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Z.ai vs OpenScale
Z.ai sells its own GLM models and a cheap coding plan. OpenScale sells DeepSeek V4.1 Flash per token to the same coding-agent crowd.
By The Subconscious Team · Updated
Z.ai vs OpenScale: key differences
Z.ai's GLM-5.3 costs $1.40 in and $4.40 out per million tokens, GLM-5.3-Flash costs $0.075 in and $0.25 out, and the GLM Coding Plan starts at $18 a month. An Anthropic-compatible endpoint lets Claude Code run on GLM. OpenScale serves DeepSeek V4.1 Flash with a 1M context at $0.06 in, $0.003 cached and $0.24 out under a 50% promotion, at 200+ tokens per second, with tested setups for Claude Code, Codex and ten other agents.
Both are cheap Claude Code substitutes, so the choice comes down to model and billing. Z.ai fits developers who want GLM on a flat monthly plan, with servers mostly in China. OpenScale fits teams that prefer pay-as-you-go tokens, DeepSeek's model, a Singapore datacenter and zero data retention on chat requests.
What Z.ai and OpenScale do
Z.ai
Z.AI is the international brand of Chinese lab Zhipu AI, maker of the GLM models. Its current flagship, GLM-5.3, shipped August 17, 2026 at $1.40 in and $4.40 out per million tokens, with cached input at $0.26. Its weights came out August 28 under a custom GLM-5.3 License that requires a security review for hosts with more than $10B in yearly revenue. GLM-5.3-Flash costs $0.075 in and $0.25 out, and several older Flash models are priced at zero, a real free tier instead of trial credits. GLM-5, released in February 2026, is a 744B mixture-of-experts model under an MIT license, and at launch it ranked first among open-weight models on the Artificial Analysis index with a record-low hallucination score.
Example models: GLM-5.3, GLM-5.3-Flash
Full Z.ai profileOpenScale
OpenScale is a Y Combinator-backed inference API built by LatentSpace and run out of Singapore. It sells open models behind one endpoint that speaks Chat Completions, the OpenAI Responses API and Anthropic Messages, so Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Cline, GitHub Copilot, Zed and other coding agents can point at it with a base URL and key. Its public catalog today is DeepSeek V4.1 Flash in two versions, standard and fast, both with a 1M token context window and up to 384K output tokens.
Example models: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
Full OpenScale profileShould you choose Z.ai or OpenScale?
Z.ai vs OpenScale at a glance
| Attribute | Z.ai | OpenScale |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Open weights (GLM-5.3 License; MIT on Flash and older) | Open weights |
| Flagship models | GLM-5.3, GLM-5.3-Flash | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash |
| Speed | ~80 tok/s on GLM-5.3 | 200+ tok/s; fast tier ~2x |
| Price | $1.40 in, $4.40 out (GLM-5.3); free Flash tier | $0.06 in, $0.24 out (promo, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash) |
| Customization | Open weights; GLM-5.3 License adds review for large hosts | N/A |
| Deployment | API, GLM Coding Plan | Serverless API |
| Long context | 1M (GLM-5.3) | 1M context |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Z.ai and OpenScale?
Z.ai sells its own GLM models and a cheap coding plan. OpenScale sells DeepSeek V4.1 Flash per token to the same coding-agent crowd.
When should I choose Z.ai over OpenScale?
GLM models from their maker; A flat monthly coding plan; Free Flash tier.
When should I choose OpenScale over Z.ai?
Pay-as-you-go DeepSeek V4.1 Flash; Very cheap cached input; Hosting outside China.
Is Z.ai or OpenScale cheaper?
Z.ai: $1.40 in, $4.40 out (GLM-5.3); free Flash tier. OpenScale: $0.06 in, $0.24 out (promo, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash). The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.
Which has more context, Z.ai or OpenScale?
Z.ai: 1M (GLM-5.3). OpenScale: 1M context.
Related comparisons
Running long-horizon agents?
If your agents run past 200K tokens, compare both against Subconscious. Our inference stack treats a long-horizon trace as the primary workload, so speed, cost, and accuracy hold up deep into the trace.