ZGLM 5.3 FlashX Legal agent cost (2026)
Prices last verified: · how we check · price changes
Z.ai · 1,048,576 token context · source OpenRouter, 2026-11-02
Short answer: a customer support bot on GLM 5.3 FlashX Legal costs about $20.13/month, and a busy coding agent about $146/month. The numbers below are worked out step by step from the current list prices, so you can check them.
Current GLM 5.3 FlashX Legal API prices
| Input / 1M tokens | $0.37 |
|---|---|
| Output / 1M tokens | $1.25 |
| Cached input / 1M | $0.09 |
| Price source | OpenRouter |
Worked monthly examples
1. Customer support bot. Each chat sends about 800 tokens in and gets 300 tokens back. One chat costs (800 × $0.37 + 300 × $1.25) ÷ 1,000,000 = $0.02013. At 1,000 chats a day for 30 days: $20.13/month. Open this in the calculator →
2. Coding agent. Each task takes 15 steps; every step reads about 20,000 tokens (50% of input billed at the cached price) and writes 1,500. One task costs about $2.9138. At 50 tasks a day: $146/month. Open this in the calculator →
Estimated monthly cost
| Workload | Per month (30d) |
|---|---|
| Chatbot (1k chats/day) | $20.13 |
| RAG Q&A (500 queries/day) | $29.70 |
| Coding agent (50 tasks/day, 15 steps, 50% cached) | $146 |
| Research agent (100 tasks/day, 10 steps, 50% cached) | $92.70 |
Same formula as the worked examples, using list prices. Multi-step agents (coding, research) assume 50% of input is cached at the cached-input price; single-call workloads (chatbot, RAG) assume no caching. Formula in the methodology.
Caching savings
Agents resend the same instructions and files at every step. With prompt caching, repeated input is billed at $0.09 instead of $0.37 per 1M tokens. For the coding agent example:
| Share of input cached | Per month |
|---|---|
| 0% | $209 |
| 50% | $146 |
| 80% | $108 |
Some providers also charge for writing to the cache; that is not included. Prompt caching explained.
Cheaper alternatives
Popular models that cost less than GLM 5.3 FlashX Legal for the same coding agent workload:
| Model | Per month | Saving |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 5.5 | $41.63 | 71% |
| Llama 4 Maverick | $75.46 | 48% |
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | $109 | 25% |
| $129 | 11% |
Cheaper does not mean just as good. Try a cheaper model on 20–50 of your real tasks before switching.
FAQ
How much does GLM 5.3 FlashX Legal cost per month for an AI agent?
With our example workloads and list prices verified on 2 Nov 2026: about $20.13 per month for a customer support bot handling 1,000 short chats a day, and about $146 per month for a coding agent running 50 tasks a day with 15 steps each (half of the input cached). Your bill depends on your own token counts, so try your numbers in the calculator.
What is the GLM 5.3 FlashX Legal API price per million tokens?
GLM 5.3 FlashX Legal costs $0.37 per 1M input tokens and $1.25 per 1M output tokens, and $0.09 per 1M cached input tokens. Prices last verified 2 Nov 2026.
Does prompt caching make GLM 5.3 FlashX Legal cheaper?
Yes. Cached input costs $0.09 instead of $0.37 per 1M tokens. For the coding agent example, caching 50% of input cuts the monthly bill from $209 to $146.
Is there a cheaper alternative to GLM 5.3 FlashX Legal?
For the coding agent example, Claude Haiku 5.5 ($41.63/month, 71% less), Llama 4 Maverick ($75.46/month, 48% less), DeepSeek V4.1 Flash ($109/month, 25% less), GPT-5 Mini ($129/month, 11% less) cost less. Cheaper models are not always as capable, so test them on your own tasks first.
Want a step-by-step way to cut your agent bill? The AI Agent Cost Playbook is $29 + tax. This page is generated from our daily price data; AI helped write the text. Prices are estimates, so check with Z.ai before you commit.