# Z.ai

> Chat assistant and agent built on Z.ai's GLM models

Z.ai is the chat assistant from the company behind the GLM models, which was known outside China as Zhipu AI until 2025. Alongside chat with web search and a Deep Think option, the web app has an agent mode, AI slide generation and a Full-Stack mode that builds and deploys web projects. Chat is free to use. The app's upgrade link leads to the GLM Coding Plan, a subscription from $18 a month that is built mainly for coding tools.

- **Category:** AI Assistants
- **Made by:** Z.ai (Jingsheng Hengxing Technology Pte. Ltd.) (since 2019)
- **Website:** https://chat.z.ai
- **Runs on:** Web
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 5, 2026

## Pricing

Z.ai has a free plan. Paid plans start at $12.60 per month, billed yearly ($151.20), or $18 billed monthly.

- **Pricing model:** Free plan
- **Free plan:** 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.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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. |

Read from https://z.ai/subscribe on Oct 5, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Z.ai before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **30% off yearly billing, 20% off quarterly** (Annual discount): 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. Source: https://z.ai/subscribe

## Key features

- **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.

## Good for

- 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

- 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.

## Works with

Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Cursor, Cline, Feishu, Discord, WeChat

**Tags:** Chat assistant, AI search, AI agents, Presentations, App builder, Public API, AI features

## Alternatives

- [DeepSeek](https://toolgpa.com/tools/deepseek): Free AI chat assistant built on DeepSeek's openly released models. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/deepseek-vs-z-ai)
- [Kimi](https://toolgpa.com/tools/kimi): AI assistant and agent for research, slides, documents and code. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/kimi-vs-z-ai)
- [Qwen Studio](https://toolgpa.com/tools/qwen): Alibaba Cloud's chat app for the Qwen family of AI models. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/qwen-vs-z-ai)
- [ChatGPT](https://toolgpa.com/tools/chatgpt): OpenAI's general-purpose AI assistant for chat, images and voice. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/chatgpt-vs-z-ai)
- [Claude](https://toolgpa.com/tools/claude): Anthropic's AI assistant for writing, analysis and coding. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/claude-vs-z-ai)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 5, 2026:

- https://z.ai/subscribe
- https://z.ai/pricing
- https://api.z.ai/api/biz/operation/query?ids=1166
- https://chat.z.ai
- https://chat.z.ai/legal-agreement/terms-of-service
- https://docs.z.ai/devpack/overview
- https://docs.z.ai/devpack/tool/others
- https://docs.z.ai/devpack/teamplan
- https://docs.z.ai/devpack/faq
- https://docs.z.ai/devpack/usage-policy
- https://docs.z.ai/devpack/notice/usage-revision
- https://docs.z.ai/legal-agreement/subscription-terms
- https://docs.z.ai/guides/agents/slide
- https://docs.z.ai/guides/overview/overview
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z.ai
- https://apps.apple.com/us/iphone/search?term=z.ai
- https://play.google.com/store/search?q=z.ai&c=apps&gl=US&hl=en

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/z-ai
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).