Analysis Summary
Z.ai GLM 5.2 is a benchmarked general-purpose model with a one-million-token context window, strong coding capability, and reliable tool-oriented interfaces. Its measured agentic performance is useful for API orchestration, structured retrieval, and multi-step workflow execution, while the context capacity suits large codebases, documentation sets, and long SEO briefs. Text-only output keeps it focused on language and software tasks.
The low listed input and output prices make GLM 5.2 particularly attractive for high-volume automation, technical content, SEO production, and secondary coding assistance. Instruction-following results are serviceable rather than exceptional, so complex client-facing copy still benefits from review. Design for Online could deploy it this week for cost-sensitive agents, code support, document analysis, and structured content pipelines, with stronger models reserved for the hardest reasoning tasks.
Assessed August 9, 2026
Editorial notes
GLM 5.2 pairs a one-million-token context with strong coding, tool use, function calling, instruction following, and very low listed pricing, making it a capable value choice for agentic and SEO workflows.
Rankings consider pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, and real-world applicability and are refreshed as new models launch. Feedback?
DFO Verdict
GLM 5.2 pairs a one-million-token context with strong coding, tool use, function calling, instruction following, and very low listed pricing, making it a capable value choice for agentic and SEO workflows.
Benchmark scores
Magenta = intelligence · Ink = technical/agentic · Cyan = content & long-context · Grey = community benchmarks. Data: Artificial Analysis, Hugging Face.
52.6 Intelligence Index·68.8 Coding Index·45.7 Agentic Index
How Z.ai: GLM 5.2 compares
Z.ai: GLM 5.2 ranks #26 of 425 AI models we track for overall intelligence, #30 of 198 for coding, #33 of 180 for agentic tasks. Its 1M-token context window is larger than 95% of the models we list. At $0.48 per million input tokens it is cheaper than 39% of comparable models.
Dark bar = input · light bar = output, scaled to the priciest peer.
1M tokens ≈ 8 full-length novels or ~2,500 pages of business documents in a single request.
Strongest on business fit. The pulled-in technical corner is the trade-off, and if the shape matters more than the price, this is your model.
Compare shapes side-by-side →Pricing
| Token Type | Cost per 1M tokens | Cost per 1K tokens |
|---|---|---|
| Input | $0.48 | $0.000476 |
| Output | $1.50 | $0.001496 |
What would Z.ai: GLM 5.2 cost your business?
Pick the job that looks most like yours, then fine-tune with the sliders. Estimates update live.
A website chatbot handling around 100 customer conversations a day, a few short messages each.
Full calculator with 704 models → Price Calculator
These numbers get smaller with the right architecture.
We route routine calls to cheap models and save Z.ai: GLM 5.2 for the hard ones. Most clients cut their estimate by 60-80%.
Talk to our teamAbout Z.ai: GLM 5.2
GLM 5.2 is a large-scale reasoning model from Z.ai. It supports text input and output with a 1M-token context window, and is suited for long-horizon agent workflows, project-level software engineering,..
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<a href="https://designforonline.com/ai-models/z-ai-glm-5-2/"><img src="https://designforonline.com/?aiml_badge=z-ai-glm-5-2&theme=dark" alt="Z.ai: GLM 5.2, ranked #16 on the Design for Online AI Leaderboard" width="400" height="76"></a>
<a href="https://designforonline.com/ai-models/z-ai-glm-5-2/"><img src="https://designforonline.com/?aiml_badge=z-ai-glm-5-2&theme=light" alt="Z.ai: GLM 5.2, ranked #16 on the Design for Online AI Leaderboard" width="400" height="76"></a>
Frequently asked questions about Z.ai: GLM 5.2
How much does Z.ai: GLM 5.2 cost?
Z.ai: GLM 5.2 costs $0.48 per million input tokens and $1.50 per million output tokens.
What is the context window of Z.ai: GLM 5.2?
Z.ai: GLM 5.2 has a context window of 1,048,576 tokens (1M).
Is Z.ai: GLM 5.2 good for coding?
On our coding benchmark index, Z.ai: GLM 5.2 ranks #30 of 198 models, placing it in the top quartile of the field for code generation and debugging.
What can Z.ai: GLM 5.2 do?
Z.ai: GLM 5.2 supports tool use and function calling.
Who created Z.ai: GLM 5.2?
Z.ai: GLM 5.2 is developed by Z.ai and was released on June 16, 2026.
Data sourced from the OpenRouter API, Artificial Analysis, the Hugging Face Open LLM Leaderboard and our own internal testing. Scores are editorially curated by our team.
Last updated: August 18, 2026 8:38 pm