Qwen Studio vs Z.ai
We give Qwen Studio a 3.0 GPA and Z.ai a 3.2, out of 4.0. Z.ai grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Qwen Studio
Alibaba Cloud's chat app for the Qwen family of AI models
Z.ai
Chat assistant and agent built on Z.ai's GLM models
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAQwen StudioVery good | 3.2GPAZ.aiVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BWe can't put a number on it. The web app shows paid Go, Plus and Pro tiers, but its pricing view didn't load when read, and the store listings show no in-app purchases. With no price on record, it stops at a B. | BThe upgrade link leads to the GLM Coding Plan, from $18 a month or $12.60 on the yearly plan. Ordinary money. But it's built for coding tools like Claude Code, and nothing documents what it adds in the chat app beyond higher agent limits. Subscriptions are non-refundable too. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe phone apps are listed as free with no in-app purchases, and the web app names a Free tier. But that tier comes with standard usage limits and no numbers beside them, so we can't tell you how far it goes. | BChat is free, and the terms say you can use the site without registering. Signing in unlocks the advanced models. But agent tasks run on a quota nobody publishes: the app only tells you it's used up and when to try again. |
| Features | BChat with a Deep Thinking mode, web search, image generation and editing, and it takes in images, audio and video together. That's broad. But voice and video chat, document processing and artifacts appear only as names in the site's list of functions, with nothing to show how far each one goes. | AChat with Deep Think, quick or multi-round web search that shows its sources, slide decks you can export as PPTX or PDF, and a Full-Stack mode that builds a web project and puts it on a public URL. It reads PDFs, images and video too, and an agent called AI Intern is in beta. |
| Ease of use | BIt's a chat box on the web and a free app on your phone, so there's nothing to set up. We have no App Store rating on record for it, so it stops at a B. | BOpen the site and type, with no account needed to start. There's no app to install and none in the app stores, so we have no rating on record to go by. That makes it a B. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone, iPad and Android. But no Windows or Mac app is listed, and the listing shows no integrations and no API. The iOS app wasn't on the US App Store when checked, though it's in others such as Canada and the UK. | BThe assistant is a web app only: no phone app is listed, and none turned up in US App Store or Google Play searches. There is an API platform, the Coding Plan works in tools like Claude Code and Cursor, and AI Intern connects to Feishu, Discord and WeChat. |
| Best for | trying Alibaba's Qwen models in a chat app | a free assistant on the GLM models |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Qwen Studio and Z.ai. How we grade
Where they differ
- Only Qwen Studio lists iOS and Android apps.
- Z.ai also covers AI agents, app builder and presentations.
At a glance
| Qwen Studio | Z.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | $12.60 per month, billed yearly ($151.20), or $18 billed monthly |
| Free plan | The mobile apps are listed as free with no in-app purchases. The web app names a Free tier with standard usage limits beside Go, Plus and Pro tiers; their prices could not be read. | Chat is free, and the terms say the site can be used without registering. Signing in unlocks advanced models; agent tasks run on a quota that refills after a wait, with limits that are not published. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Alibaba Cloud | Z.ai (Jingsheng Hengxing Technology Pte. Ltd.) |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | z.ai |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Qwen Studio
- People who want to use Alibaba's Qwen models in a chat app
- Working with images, audio and video as well as text
- Free everyday chat, search and image generation on a phone
Z.ai
- People who want a free assistant built on the GLM models
- Generating slide decks and small web projects from a prompt
- Developers who also want GLM quota in coding tools like Claude Code
Worth knowing
Qwen Studio
- Prices for the Go, Plus and Pro tiers could not be confirmed: the pricing view on chat.qwen.ai did not load when read, and the store listings show no in-app purchases.
- The iOS app was not found on the US App Store when checked, though it is listed in other storefronts such as Canada and the UK.
- No Windows or Mac app is listed; the store listings cover iPhone, iPad and Android.
- The app stores list the app as Qwen Studio, while the website's page title still reads Qwen.
Z.ai
- Paid tiers are the GLM Coding Plan, which the docs limit to supported coding and agent tools; what a tier adds in the chat app beyond higher agent limits is not documented.
- Free usage limits are not published: the app only reports that the agent quota is exhausted and when to retry.
- The chat assistant is a web app only: Z.ai's pages list no mobile app for it, and none appeared in US App Store or Google Play searches when checked.
- Subscriptions renew automatically and are non-refundable once purchased, and team plans need at least 2 seats.
Key features
Qwen Studio
- Deep Thinking
- A reasoning mode for complex problems that draws on real-time internet data to work toward a logical, step-by-step answer.
- Search
- Finds answers and resources from across the web, using the context of the query to narrow the results.
- Multimodal understanding
- Processes text, images, audio and video together, for example reading data from a chart or pulling key points from an audio clip.
- Image generation and editing
- Creates images from a description for presentations, illustrations or concept designs, and the site also lists image editing.
- Voice and video chat
- The site lists voice and video chat with the assistant among its functions, alongside document processing, tool use and artifacts.
Z.ai
- GLM models with Deep Think
- Chat runs on Z.ai's own GLM models, with GLM-5.3 set as the default in the public configuration, and has a Deep Think option. The same models are sold per token through Z.ai's API platform.
- Search and Deep Research
- Search runs a single quick round and Advanced Search runs multi-round research, reporting the keywords searched and sources referenced. Deep Research is listed as a separate tool.
- AI Slides
- Generates slide decks from a prompt, lets you edit individual slides and their style, and exports the result as PPTX, PDF or images.
- Full-Stack mode
- Builds a web project in a cloud workspace with code view and live preview, then deploys it to a public URL. The app advertises full-stack generation as free.
- Vision and file tools
- Accepts PDF, DOCX and PPTX documents and JPG or PNG images up to 50 MB each and MP4 video up to 200 MB, with tools such as OCR Scan, Math Solve, Video Understanding and Data Insight.
- AI Intern (beta)
- A cloud-hosted agent with synced context memory that runs scheduled and long-running tasks and can be connected to Feishu, Discord and WeChat.
Plans
Qwen Studio
Pricing could not be confirmed. See chat.qwen.ai.
Z.ai
Free$0
Chat with GLM models at no charge. Signing in unlocks advanced models, and agent use is capped by a quota whose size is not published.
Lite$18
per month, or $151.20 billed yearly ($12.60 a month)
GLM Coding Plan entry tier: 2,000 credits per 5 hours and 10,000 a week for GLM-5.3 and GLM-5.3-Flash in supported coding tools.
Pro$80
per month, or $672 billed yearly ($56 a month)
GLM Coding Plan with 6x Lite usage (12,000 credits per 5 hours, 60,000 a week), priority access to new flagship models and faster generation.
Standard Seat (Team)$88
per seat / month, minimum 2 seats
GLM Coding Team Plan: 15,000 credits per 5 hours and 66,000 a week per seat, with seat management, usage insights and central billing.
Max$168
per month, or $1,411.20 billed yearly ($117.60 a month)
GLM Coding Plan with 14x Lite usage (28,000 credits per 5 hours, 140,000 a week), first access to new models and dedicated resources at peak times.
Premium Seat (Team)$188
per seat / month, minimum 2 seats
Team seat with 35,000 credits per 5 hours and 155,000 a week, plus early access to new flagship models and priority at peak hours.
Ways to pay less
Qwen Studio
No public discounts listed.
Z.ai
- Annual discount
30% off yearly billing, 20% off quarterly
Lite, Pro and Max cost 30% less on a continuous yearly subscription ($12.60, $56 and $117.60 a month) and 20% less on a quarterly one, compared with the monthly prices.
