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Google: Gemma 3 12B vs Z.ai: GLM 5.2

Try both on us. Starter credit covers your first requests, then one key routes Gemma 3 12B and GLM 5.2. Switch by changing the model name.

Compare routesProviders, price, context, and policy posture in one view.

Use auto when uptime mattersKeep a primary model and let fallback handle provider failures.

Same API shapeUse the OpenAI client and set the model you want.

Practical read

Monthly evidence

Google: Gemma 3 12B has the lower published input-plus-output rate. Z.ai: GLM 5.2 has more Credits provider routes and the larger context window. There is not enough recent probe data to compare speed.

$0.15825/1MGoogle: Gemma 3 12B cheapest route

$2.2999/1MZ.ai: GLM 5.2 cheapest route

not enough dataGoogle: Gemma 3 12B fastest measured p50 TTFT

not enough dataZ.ai: GLM 5.2 fastest measured p50 TTFT

The price comparison adds each route's rate for one million input tokens and one million output tokens; your cost depends on your input/output mix. Prices and live route measurements can change. Use the monthly reports when you need a stable evidence window, then run a small task-specific eval before choosing a production default.

Google: Gemma 3 12BZ.ai: GLM 5.2

Model idgoogle/gemma-3-12b-itz-ai/glm-5.2

Publisher Google AI Studio Z.AI

AI IQ — IQ 118#48

Context131,072 tokens1,048,576 tokens

Credits provider routes432

Cheapest route$0.15825/1M$2.2999/1M

Cached input$0.05275/1M$0.131875/1M to $0.84611/1M

Privacy posturehas ZDR routehas Confidential route (E2EE + ZDR)

Fastest measured p50 TTFTnot enough datanot enough data

Highest measured throughputnot enough datanot enough data

Recent route uptime rangenot enough datanot enough data

Modes chat chat

Google: Gemma 3 12B routes

Overview4 Credits routes
PricingInput, cached input, and output rates
ProvidersAll serving providers

Z.ai: GLM 5.2 routes

Overview32 Credits routes
PricingInput, cached input, and output rates
BenchmarksTrustedRouter and external sources
ProvidersAll serving providers

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Production choice

Pick a default model. Keep fallback enabled.

TrustedRouter is useful when you know the model you want, but still need provider rollover, budget limits, usage records, and a prompt path you can verify.

OpenAI clientPython

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://api-azure.trustedrouter.com/v1",
    api_key="sk-tr-v1-..."
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="google/gemma-3-12b-it",
    messages=messages,
)

Questions

Which should I use, Google: Gemma 3 12B or Z.ai: GLM 5.2?

Is Google: Gemma 3 12B or Z.ai: GLM 5.2 cheaper?

The current cheapest TrustedRouter route is $0.15825/1M for Google: Gemma 3 12B and $2.2999/1M for Z.ai: GLM 5.2. The comparison uses current catalog prices and updates as provider pricing changes.

Is Google: Gemma 3 12B or Z.ai: GLM 5.2 faster?

Current measured p50 time to first token is not enough data for Google: Gemma 3 12B and not enough data for Z.ai: GLM 5.2. These are routed probe measurements, not vendor-advertised speeds, and update as new samples arrive.

Can I test Google: Gemma 3 12B and Z.ai: GLM 5.2 with the same API?

Yes. Use the same OpenAI-compatible TrustedRouter base URL and API key, then change only the model id between google/gemma-3-12b-it and z-ai/glm-5.2. This makes side-by-side evals possible without maintaining two provider integrations.