The Z.ai Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Z.ai in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Z.ai
The Insider’s Guide
Chat assistant and agent built on Z.ai's GLM models
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among AI assistants, read from Z.ai’s own pages.
Made by Z.ai (Jingsheng Hengxing Technology Pte. Ltd.) · checked Oct 5, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Z.ai’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Z.ai’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 5, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.6
GPA, above 23 of the 57 other AI assistants we grade
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.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Z.ai, taken from its own pages and our grades.
No rating on record, but nothing to set up either: open the site and type, with no account needed to start.
- 1
Best for a free assistant on the GLM models
Z.ai is the free chat assistant from the makers of the GLM models, and it runs multi-round web research, turns a prompt into a slide deck, and builds small web projects, with no sign-up needed to start.
- 2
Paid plans start at $12.60 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $12.60 per month, billed yearly ($151.20), or $18 billed monthly.
- 3
There is a 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.
- 4
It runs on Web
Web.
- 5
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.
- 6
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.
- 7
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.
- 8
A 2.6 GPA, above 23 of 57
That is against the other AI assistants we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace Z.ai you would be making an AI model, which you can rent by the request but not make. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Z.ai at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $12.60 per month, billed yearly ($151.20), or $18 billed monthly
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- Z.ai (Jingsheng Hengxing Technology Pte. Ltd.), since 2019
- Category
- AI Assistants
- Our grade
- 2.6 GPA, good
The report card
Best for a free assistant on the GLM models
Z.ai is the free chat assistant from the makers of the GLM models, and it runs multi-round web research, turns a prompt into a slide deck, and builds small web projects, with no sign-up needed to start. It's a web app with no phone app, agent tasks run on a quota nobody publishes, and the paid plans are for coding tools, non-refundable, with nothing saying what they add to your chats.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | The upgrade link leads to the GLM Coding Plan, from $18 a month or $12.60 on the yearly deal, which is middling money here. It's built for coding tools like Claude Code, though, and nothing documents what it adds in the chat app beyond higher agent limits. Non-refundable, too. |
| Free plan and trial | B | Chat on the GLM models costs nothing and the terms say you can use the site without even registering, which is a plan you could live on. Agent tasks are the catch: they run on a quota nobody publishes, and the app only says when to try again. |
| Features | B | It covers the whole job: Deep Think, multi-round search that reports its sources, slide decks exported as PPTX or PDF, a Full-Stack mode that builds a web project and puts it on a public URL, and reading of PDFs, images and video. The big assistants here all do much the same, mind, and AI Intern is still in beta. |
| Ease of use | B | No rating on record, but nothing to set up either: open the site and type, with no account needed to start. |
| Platforms and integrations | C | The assistant is a web app and nothing else — no phone app on Z.ai's pages, and none turned up in US App Store or Google Play searches. The connections on record, Claude Code, Cursor, Feishu and the rest, belong to the coding plan and the beta agent. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Z.ai is for
- Fits if you want a free assistant on the GLM models without making an account
- Works for developers who also want GLM quota in coding tools like Claude Code
Who it is not for
- Skip it if you want an assistant on your phone, as there's no mobile app
- Not for you if you'd pay to lift the chat limits, since the paid plans are built for coding tools
- Tight if you lean on agent tasks, because the free quota isn't published and makes you wait when it's gone
- Watch out: subscriptions renew automatically and are non-refundable once bought, and team plans need 2 seats
- Watch out: AI Intern, its agent, is still in beta, and the listed connections belong to it and the coding plan, not the chat
Good to know
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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$12.60
A month to start. There is a free plan too
Z.ai has a free plan. Paid plans start at $12.60 per month, billed yearly ($151.20), or $18 billed monthly.
It's built for coding tools like Claude Code, though, and nothing documents what it adds in the chat app beyond higher agent limits.
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.
The 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.
Read from z.ai on Oct 5, 2026.
Ways to pay less
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.
Stated on z.ai
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
Chat assistant and agent built on Z.ai's GLM models. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, AI features, chat assistant, AI search, AI agents, app builder, presentations.
The big assistants here all do much the same, mind, and AI Intern is still in beta.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
- Claude Code
- Codex
- OpenCode
- Cursor
- Cline
- Feishu
- Discord
Z.ai is made by Z.ai (Jingsheng Hengxing Technology Pte. Ltd.), and has been around since 2019.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
23/57
Other AI assistants it is graded above
Z.ai's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 23 of the 57 other AI assistants we grade, and level with 6.
It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 34 of 57) and worst on platforms and integrations (C, above 2).
Its paid plans start at $12.60 a month, against a middle price of $10 for the category: 25 of the 38 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 12 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 58 AI assistants we grade, cut by the letter each got. Z.ai’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 5 of 57
- BFree plan and trialAbove 34 of 57
- BFeaturesAbove 28 of 57
- BEase of useAbove 21 of 57
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 2 of 57
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 45 AI assistants. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Z.ai is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Z.ai you would be making an AI model, which you can rent by the request but not make. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It costs $151.20 a year.
