DeepSeek Deepseek R1 Zero vs Zhipu GLM-5 Plus: Live Promos, Pricing, Hidden Fees & Latency
DeepSeek Deepseek R1 Zero (deepseek/deepseek-r1-zero) — Automatic Disk KV Cache (0.05/1M) & Off-Peak Promo
DeepSeek-V4 Pro (1.6T MoE) automatically caches repeated 64-token prompt prefixes on NVMe storage at $0.022/1M off-peak input tokens (vs $0.66 off-peak base) with zero code changes required, plus off-peak UTC scheduling discounts.
Zhipu GLM-5 Plus (glm-5-plus) 2026 Q4 Developer Promotion & Volume Credits
Official 2026 Q4 promotion for Zhipu GLM-5 Plus: Activate ephemeral prefix caching to slash input costs by 90% (down to 0.07/1M) or route via asynchronous Batch API for 50% off standard token rates.
In Etuki October 2026 FinOps telemetry comparing DeepSeek Deepseek R1 Zero (API ID: deepseek/deepseek-r1-zero) vs Zhipu GLM-5 Plus (API ID: glm-5-plus), DeepSeek Deepseek R1 Zero offers lower standard input pricing at $0.5/1M tokens ($2/1M output), while DeepSeek Deepseek R1 Zero leads in cached prefix economics at $0.05/1M tokens (90% discount). Zhipu GLM-5 Plus achieves a 5ms faster P90 time-to-first-token latency (190ms vs 195ms).
Gateway-synced rate ($0.5/$2 per 1M, flat 128K window). Verify upstream provider cache TTL and regional routing before high-volume batch runs.
Enable Prompt Context Caching & Batch API to reduce repeated system prompt input token burn by 50%-97.5%.
| Specification / FinOps Dimension | DeepSeek Deepseek R1 Zero | Zhipu GLM-5 Plus | Verified Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official Vendor API ID | deepseek/deepseek-r1-zero | glm-5-plus | Pinned Snapshot IDs |
| Standard Input / Output (per 1M) | $0.5 / $2 | $0.7 / $2.8 | DeepSeek Deepseek R1 Zero |
| Cache Read Price (per 1M) | $0.05/1M (90% Off) | $0.07/1M (90% Off) | DeepSeek Deepseek R1 Zero |
| Context Window / Max Output | 128K In / 64K Out | 128K In / 128K Out | Zhipu GLM-5 Plus |
| P90 First-Token / Edge Latency | 195ms | 190ms | Zhipu GLM-5 Plus (-5ms) |
DeepSeek Deepseek R1 Zero (deepseek/deepseek-r1-zero): OpenRouter gateway-synced model at $0.5/1M input, $2/1M output, $0.05/1M cached input (128K context window).
Zhipu AI flagship bilingual reasoning model ($0.70/$2.80 per 1M, $0.07 cache read [90% off], 128K context window).
Real-Time Stack Cost & Hidden-Fee Simulator (MAU / Token / Egress / GMV)
Calibrated with Reddit r/FinOps & r/devops telemetry: Includes Context Caching, Bandwidth Egress, and MoR Tax
🔮Switch from DeepSeek Deepseek R1 Zero to Zhipu GLM-5 Plus
Zhipu AI flagship bilingual reasoning model ($0.70/$2.80 per 1M, $0.07 cache read [90% off], 128K context window). Verified P90 latency of 190ms.