GLM 4.7 vs MiniMax M2.1: which is better for agents?

GLM 4.7 scores higher on output quality (5.3/10 vs 5.1/10), while MiniMax M2.1 is the cheaper option. GLM 4.7 is best for existing GLM 4.x setups that want a small step up from 4.6; MiniMax M2.1 is best for short, tool-heavy agent steps on a tight budget. Live community votes on this page show what people actually prefer.

Is GLM 4.7 cheaper than MiniMax M2.1?

MiniMax M2.1 is cheaper: roughly $0.57 vs $1.08 per 1M tokens (blended). GLM 4.7: $0.60 in · $2.20 out / 1M tokens. MiniMax M2.1: $0.30 in · $1.20 out / 1M tokens.

Can I switch between GLM 4.7 and MiniMax M2.1 in the same agent?

Yes. Model-agnostic agents (Cline, Aider, OpenClaw, Hermes Agent, Kilo Code, OpenCode) let you swap models per task. Many people route hard tasks to the stronger model and routine work to the cheaper one.

Model comparison 2026

GLM 4.7 vs MiniMax M2.1

GLM 4.7

Z.AI · Balanced · Open weights

$1.08/1M · 205K ctx

MiniMax M2.1

MiniMax · Balanced · Open weights

$0.57/1M · 205K ctx

Community vote

Pick a winner in each dimension. You can change your vote any time.

Output Quality

Correctness and depth of what it produces

Agentic Ability

Tool calls, instruction-following, and multi-step tasks

Speed

Tokens per second and time-to-first-token

Value for Money

How much capability you get per dollar

Reliability

Consistent results: fewer refusals, loops and format breaks

Specs and pricing side by side

Spec

GLM 4.7

MiniMax M2.1

Maker

Z.AI

MiniMax

Blended price / 1M

$1.08

$0.57

Input / output

$0.60 in · $2.20 out / 1M tokens

$0.30 in · $1.20 out / 1M tokens

Context window

205K

Open weights

Yes

Tool use

Yes

Reasoning

Yes

Output Quality

5.3

5.1

Agentic Ability

4.7

Speed

5.9

6.9

Value for Money

5.9

7.2

Reliability

8.4

8.3

Pricing and capabilities synced from the OpenRouter catalogue. Scores are editorial (0–10).

Verdict: GLM 4.7 or MiniMax M2.1?

Updated 2026-10-17

Choose GLM 4.7 if you want existing GLM 4.x setups that want a small step up from 4.6. Choose MiniMax M2.1 if you want short, tool-heavy agent steps on a tight budget.

Editorially it's close: each model leads in 2 of our five dimensions. On price, GLM 4.7 runs about $1.08 per 1M tokens (blended) and is open-weight; MiniMax M2.1 is about $0.57 and open-weight.

Where GLM 4.7 falls short