Competition among Chinese models is escalating from “who’s better” to “who’s more generous.”
Zhipu Qingyan recently launched an unprecedented free token campaign with an extremely low signup barrier—just a phone number, no real-name verification required. For developers who’ve been waiting to try Chinese models, this might be the best entry point.
Free Token Breakdown
| Model | Free Tokens | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Universal model | 2 million | Suitable for regular conversation and text processing |
| GLM-4.6V Vision | 6 million | Image understanding, visual QA |
| GLM-4.5-Air | 12 million | Lightweight efficient version, ideal for batch tasks |
To put it in perspective: 12 million tokens equals roughly 6-8 million Chinese characters of text processing capacity. For daily development testing, this allocation will last a long time.
Advanced Strategies
The community has already summarized some practical strategies:
- Multi-account strategy: Users with multiple phone numbers can register several accounts and stack allocations
- Model selection: GLM-4.5-Air has the largest 12M allocation, making it the “workhorse” for batch processing
- Vision tasks: GLM-4.6V’s 6M allocation is dedicated to vision tasks—use this first for image understanding and OCR
- API integration: Free tokens can be used through the Zhipu open platform API, directly plugging into your own applications
GLM Model Matrix Positioning
In the competitive landscape of Chinese models, Zhipu GLM’s positioning is clear:
| Model | Positioning | Competes with |
|---|---|---|
| GLM-4.6V | Vision multimodal | Qwen-VL, MiniMax vision |
| GLM-4.5-Air | Lightweight efficient | Kimi k2.6, DeepSeek lite |
| GLM-5.1 (planned) | Flagship reasoning | Qwen 3.6 Max, Claude Sonnet 4 |
Zhipu’s strategy: use free allocations to lower barriers, drive volume with Air versions, and compete on benchmarks with flagship models.
Token Cost Comparison with Competitors
| Model | Free Allocation | API Price (input) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| GLM-4.5-Air | 12M | Extremely low | Largest free allocation |
| DeepSeek V4 | Limited | $0.11/MTok | During 75% discount period |
| Qwen 3.5 | Limited | Pay-per-use | Alibaba Cloud ecosystem |
| Kimi k2.6 | Limited | Pay-per-use | Moonshot AI |
For individual developers and students, GLM’s free token strategy is currently the most friendly entry point among Chinese models.
Caveats to Watch
- Coding Plan 429 rate limiting: Users report “Usage limit reached for 5 hour” errors with Z.ai’s GLM Coding Plan. If encountered, switch to the official API instead
- No verification ≠ unlimited: While real-name verification isn’t required, each phone number has a fixed allocation that runs out
- Expiration: Free tokens may have usage deadlines—use them early
Action Recommendations
| Scenario | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Quick testing of Chinese models | Register Zhipu Qingyan directly, use the universal model’s 2M tokens first |
| Vision task development | After signup, prioritize GLM-4.6V’s 6M allocation |
| Batch processing/data processing | GLM-4.5-Air’s 12M allocation offers the best cost-effectiveness |
| Production environments | Consider paid API only after free allocation runs out—Chinese model API prices are already highly competitive |
This free token campaign is essentially Zhipu playing the long game for developer mindshare—once you’re accustomed to GLM’s API calling patterns and output quality, subsequent commercialization is a natural progression.