.3 and SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20 Elo cells are dated snapshots from the named source — we do not compute Arena ourselves.

Similar Head-to-Head Comparisons

All GLM-5.3 matchups →|All SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20 matchups →

GLM-5.3 vs Z.ai: GLM 5V Turbo (previous glm)Grok 4.6 vs GLM-5.3 GLM-5.2 vs GLM-5.3 Grok 4 vs GLM-5.3 GPT-5 vs GLM-5.3 Claude Sonnet 5 vs GLM-5.3

GLM-5.3 vs SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20 benchmark

Interactive Comparison Diagram

Matchup Breakdown

Tug-of-War Matchup Matrix

Category wins across intelligence, speed, and pricing efficiency.

GLM-5.3 (9)vsSpaceXAI: Grok 4.20 (1)

GLM-5.3: 9W (90%)Overall: GLM-5.3SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20: 1W (10%)

← GLM-5.3SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20 →

GLM-5.3 (5/5)

Intelligence & Reasoning

Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy

Preference Elo

1,558vs—

Coding Elo

1,586vs—

SWE-bench

76.4%vs—

LiveBench

70.8%vs—

GPQA Diamond

83.2%vs—

GLM-5.3: 5WSpaceXAI: Grok 4.20: 0W

GLM-5.3 (2/2)

Speed & Latency

Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness

Output speed

90 tok/svs—

Time to first token

255 msvs—

GLM-5.3: 2WSpaceXAI: Grok 4.20: 0W

GLM-5.3 (2/3)

Pricing & Capacity

Cost per million tokens and max context window length

Output price

$1.8/1Mvs$2.5/1M

Input price

$0.5/1Mvs$1.25/1M

Context window

200kvs2M

GLM-5.3: 2WSpaceXAI: Grok 4.20: 1W

Recommended Workload Routing

Repo / coding agentsinsufficient data

Need SWE-bench on both sides.

High-volume chatGLM-5.3

Lower output list price ($1.8/1M).

Voice / low-latency UIinsufficient data

Need TTFT on both sides.

Long-document RAGSpaceXAI: Grok 4.20

Larger window (2M).

Screenshots / visionGLM-5.3

GLM-5.3 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.

Target Workload	Recommended Pick	Evaluation Rationale
Repo / coding agents	insufficient data	Need SWE-bench on both sides.
High-volume chat	GLM-5.3	Lower output list price ($1.8/1M).
Voice / low-latency UI	insufficient data	Need TTFT on both sides.
Long-document RAG	SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20	Larger window (2M).
Screenshots / vision	GLM-5.3	GLM-5.3 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better overall, GLM-5.3 or SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20?

We do not have preference Elo for both models, so we do not declare an overall winner. Compare the metrics that exist.

Which is better at coding, GLM-5.3 or SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20?

SWE-bench is missing for at least one model, so we do not rank coding from a single number.

Which is cheaper to run in production?

GLM-5.3 output tokens are $1.8/1M versus $2.5/1M. Input prices and retry rates still move the real bill.

Which is faster, GLM-5.3 or SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20?

We do not have TTFT for both models.

Which has the larger context window?

SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20 accepts 2M tokens versus 200k.

Can I self-host either model?

Neither model is marked open-weights here. You are comparing hosted APIs.

Are these scores from CompareLLM’s own evals?

No. V1 aggregates public leaderboards (and optional first-party latency pings). Each cell names its source and date. Read /methodology.

What does preference Elo mean on this page?

Preference Elo is a crowd vote from LMArena / Arena. People see two hidden answers and pick the one they like more. The model that wins more often gets a higher Elo. That means people preferred it — not that it passed a school test. It is not SWE-bench, not accuracy, and not a number we invent. GLM-5.3 and SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20 Elo cells are dated snapshots from the named source — we do not compute Arena ourselves.

Swap or Add Any Model to this Matchup

Interactive Comparison Diagram

Tug-of-War Matchup Matrix

Intelligence & Reasoning

Speed & Latency

Pricing & Capacity

Multi-Dimensional Capability Radar

No shared data

No shared data

GLM-5.3

Full Benchmark Score Matrix

Workload Cost & Savings Calculator

Key Selection Recommendations

Recommended Workload Routing

Related Editorial Dispatches & Benchmark Notes

GLM-5.3 (Aug 14): Z.ai post-train of the 5.2 744B base

GLM-5.2 remains the prior Zhipu flagship for upgrade pairs

Cast Your Matchup Vote

Community Discussions (0)

Share card

CompareLLM Matrix

GLM-5.3

SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20

Frequently Asked Questions

Related news

Similar Head-to-Head Comparisons

Swap or Add Any Model to this Matchup

Interactive Comparison Diagram

Tug-of-War Matchup Matrix

Intelligence & Reasoning

Speed & Latency

Pricing & Capacity

Multi-Dimensional Capability Radar

No shared data

No shared data

GLM-5.3

Full Benchmark Score Matrix

Workload Cost & Savings Calculator

Key Selection Recommendations

Recommended Workload Routing

Related Editorial Dispatches & Benchmark Notes

GLM-5.3 (Aug 14): Z.ai post-train of the 5.2 744B base

GLM-5.2 remains the prior Zhipu flagship for upgrade pairs

Cast Your Matchup Vote

Community Discussions (0)

Share card

CompareLLM Matrix

GLM-5.3

SpaceXAI: Grok 4.20

Frequently Asked Questions

Related news

Similar Head-to-Head Comparisons