# Z.ai GLM Coding Subscription 68 Hacker News commenters recommended Z.ai GLM Coding Subscription and 54 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 11 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 1 years (8 owners). **Verdict:** People recommend it as a very cheap way to run GLM models for coding and chat, with generous usage for the money. The most common caveat is worry about its China base and data terms. ## Why people recommend it - Very cheap for the usage (8 comments): "I use glm-5.3-flash every day for a ludicrous 8.5USD/month and it's as good as DS 4.1 flash, if not better." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50014067)) "I am so thankful for the subscription at z.ai, that Christmas deal was such a steal" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46849973)) "With z.AI GLM Coding Subscription for 1344 USD per year, that buys you 74 years." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48781595)) - Works with coding tools (5 comments): "Another advantage of z.ai is that you can also use the API, not just CLI. All in the same subscription. Pretty useful." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46364523)) "you can use pi with z.ai or any of the other cheap Claude-distilled providers for a couple bucks per month" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46794306)) "I use the coding subscription in both Pi and OpenCode without issue." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48752914)) - Good model, near Sonnet level (4 comments): "I enjoyed the model itself a lot and while their ZCode harness is also pretty nice, it gave me less tokens for similar amounts of money" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48940626)) "it feels about on par with something between sonnet 4.0 and sonnet 4.5" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46475004)) "z.ai has very good "thinking" but frequently not so good answers" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45778092)) - Consistent performance and no limits (3 comments): "I've actually gotten more consistent performance from Z.ai." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47835520)) "I never run out of token allotment on z.ai or codex plans" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47622888)) "I looked at it when I subscribed almost a year ago and I was fine with it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49482440)) ## What people warn about - China base and data concerns (6 comments): "I am ambivalent about z.ai. China -based company is problematic, but they should get my money since they do good for the world." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50060850)) "China have a history of stealing IPs/trade secrets and Chinese court favored its own local companies." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48753539)) "numerous scandals of AI companies offering CC/cursor alternatives, then indexing data they never should have; specifically Z.ai" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50153072)) - Unreliable or slow at times (3 comments): "the z.ai plan is unbearably slow most of the time to the point where it's effectively unusable" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47002581)) "If you're bothered by random failures, you probably won't be very happy with a z.ai sub." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50137838)) "z.ai API which isn't mature enough and has neither assistant prefills nor actual structured outputs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48947403)) - Fewer tokens than rivals (2 comments): "I enjoyed the model itself a lot and while their ZCode harness is also pretty nice, it gave me less tokens for similar amounts of money" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48940626)) "The token limits still feel a bit more generous proportionally to the price compared to what I got when trying out the 65 USD tier of GLM Coding Subscription" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48972304)) - Strict and vague terms of use (2 comments): "Can ban you if you, in the "sole and absolute opinion" of Z.ai, have violated these broad terms" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49450828)) "Broad and perpetual license over inputs and outputs, and even your name and profile picture." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49451268)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Cerebras Code](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cerebras-code.md): 28 recommend - [MiniMax Coding Plan](https://hackerapproved.com/p/minimax-coding-plan.md): 8 recommend - [Alibaba Coding Plan](https://hackerapproved.com/p/alibaba-coding-plan.md): 6 recommend - [Kimi coding plan](https://hackerapproved.com/p/kimi-coding-plan.md): 5 recommend ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://chat.z.ai/) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Z.ai GLM Coding Subscription", https://hackerapproved.com/p/z-ai/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).