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Qwen 3.8 Max vs GLM-5.3
Of the 5 public leaderboards that rate both, Qwen 3.8 Max scores higher on 3 and GLM-5.3 on 2. On the ArtificialWatch Index, which takes the median of each model's percentile across the boards that score it, Qwen 3.8 Max is at 50.5 and GLM-5.3 at 48.1 (out of 100). On each maker's API, Qwen 3.8 Max costs $2 / $6 per 1M tokens (input / output) and GLM-5.3 $1.40 / $4.40.
Scores as published by each board; table composed November 10, 2026.
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Leaderboard by leaderboard
| Board | Qwen 3.8 Max | GLM-5.3 | Higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Elo (community votes) | 1,676.7 | 1,622.2 | Qwen 3.8 Max |
| SimpleBench AVG@5 % (private set) | 62.5 | 66.2 | GLM-5.3 |
| Vals AI Vals Index accuracy % · weighted finance + coding tasks | 59 | 59.8 | GLM-5.3 |
| Artificial Analysis intelligence index · measured runs only | 33.6 | 31.7 | Qwen 3.8 Max |
| Epoch AI Epoch Capabilities Index (ECI) · many benchmarks on one scale | 157.5 | 156.9 | Qwen 3.8 Max |
Raw scores are each board's own scale, so compare within a row, not across rows. Full table: the bench index.
For coding
On the ArtificialWatch coding index, Qwen 3.8 Max is at 36.7 (#31 of 47) and GLM-5.3 at 51.5 (#20). Qwen 3.8 Max scores higher on 1 of the 2 coding boards that rate both and GLM-5.3 on 1.
| Coding board | Qwen 3.8 Max | GLM-5.3 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena · Coding | 1,502.6 | 1,499 |
| Vals Vibe Code Bench | 77.1 | 78.1 |
Qwen 3.8 Max at a glance
- Developer
- Alibaba
- Status
- Live since August 1, 2026
- API price
- $2 input / $6 output per 1M tokens · Alibaba, qwen3.8-max
- Context window
- 1M tokens
Live - flagship since Aug 1 · 2.4T tier listed Aug 12.
Qwen3.8-Max quietly lost its preview label — Alibaba is now serving it as the flagship
2026-08-03 · Alibaba is serving Qwen3.8-Max on chat.qwen.ai under the plain id `qwen3.8-max`. The preview suffix is gone.
GLM-5.3 at a glance
- Developer
- Zhipu AI
- Status
- Live since August 14, 2026
- API price
- $1.40 input / $4.40 output per 1M tokens · Z.AI, glm-5.3
- Context window
- 1M tokens
Live - same 743B base as 5.2, every gain from post-training · tops CyberGym · open weights on Hugging Face (zai-org/GLM-5.3, 141 safetensors files, public when we read it Sep 25; repo created Aug 25) · Anthropic research (Sep 29): builds end-to-end exploits near Claude Mythos Preview's rate (ExploitBench 50 of 410 vs 56 of 410), and its safeguards fell to simple bypasses 64-100% of the time · Epoch AI report (Oct 29): built one-click file-reading exploits for all six Firefox releases Sep 17-Oct 26 from published-but-unshipped fixes, about $1,000 each, with no refusals at any provider.
Epoch AI: open-weight GLM 5.3 built working Firefox exploits from security fixes that had not shipped yet, for about $1,000 each
2026-10-30 · An open-weight model can now turn browser security fixes that are public but not yet shipped into working exploits on its own, according to a report Epoch AI published October 29.
Anthropic: open-weights GLM-5.3 nearly matches Claude Mythos Preview at building exploits, and its safeguards are easy to strip
2026-09-29 · Anthropic published research on September 29 testing Z.ai's GLM-5.3, an open-weights model anyone can download, on offensive cyber tasks. Its finding: GLM-5.3 can build working end-to-end exploits at close to the rate of Claude Mythos Preview, the model Anthropic released only to vetted defenders.
Qwen 3.8 Max vs GLM-5.3: quick answers
Which is better, Qwen 3.8 Max or GLM-5.3?
It depends on what you measure. Of the 5 public leaderboards that rate both, Qwen 3.8 Max scores higher on 3 and GLM-5.3 on 2. Qwen 3.8 Max's widest lead is on LMArena; GLM-5.3's widest lead is on SimpleBench. On the ArtificialWatch Index, which takes the median of each model's percentile across the boards that score it, Qwen 3.8 Max is at 50.5 and GLM-5.3 at 48.1 (out of 100).
Which is newer, Qwen 3.8 Max or GLM-5.3?
GLM-5.3. It went live on August 14, 2026, 13 days after Qwen 3.8 Max (August 1, 2026).
Which is cheaper, Qwen 3.8 Max or GLM-5.3?
GLM-5.3 is cheaper on both input and output. On each vendor's own API, Qwen 3.8 Max is $2 input / $6 output per million tokens and GLM-5.3 is $1.40 input / $4.40 output per million tokens. Prices as published in the models.dev catalog, as of 2026-11-10.
Which has the bigger context window, Qwen 3.8 Max or GLM-5.3?
Neither. Both take 1M tokens.
How do Qwen 3.8 Max and GLM-5.3 compare for coding?
On the ArtificialWatch coding index, Qwen 3.8 Max is at 36.7 (#31 of 47) and GLM-5.3 at 51.5 (#20). Qwen 3.8 Max scores higher on 1 of the 2 coding boards that rate both and GLM-5.3 on 1.
Who makes Qwen 3.8 Max and GLM-5.3?
Qwen 3.8 Max is from Alibaba; GLM-5.3 is from Zhipu AI.
Where do these numbers come from?
Each score is the leaderboard's own published figure, read by ArtificialWatch (table composed November 10, 2026). Boards measure different things, so raw scores are only comparable within a row.
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Also: the bench index · API pricing · what a workload costs on each · the wire