GLM 5 Turbo vs Sonar
Updated October 21, 2026. 3 benchmarks have a result for both. Coding is ranked on the Vibe Coding Index; every other board is shown as published.
Decision reading
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
GLM 5 Turbo has the edge where the context window is larger, 203K against 127K tokens.
- Shared results
- 3
- GLM 5 Turbo only
- 13
- Sonar only
- 2
- Like-for-like categories
- 2 of 9
Shared results can support a head-to-head reading. Results only one model has describe coverage, not superiority.
Which one for your work
Each card is decided by one number both models carry. Where only one has it, the card says so and makes no call.
Coding
Vibe Coding Index, six public coding benchmarks
No call
Neither has a coding score yet.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
GLM 5 Turbo
GLM 5 Turbo leads, 26.6 against 7.7.
Same board, both measured
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only GLM 5 Turbo has a Design Arena: websites result, 1262.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
GLM 5 Turbo
GLM 5 Turbo takes 203K tokens against 127K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Sonar
GLM 5 Turbo $0.0032, Sonar $0.0015 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- GLM 5 Turbo not benchmarked, Sonar not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Reasoning, 30.3 points apart on average over 2 shared benchmarks.
- Widest single gap
- GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run): GLM 5 Turbo 84.7% against Sonar 47.1%, 37.6 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- GLM 5 Turbo $4.00 against Sonar $1.00 per million output tokens, 4.0x apart.
- Context window
- GLM 5 Turbo takes 203K tokens, Sonar 127K.
Benchmark by benchmark
First the score: boards each model leads, per category, where both have a result. Then every board, a category to a fold; bars are each result on a 0 to 100 scale, so compare the two in a row, not one row with another.
| Category | GLM 5 Turbo | Bars | Sonar | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | 1 | 0 | ||
| Reasoning | 2 | 0 | ||
| All shared boards | 3 | 0 |
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index3 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | GLM 5 Turbo | Sonar | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 29.5% | Only Sonar measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | 33.3% | Not measured | Only GLM 5 Turbo measured |
| ALE-Bench | 634.0 | Not measured | Only GLM 5 Turbo measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 35 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10
| Benchmark | GLM 5 Turbo | Sonar | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 26.6 | 7.7 | GLM 5 Turbo |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board, none shared
| Benchmark | GLM 5 Turbo | Sonar | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| τ²-Bench Telecom | 98.5% | Not measured | Only GLM 5 Turbo measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 38 boards here | |||
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index20
| Benchmark | GLM 5 Turbo | Sonar | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 84.7% | 47.1% | GLM 5 Turbo |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 27.8% | 4.9% | GLM 5 Turbo |
| Neither model has a result on the other 19 boards here | |||
MathNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | GLM 5 Turbo | Sonar | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 13 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board, none shared
| Benchmark | GLM 5 Turbo | Sonar | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 68.9% | Only Sonar measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 16 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index8 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | GLM 5 Turbo | Sonar | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | 1262 | Not measured | Only GLM 5 Turbo measured |
| Design Arena: UI components | 1263 | Not measured | Only GLM 5 Turbo measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | 1248 | Not measured | Only GLM 5 Turbo measured |
| Design Arena: data viz | 1263 | Not measured | Only GLM 5 Turbo measured |
| Design Arena: 3D | 1248 | Not measured | Only GLM 5 Turbo measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | 1262 | Not measured | Only GLM 5 Turbo measured |
| Design Arena: SVG | 1206 | Not measured | Only GLM 5 Turbo measured |
| Design Arena: ASCII art | 1160 | Not measured | Only GLM 5 Turbo measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | GLM 5 Turbo | Sonar | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBench | 73.2% | Not measured | Only GLM 5 Turbo measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 71.7% | Not measured | Only GLM 5 Turbo measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 44 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | GLM 5 Turbo | Sonar | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 5 boards here | |||
What each workload costs
Three fixed token mixes at each model's listed price, so per-token rates become a bill.
Chat turn
1K input + 500 output tokens
Sonar costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Sonar costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Sonar costs less
Listed OpenRouter rates, without cache or batch discounts. A workload that does not fit a model's context window would need splitting.
Specification differences
The leading value in a row is marked; a row with a missing value names no leader. Our two rows are marked in red.
| Specification | Z.ai GLM 5 Turbo | Perplexity Sonar |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Z.ai | Perplexity |
| Weights | No public weights listed | No public weights listed |
| Released | March 15, 2026 | January 27, 2025 |
| Context window | 203K | 127K |
| Input $/Mtok | $1.20 | $1.00 |
| Output $/Mtok | $4.00 | $1.00 |
| Coding index | Not benchmarked | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 0 | 0 |
| Cost per solved task | Not computable | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is GLM 5 Turbo better than Sonar for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. GLM 5 Turbo has the edge where the context window is larger, 203K against 127K tokens.
Which is cheaper, GLM 5 Turbo or Sonar?
GLM 5 Turbo costs $1.20 per million input tokens and $4.00 per million output tokens; Sonar costs $1.00 and $1.00. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, GLM 5 Turbo or Sonar?
GLM 5 Turbo, with 203K tokens against 127K.
How many benchmarks is the GLM 5 Turbo vs Sonar comparison based on?
3 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 21, 2026. GLM 5 Turbo's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and Sonar's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.