Model comparison

GLM-5.3 vs Nemotron 3.5 Lightning

GLM-5.3 is the stronger model overall, scoring 54.6 to 39.3 on the Noometry Index. Nemotron 3.5 Lightning costs 25× less per token, which makes it the better buy when GLM-5.3's lead doesn't matter for your workload.

Last verified . 18 shared benchmarks.

GLM-5.3 Z.ai (Zhipu)

54.6

Rank #25 Confirmed

Nemotron 3.5 Lightning NVIDIA

39.3

Rank #156 Confirmed

Summary

  • They share 18 benchmarks with published results for both. GLM-5.3 scores higher in 8 categories and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning in 0 categories; 8 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
  • The widest gap is in math, where GLM-5.3 leads 62.1 to 34.7.
  • Nemotron 3.5 Lightning is cheaper at $0.06 / $0.16 per million input/output tokens, against $1.40 / $4.40 for GLM-5.3.
  • GLM-5.3 accepts more context: 1M tokens versus 262K.

Side by side

GLM-5.3 and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning specifications
GLM-5.3Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
ProviderZ.ai (Zhipu)NVIDIA
Noometry Index54.639.3
Released2026-08-142026-08-11
WeightsOpenOpen
Context window1M262K
Max output131K262K
Input $ / M tokens$1.40$0.06
Output $ / M tokens$4.40$0.16
Results tracked4118

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Category by category

Coding GLM-5.3 leads

GLM-5.3: 59.0 (#12), Nemotron 3.5 Lightning: 39.6 (#143)

Coding benchmarks
BenchmarkGLM-5.3Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
LMArena Coding14991370
DeepSWE69%—
FrontierCode40.1%—
LMArena WebDev1623—
FrontierSWE30.2%—
SciCode59%—
WeirdML75.4%—
ALE-Bench1,317—

Agentic & Tool Use Not comparable

GLM-5.3: 36.3 (#34), Nemotron 3.5 Lightning: —

Agentic & Tool Use benchmarks
BenchmarkGLM-5.3Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
APEX-Agents56.6%—
Vending-Bench 28,164—

Reasoning GLM-5.3 leads

GLM-5.3: 45.2 (#42), Nemotron 3.5 Lightning: 25.7 (#128)

Reasoning benchmarks
BenchmarkGLM-5.3Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
LMArena Hard Prompts14911335
NYT Connections (extended)74.2%—
CritPt19.1%—
Chess Puzzles21%—
Mystery Game Puzzles33%—
DTBench87.7%—
LMCA55.5%—
Bench to the Future 30.15—
Epoch Capabilities Index155.56—

Math GLM-5.3 leads

GLM-5.3: 62.1 (#27), Nemotron 3.5 Lightning: 34.7 (#156)

Math benchmarks
BenchmarkGLM-5.3Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
LMArena Math14931355
FrontierMath (Tiers 1-3)68.8%—
FrontierMath Tier 429.3%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024-202591.1%—
ProofBench49%—

Knowledge GLM-5.3 leads

GLM-5.3: 58.3 (#34), Nemotron 3.5 Lightning: 36.9 (#154)

Knowledge benchmarks
BenchmarkGLM-5.3Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
LMArena Expert15121354
GPQA Diamond90.9%—
SimpleQA Verified41%—

Multilingual GLM-5.3 leads

GLM-5.3: 55.9 (#27), Nemotron 3.5 Lightning: 44.0 (#175)

Multilingual benchmarks
BenchmarkGLM-5.3Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
LMArena Non-English14571292
LMArena Chinese15231356
LMArena French14991369
LMArena German15051280
LMArena Japanese14381213
LMArena Korean14781233
LMArena Russian14601257
LMArena Spanish14441321

Instruction Following GLM-5.3 leads

GLM-5.3: 77.8 (#15), Nemotron 3.5 Lightning: 69.8 (#166)

Instruction Following benchmarks
BenchmarkGLM-5.3Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
LMArena Instruction Following14811317

Long Context GLM-5.3 leads

GLM-5.3: 45.5 (#32), Nemotron 3.5 Lightning: 39.9 (#160)

Long Context benchmarks
BenchmarkGLM-5.3Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
LMArena Longer Query14851312

Writing & Preference GLM-5.3 leads

GLM-5.3: 75.9 (#6), Nemotron 3.5 Lightning: 48.5 (#198)

Writing & Preference benchmarks
BenchmarkGLM-5.3Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
LMArena Text14731324
LMArena Creative Writing14591254
EQ-Bench Creative Writing20751280
LMArena Multi-Turn14731327

Frequently asked questions

Is GLM-5.3 better than Nemotron 3.5 Lightning?

GLM-5.3 is the stronger model overall, scoring 54.6 to 39.3 on the Noometry Index. Nemotron 3.5 Lightning costs 25× less per token, which makes it the better buy when GLM-5.3's lead doesn't matter for your workload.

Which is cheaper, GLM-5.3 or Nemotron 3.5 Lightning?

Nemotron 3.5 Lightning is cheaper. It lists at $0.06 per million input tokens and $0.16 per million output tokens; GLM-5.3 lists at $1.40 and $4.40.

Is GLM-5.3 or Nemotron 3.5 Lightning better for coding?

GLM-5.3 scores higher on coding benchmarks: 59.0 versus 39.6 in the Noometry coding category.

Which has the bigger context window?

GLM-5.3 does, with 1M tokens against 262K.

How many benchmarks do GLM-5.3 and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning share?

18 benchmarks have published results for both models. GLM-5.3 has 41 scored results on Noometry and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning has 18.

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