What is Z.AI Developer Platform?
Z.AI Developer Platform is the developer-facing API of Z.AI, a provider of large language models. Developers register, create an API key in the API Keys management page, top up billing if needed, and then call models such as GLM-5.3, GLM-5.3-Flash or CogVideoX-3 through a RESTful chat completions endpoint. The docs show examples in cURL, the official Python SDK (zai-sdk), the official Java SDK, and the OpenAI Python and Node.js SDKs, which the platform states are compatible for migrating existing OpenAI code.
The platform covers more than chat. The documentation lists text and vision models, GLM-OCR and GLM-ASR-2512 for speech recognition, GLM-Image and CogView-4 for image generation, CogVideoX-3 for video, and agents such as a Slide/Poster agent (beta), a Translation agent and a Video Effect Template agent. Capabilities include thinking mode, streaming, function calling, context caching, structured output and a web search tool.
Key features
- Chat completions API with GLM-5.3 and GLM-5.3-Flash models
- Official Python and Java SDKs with async support
- OpenAI SDK compatibility for migrating from OpenAI
- Image generation (GLM-Image, CogView-4) and video generation (CogVideoX-3)
- Speech recognition with GLM-ASR-2512 and OCR with GLM-OCR
- Function calling, streaming, context caching and structured output
Who is it for
- software developers integrating LLMs into applications
- teams migrating existing OpenAI-based code
- developers building AI agents and multimodal features
Pros and cons
- Works with OpenAI SDKs, which eases migration
- Covers text, vision, image, video, audio and agent models in one platform
- Some model prices are marked as limited-time free for cached input storage
- Advertised GLM Coding Plan pricing is from a separate product and is not detailed on these pages
Z.AI Developer Platform pricing
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| GLM-5.3-Flash | 0.15 USD | per 1M input tokens; 0.03 USD cached input; 0.50 USD output per 1M tokens |
| GLM-5.3-FlashX | 0.37 USD | per 1M input tokens; 0.075 USD cached input; 1.25 USD output per 1M tokens |
| GLM-5.3 | 1.4 USD | per 1M input tokens; 0.26 USD cached input; 4.4 USD output per 1M tokens |
| GLM-5 | 1 USD | per 1M input tokens; 0.2 USD cached input; 3.2 USD output per 1M tokens |
| GLM-4.7-Flash | 0 USD | free text model |
| GLM-Image | 0.015 USD | per image |
Prices copied from Z.AI Developer Platform pricing, checked October 12, 2026. Currency as shown by the vendor; taxes may apply.
Z.AI Developer Platform pricing details →
Is Z.AI Developer Platform free?
There is a free trial. Free models: GLM-4.7-Flash, GLM-4.5-Flash and GLM-4.6V-Flash are priced at 0 USD. Context caching storage is free for a limited time.
Z.AI Developer Platform alternatives
| Tool | Price from | Free plan | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
 DeepAI | 9.99 USD/mo | yes | APIs & models |
 Grok API | 0.02 USD | ? | APIs & models |
 Replicate | 0.025 USD | trial | APIs & models |
 fal | 0.05 USD | ? | APIs & models |
 Google AI Studio | 0,75 USD | ? | APIs & models |
 MiniMax | 0.3 USD input / 1.2 USD output per M tokens | ? | APIs & models |
All alternatives to Z.AI Developer Platform →
FAQ
What is Z.AI Developer Platform used for?
API platform for developers offering GLM text, vision, image, video, audio and agent models, callable via HTTP or Python/Java SDKs.
Is Z.AI Developer Platform free?
There is a free trial. Free models: GLM-4.7-Flash, GLM-4.5-Flash and GLM-4.6V-Flash are priced at 0 USD. Context caching storage is free for a limited time.
How much does Z.AI Developer Platform cost?
The cheapest paid plan is 0.015 USD (vendor pricing, October 12, 2026).
What are the best Z.AI Developer Platform alternatives?
Closest alternatives: DeepAI, Grok API, Replicate, fal, Google AI Studio.
Data checked October 12, 2026 on the vendor website (docs.z.ai).