Overview
GLM-4.6 was Z.ai's flagship before GLM-5 and remains a hugely popular open-weight coding model. It expanded the context window from 128K to 200K tokens, sharpened reasoning, and delivered better real-world performance in coding tools like Claude Code, Cline, Roo Code and Kilo Code — including noticeably more polished front-end output.
As a 355B-parameter MoE (32B active), GLM-4.6 hits a sweet spot of capability, cost and self-hostability that made it a default choice for budget-conscious developers. Even after GLM-5's arrival, it's a dependable, well-supported option for agentic coding on open weights.
Key capabilities
- 200K-token context window
- Strong, polished coding output
- Works well across popular coding harnesses
- Open weights, efficient to run
At a glance
Context
200K tokens
Params
355B total / 32B active
Pricing: Low — a value favourite for developers.
Pros & cons
What we like
- Excellent coding value on open weights
- Large 200K context
- Well-supported in dev tooling
Trade-offs
- Superseded by GLM-5 at the top end
- Trails closed frontier models on hardest tasks
The verdict
GLM-4.6 remains one of the best value coding models you can self-host — capable, well-supported and cheap. GLM-5 is the upgrade, but 4.6 still earns its place in plenty of developer workflows.
Best for: Budget-friendly agentic coding with a large context window.
Frequently asked questions
Is GLM-4.6 still worth using after GLM-5?
Yes. GLM-4.6 is lighter to run and still a strong, well-supported coding model. Move to GLM-5 when you need its higher ceiling and longer context.
