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Google: Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Z.ai: GLM 5

Try both on us. Starter credit covers your first requests, then one key routes Gemma 4 26B A4B and GLM 5. 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 4 26B A4B has the lower published input-plus-output rate, more Credits provider routes and the larger context window. There is not enough recent probe data to compare speed.

$0.41145/1MGoogle: Gemma 4 26B A4B cheapest route

$3.6925/1MZ.ai: GLM 5 cheapest route

not enough dataGoogle: Gemma 4 26B A4B fastest measured p50 TTFT

not enough dataZ.ai: GLM 5 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 4 26B A4B Z.ai: GLM 5

Model idgoogle/gemma-4-26b-a4b-itz-ai/glm-5

Publisher Google AI Studio Z.AI

AI IQ IQ 99#127 IQ 107#87

Context262,144 tokens202,752 tokens

Credits provider routes108

Cheapest route$0.41145/1M$3.6925/1M

Cached input$0.04853/1M to $0.05275/1M$0.20045/1M to $0.45365/1M

Privacy posturehas ZDR routehas ZDR route

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 decide chat

Google: Gemma 4 26B A4B routes

Overview10 Credits routes
PricingInput, cached input, and output rates
ProvidersAll serving providers

Z.ai: GLM 5 routes

Overview8 Credits routes
PricingInput, cached input, and output rates
BenchmarksTrustedRouter and external sources
ProvidersAll serving providers

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Google: Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Z.ai: GLM 5.343 combined provider routes
Google: Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Z.ai: GLM 5.242 combined provider routes
Google: Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Z.ai: GLM 5.3 Flash42 combined provider routes
Z.ai: GLM 5 vs Z.ai: GLM 5.341 combined provider routes
Z.ai: GLM 5 vs Z.ai: GLM 5.240 combined provider routes
Z.ai: GLM 5 vs Z.ai: GLM 5.3 Flash40 combined provider routes
Google: Gemma 4 26B A4B vs MoonshotAI: Kimi K338 combined provider routes
DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 vs Google: Gemma 4 26B A4B 36 combined provider routes

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-4-26b-a4b-it",
    messages=messages,
)

Questions

Which should I use, Google: Gemma 4 26B A4B or Z.ai: GLM 5?

Google: Gemma 4 26B A4B has the lower published input-plus-output rate, more Credits provider routes and the larger context window. There is not enough recent probe data to compare speed.

Is Google: Gemma 4 26B A4B or Z.ai: GLM 5 cheaper?

The current cheapest TrustedRouter route is $0.41145/1M for Google: Gemma 4 26B A4B and $3.6925/1M for Z.ai: GLM 5. The comparison uses current catalog prices and updates as provider pricing changes.

Is Google: Gemma 4 26B A4B or Z.ai: GLM 5 faster?

Current measured p50 time to first token is not enough data for Google: Gemma 4 26B A4B and not enough data for Z.ai: GLM 5. These are routed probe measurements, not vendor-advertised speeds, and update as new samples arrive.

Can I test Google: Gemma 4 26B A4B and Z.ai: GLM 5 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-4-26b-a4b-it and z-ai/glm-5. This makes side-by-side evals possible without maintaining two provider integrations.