What you could not
- An AI model, which you can rent by the request but not make.
- A search engine with an AI model behind it.
- An AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it.
- A tool that builds and hosts other apps.
- A slide editor.
- It plugs into other products, Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode among them, and has an API.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Z.ai’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
DeepSeek, Kimi, Qwen Studio, ChatGPT and Claude
The 5 tools Z.ai is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 3.0GPA
DeepSeek
Free
Free AI chat assistant built on DeepSeek's openly released models.
- Only DeepSeek lists iOS, Android, macOS and Windows apps.
- DeepSeek is open source, according to its own site.
- Z.ai also covers app builder and presentations.
- 3.0GPA
Kimi
Free plan · from $15/mo
AI assistant and agent for research, slides, documents and code.
- Only Kimi lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps.
- Only Kimi lists a browser extension.
- Z.ai also covers AI search.
- 2.4GPA
Qwen Studio
Free plan
Alibaba Cloud's chat app for the Qwen family of AI models.
- Only Qwen Studio lists iOS and Android apps.
- Z.ai also covers AI agents, app builder and presentations.
- 3.4GPA
ChatGPT
Free plan · from $8/mo
OpenAI's general-purpose AI assistant for chat, images and voice.
- Only ChatGPT lists macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android apps.
- Z.ai also covers AI agents, app builder and presentations.
- 3.0GPA
Claude
Free plan · from $17/mo
Anthropic's AI assistant for writing, analysis and coding.
- Only Claude lists macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android apps.
- Only Claude lists a browser extension.
- Z.ai also covers AI agents, app builder and presentations.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
14
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Z.ai free?
Z.ai has a free plan. Chat is free, and the terms say the site can be used without registering.
How much does Z.ai cost?
Z.ai lists 6 plans. Free: $0.
What platforms does Z.ai work on?
Z.ai is available on Web.
Does Z.ai offer any discounts?
Z.ai publicly lists the following: 30% off yearly billing, 20% off quarterly.
Does Z.ai have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. Z.ai is listed for Web.
Does Z.ai have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. Z.ai is listed for Web.
Is Z.ai open source?
Z.ai is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 5, 2026.
Does Z.ai have an API?
Yes. Z.ai offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Z.ai integrate with?
Z.ai's listing names Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Cursor, Cline, Feishu, Discord and WeChat.
Who makes Z.ai?
Z.ai is made by Z.ai (Jingsheng Hengxing Technology Pte. Ltd.).
What are the alternatives to Z.ai?
The closest alternatives to Z.ai in our directory are DeepSeek, Kimi, Qwen Studio, ChatGPT and Claude.
How does Z.ai compare with other AI assistants?
Z.ai's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 23 of the 57 other AI assistants we grade, and level with 6.
Is Z.ai good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Z.ai C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $12.60 a month, against a middle price of $10 for the category: 25 of the 38 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Z.ai?
To replace Z.ai you would be making an AI model, which you can rent by the request but not make.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Z.ai’s own pages on Oct 5, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Z.ai's own pages on 5 October 2026. A fresh look at its subscription page on 9 October showed no prices as text, so they could not be compared again. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-07-16.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Z.ai (Jingsheng Hengxing Technology Pte. Ltd.). Prices change, so check chat.z.ai before you buy.
- z.ai/subscribe
- z.ai/pricing
- api.z.ai/api/biz/operation/query?ids=1166
- chat.z.ai
- chat.z.ai/legal-agreement/terms-of-service
- docs.z.ai/devpack/overview
- docs.z.ai/devpack/tool/others
- docs.z.ai/devpack/teamplan
- docs.z.ai/devpack/faq
- docs.z.ai/devpack/usage-policy
- docs.z.ai/devpack/notice/usage-revision
- docs.z.ai/legal-agreement/subscription-terms
- docs.z.ai/guides/agents/slide
- docs.z.ai/guides/overview/overview
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z.ai
- apps.apple.com/us/iphone/search?term=z.ai
- play.google.com/store/search?q=z.ai&c=apps&gl=US&hl=en
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
3,189
Tools graded, in 94 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Z.ai, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/z-ai
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Z.ai: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 5, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/z-ai
Know someone choosing between AI assistants?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/z-ai/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded AI assistants after Z.ai, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- AI Assistants Insider's GuideEvery one of the 58 AI assistants we grade, compared
- Gemini Insider's GuideGoogle's AI assistant, tied into Gmail, Docs and other Google apps3.8 GPA
- Chatbox Insider's GuideAI chat client for your own API keys or a hosted model plan3.4 GPA
- ChatGPT Insider's GuideOpenAI's general-purpose AI assistant for chat, images and voice3.4 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Z.ai’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Z.ai is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Z.ai (Jingsheng Hengxing Technology Pte. Ltd.). Prices and plans change: check chat.z.ai before you buy.