THE TICKER · HEAD-TO-HEAD · CHECKED DAILY · LAST CHANGE 2026-10-13
GLM 5.3 VS MUSE SPARK 1.3
Z.ai vs Meta, in USD per million tokens, cross-checked daily against the public pricing dataset. Same jobs, both meters running.
Effectively a tie: for the same job (a 1,000-token prompt with a 3,000-token reply), GLM 5.3 and Muse Spark 1.3 bill within 5% of each other. Pick on quality, latency or taste — price won't settle this one.
SIDE BY SIDE
| GLM 5.3 → | Muse Spark 1.3 → | |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Z.ai | Meta |
| Input / MTok | $1.40 | $1.25 |
| Output / MTok | $4.40 | $4.25 |
| Output multiple | 3.1x | 3.4x |
| 1K prompt + 3K reply | $0.01 | $0.01 |
SAME JOB, BOTH BILLS
| Scenario | GLM 5.3 | Muse Spark 1.3 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| A typical prompt | $0.0044 | $0.0042 | — |
| A 20-turn conversation | $0.02 | $0.02 | 1.1x |
| Summarizing a 10-page document | $0.03 | $0.02 | 1.1x |
| One agent run | $0.06 | $0.05 | — |
| A code review request | $0.02 | $0.02 | — |
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 GLM 5.3, Muse Spark 1.3 and the other 34 models on the board — plus how much of it is waste either way.