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Z.ai (Zhipu AI)Financial advice

GLM (Z.ai) for financial advice

Chinese AI lab (Zhipu, international Z.ai) with the open-weight GLM family under MIT licence, particularly strong at programming and agent tasks at low prices.

Not specifically recommended

GLM (Z.ai) isn't on our list for financial advice. It's usable for general work, but first look at the options we recommend for financial advice.

GDPR profileOur summary of what the provider itself publishes about your data: EU hosting possible, no training on your data for business use, and self-hosting available. Caution applies to a model with a documented problem, such as an investigation by a regulator. How we measure
GDPR: Caution
QualityQuality from blind duels on LMArena: users choose between two anonymous answers. A difference of about 20 points is noticeable, a few points is noise. How we measure
1483Elo, independent
Editorial scoreOur own assessment on 10 of suitability for professional work, price and privacy. This is a judgement, not a measurement; that is why it always sits alongside the Elo. How we measure
7,7
Entry price
Free
Full GDPR check

What GLM (Z.ai) does in financial advice

Core tasks in financial advice
  • Processing client files and inventories
  • Drafting advisory reports and rationales
  • Comparing and summarising product terms
  • Handling client questions and aftercare
What GLM (Z.ai) is strong at
  • Top performance on coding and agent benchmarks at a fraction of the price
  • GLM-5.2 is fully open-weight under the MIT licence
  • 1 million tokens of context on the flagship
  • Affordable Coding Plan subscriptions for tools such as Claude Code

GLM (Z.ai) has a specific GDPR concern. Parent company Zhipu (Beijing) falls under Chinese data and security legislation, regardless of where the servers are located. For sensitive data, self-hosting the MIT-licensed weights is the recommended mitigation. Weigh this heavily before deploying it in financial advice.

Confidentiality and GDPR

GDPR: Caution

The Wft duty of care and the GDPR set high demands: financial and health data belong only in GDPR-compliant systems with a data processing agreement, and the advice remains the adviser's responsibility.

The international service Z.ai runs through JINGSHENG HENGXING TECHNOLOGY PTE. LTD. (Singapore); personal data is in principle processed in Singapore. According to the data processing agreement, API content is processed in real time and not stored. GLM-5.2 is open-weight under MIT and can therefore be fully self-hosted or hosted through an EU provider.

Rule of thumb Use the business variant with a data processing agreement, and keep a human in the loop for decisions that matter.
Caution Parent company Zhipu (Beijing) falls under Chinese data and security legislation, regardless of where the servers are located. For sensitive data, self-hosting the MIT-licensed weights is the recommended mitigation.

Prices

Z.ai ChatFreeFree chatbot at chat.z.ai with GLM-5.x
GLM Coding Plan Lite$18 / monthIntroductory promo $12.60/month; Pro $72 and Max $160 per month
API, GLM-5.3$1.40 / $4.40 per 1MSame price as GLM-5.2 (calls are forwarded to 5.3); GLM-5.3-Flash $0.15 / $0.50; GLM-5 $1.00 / $3.20; GLM-4.7-Flash free

Questions about GLM (Z.ai) for financial advice

Is GLM (Z.ai) suitable for financial advice?
Not specifically. GLM (Z.ai) isn't on our list for financial advice; it's broadly applicable, but first look at the options we recommend for financial advice. Keep a professional in the loop for every use.
May I put confidential data into GLM (Z.ai)?
The Wft duty of care and the GDPR set high requirements: financial and health data belong only in GDPR-compliant systems with a data processing agreement, and the advice remains the adviser's. The international service of Z.ai runs via JINGSHENG HENGXING TECHNOLOGY PTE. LTD. (Singapore); personal data is in principle processed in Singapore. According to the data processing agreement, API content is processed in real time and not stored. GLM-5.2 is open-weight under MIT and can therefore be hosted entirely yourself or via an EU provider.
How much does GLM (Z.ai) cost?
There is Z.ai Chat (Free), GLM Coding Plan Lite ($18 / month), API, GLM-5.3 ($1.40 / $4.40 per 1M). Check current prices on the official site.

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