Overview
GLM-5.1 is Z.AI's latest coding-focused model, released March 27, 2026, and available immediately to all GLM Coding Plan subscribers. Building on GLM-5-Turbo released just twelve days earlier, GLM-5.1 delivers a substantial coding performance leap—scoring 45.3 on Claude Code benchmarks versus the 35.4 baseline set by GLM-5. At 94.6% of Claude Opus 4.6's benchmark score, GLM-5.1 targets developers who want near-frontier coding intelligence at a materially lower list price than frontier subscriptions; current official Coding Plan docs start Lite at $10/month.
What's New
Coding Performance Leap
GLM-5.1's headline improvement is a 28% jump in coding benchmark scores compared to GLM-5. In evaluations run using Claude Code as the testing environment, GLM-5.1 achieved 45.3 points—2.6 points below Claude Opus 4.6's 47.9 score, or 94.6% of that result. The benchmark was run using Claude Code as the harness, so it is best treated as a Z.AI-reported comparative result rather than a neutral cross-vendor benchmark.
Public Z.AI materials position GLM-5.1 for complex coding and agentic workflows across a wide range of task types.
Generation Speed
GLM-5.1 maintains the 55+ tokens/sec generation speed introduced in the GLM-5 series, keeping interactive coding sessions fluid. Combined with an estimated 200K context window, developers can work across large, multi-file codebases without losing earlier context during long agent runs.
Vision & MCP Integrations
The GLM Coding Plan can be paired with a separate Vision MCP Server for screenshots, UI mockups, and diagrams. Z.AI's current docs describe that Vision MCP as powered by GLM-4.6V rather than as a new GLM-5.1-native capability. The GLM Coding Plan includes separate MCP services such as Web Search, Web Reader, and Zread. These are plan-level integrations documented across the Coding Plan docs, not newly introduced GLM-5.1 model-native features.
GLM-5.1 can be used in Claude Code, Cline, Kilo Code, OpenCode, OpenClaw, and other supported tools through Z.AI's Coding Plan integrations, although some tools require manual model configuration rather than true zero-config use.
Performance Benchmarks
| Model | Coding Score | vs. Claude Opus 4.6 |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Opus 4.6 | 47.9 | 100% (baseline) |
| GLM-5.1 | 45.3 | 94.6% |
| GLM-5-Turbo | Official comparable score not disclosed on the current GLM-5.1 benchmark chart reviewed | — |
| GLM-5 | 35.4 | 73.9% |
Evaluation conducted using Claude Code as the test harness. Claude-family models benefit from toolchain familiarity, so GLM-5.1's effective capability gap with Opus may be narrower than the 5.4-point difference indicates.
Generation speed: 55+ tokens/sec
Context window: 204,800 tokens
Max output: 131,072 tokens
Pricing & Plans
All GLM-5.1 access is through the GLM Coding Plan subscription. Standalone API access for GLM-5.1 is not yet available.
| Plan | Official current pricing/status | 5-hour limit | Weekly limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lite | From $10/month | Up to approx. 80 prompts | Up to approx. 400 prompts |
| Pro | From $30/month | Up to approx. 400 prompts | Up to approx. 2,000 prompts |
| Max | Public docs reviewed list usage limits but do not clearly surface a sticker price in the docs cited here | Up to approx. 1,600 prompts | Up to approx. 8,000 prompts |
- All plans include GLM-5.1, GLM-5-Turbo, GLM-4.7, GLM-4.6, GLM-4.5, and GLM-4.5-Air; GLM-5 is currently listed for Pro and Max.
- Requests reset within a rolling 5-hour window
- No per-token charges within the subscription limit
Best For
- Individual developers who want near-Opus coding quality at sub-$10/month
- Teams running agentic coding workflows in Claude Code, Cline, or Kilo Code
- Projects requiring vision-augmented coding (UI mockups, screenshot-driven debugging)
- Developers building distributed systems or microservice architectures who need long-context reasoning
- Cost-conscious teams evaluating Claude Opus alternatives for daily coding tasks
- Developers who care about cost-effective coding-agent workflows in supported tools such as Claude Code, Cline, Kilo Code, and OpenClaw
FAQ
How does GLM-5.1 differ from GLM-5-Turbo?
GLM-5-Turbo (released March 15, 2026) focused on stability and efficiency for long-chain OpenClaw-style agent tasks. GLM-5.1 (released March 27, 2026) is shown on Z.AI's current benchmark chart at 45.3 versus Claude Opus 4.6 at 47.9; no official intermediate GLM-5-Turbo benchmark score has been published by Z.AI.
Can I use GLM-5.1 with Claude Code today?
Yes. GLM-5.1 is compatible with Claude Code via Z.AI's API compatibility layer. Configure the base URL and API key in your Claude Code settings to point to Z.AI's endpoint. The devpack documentation at docs.z.ai/devpack/using5.1 covers the exact configuration steps.
Is GLM-5.1 available as a standalone API?
As reviewed here, Z.AI documents GLM-5.1 primarily through the Coding Plan and supported-tool integrations. Standalone API access has not been announced; avoid assuming broader API availability until Z.AI publishes a dedicated model or API announcement.
When will GLM-5.1 be open-sourced?
Current public Z.AI materials do not provide a dated standalone GLM-5.1 repository link or confirmed MIT release timeline, so availability for local deployment remains unconfirmed.
What happens to request limits?
Requests are counted within a rolling 5-hour window: 120 for Lite, 600 for Pro. Limits reset continuously rather than on a fixed daily schedule, so consistent throughput is more achievable during active coding sessions.
