THE TICKER · HEAD-TO-HEAD · CHECKED DAILY · LAST CHANGE 2026-10-13
GEMINI 4 ARGON VS GLM 5.3
Google vs Z.ai, in USD per million tokens, cross-checked daily against the public pricing dataset. Same jobs, both meters running.
THE VERDICT
2.2x
Gemini 4 Argon costs 2.2x more than GLM 5.3 for the same job — a 1,000-token prompt with a 3,000-token reply runs $0.03 vs $0.01. At 1,000 runs a day, that gap is $522.00 a month for identical traffic.
SIDE BY SIDE
| Gemini 4 Argon → | GLM 5.3 → | |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Z.ai | |
| Input / MTok | $2.00 | $1.40 |
| Output / MTok | $10.00 | $4.40 |
| Output multiple | 5.0x | 3.1x |
| 1K prompt + 3K reply | $0.03 | $0.01 |
SAME JOB, BOTH BILLS
| Scenario | Gemini 4 Argon | GLM 5.3 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| A typical prompt | $0.0096 | $0.0044 | 2.2x |
| A 20-turn conversation | $0.05 | $0.02 | 2.1x |
| Summarizing a 10-page document | $0.05 | $0.03 | 1.9x |
| One agent run | $0.12 | $0.06 | 2.2x |
| A code review request | $0.04 | $0.02 | 2.2x |
Output sizes use the same editorial ratios as the Burn Calculator. Estimates, not invoices — and price is not a benchmark: the cheaper model is only a bargain if it does the job.
SETTLE IT WITH YOUR OWN PROMPT
Paste a real prompt into the Burn Calculator and see what it costs on Gemini 4 Argon, GLM 5.3 and the other 34 models on the board — plus how much of it is waste either way.