GLM-5.3 vs Nemotron 3.5 Lightning (30B A3B): Specs & Benchmark Comparison
GLM-5.3 is developed by Zhipu AI, while Nemotron 3.5 Lightning (30B A3B) comes from NVIDIA. Both were released in August 2026. GLM-5.3 is the larger model at roughly 753 billion parameters, against 30 billion for Nemotron 3.5 Lightning (30B A3B).
The two models share 2 published benchmarks. GLM-5.3 leads on 2 of them. The widest gaps are on Terminal-Bench 2.1, where GLM-5.3 scores 88.0% against 24.6%; Humanity's Last Exam, where GLM-5.3 scores 62.5% against 11.7%. Averaged across everything we track, GLM-5.3 sits at 52.2% and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning (30B A3B) at 45.3%.
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning (30B A3B) is the cheaper API at $0.05 per million input tokens and $0.20 per million output tokens, roughly 28 times cheaper than GLM-5.3 at $1.40 and $4.40. GLM-5.3 takes the larger context window at 1M tokens, compared with 262K for Nemotron 3.5 Lightning (30B A3B).
| Characteristic | GLM-5.3 | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning (30B A3B) |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Zhipu AI | NVIDIA |
| Release Date | August 14, 2026 | August 11, 2026 |
| Parameters | 753B | 30B |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Context (input) | 1.0M | 262K |
| Context (output) | 131K | 262K |
| Input Price / 1M | $1.40 | $0.05 |
| Output Price / 1M | $4.40 | $0.20 |
| Average Score | 52.2% | 45.3% |
| Benchmarks | ||
| Terminal-Bench 2.1 | 88.0% | 24.6% |
| Humanity's Last Exam | 62.5% | 11.7% |
Visual Benchmark Comparison
Verdict
Both models show equal results — the choice depends on your specific use case.
Both models show comparable average scores: GLM-5.3 — 0.5, Nemotron 3.5 Lightning (30B A3B) — 0.5.
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning (30B A3B) is 23.2x cheaper: input $0.05/1M vs $1.40/1M tokens.
GLM-5.3 supports a larger context: 1M vs 262K tokens.
Both models were released around the same time: 8/14/2026 and 8/11/2026.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better for coding — GLM-5.3 or Nemotron 3.5 Lightning (30B A3B)?
Which model is cheaper — GLM-5.3 or Nemotron 3.5 Lightning (30B A3B)?
Which has a larger context window — GLM-5.3 or Nemotron 3.5 Lightning (30B A3B)?
The GLM-5.3 and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning (30B A3B) comparison is updated for 2026. Data includes benchmark results, API pricing, context window size and other specifications. For more detailed information, visit the GLM-5.3 or Nemotron 3.5 Lightning (30B A3B) page. See also the complete list of AI model comparisons.