Head to head
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash vs GLM-5.3 Flash
Which is better, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash or GLM-5.3 Flash?
GLM-5.3 Flash finishes ahead of DeepSeek V4.1 Flash on the index, 89.6 to 88.3, and leads on all four scores: craft, speed, control and value. Both are scored on the same rubric, in the same week, and neither placing is sponsored.
Updated
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
07 of 73
88.3
Frontier-adjacent answers for thirty cents per million input tokens, with the weights under MIT.
GLM-5.3 Flash
05 of 73
89.6
A fast, MIT-licensed open model that human voters rank beside the big flagships.
The four scores, side by side
| Score | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | GLM-5.3 Flash | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Craft | 84 | 86 | +2 |
| Speed | 88 | 90 | +2 |
| Control | 94 | 95 | +1 |
| Value | 96 | 95 | +1 |
| Index score | 88.3 | 89.6 | +1.3 |
Which to pick
GLM-5.3 Flash is the safer pick on every axis we score. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash earns its place in the index, but nothing in these four numbers argues for it over GLM-5.3 Flash.
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
V4.1 Flash is the first model in DeepSeek's new architecture family, released on 10 September, and it replaced V4 Flash outright on the API. It scores above V4 Pro on both independent leaderboards while costing about a quarter as much, takes a million tokens of context and reads images. The weights are published under MIT. For high-volume work where the bill is the constraint, it is one of the best bargains in the index.
Where it shines
- Beats DeepSeek's own V4 Pro at about a quarter of the price
- MIT licence on the published weights
- Million-token context and 384,000 tokens of output
GLM-5.3 Flash
GLM-5.3 Flash is a sparse model of 320 billion parameters with 18 billion active, published under MIT with a million-token window and image, video and file input. It scores close to its larger sibling on both independent leaderboards while costing a tenth as much through the hosted API, and a faster FlashX variant runs at around 200 tokens a second. It is the most capable model in the index at this price with a licence this plain.
Where it shines
- MIT licence on a model close to the open frontier
- Fifteen cents in and fifty out per million tokens
- Reads images, video and files as well as text