GLM-5.1 vs GPT-4.1

Pick GLM-5.1 if you want the stronger benchmark profile. GPT-4.1 only becomes the better choice if knowledge is the priority or you need the larger 1M context window.

GLM-5.1 is clearly ahead on the provisional aggregate, 83 to 58. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.

GLM-5.1's sharpest advantage is in coding, where it averages 60.9 against 54.6. GPT-4.1 does hit back in knowledge, so the answer changes if that is the part of the workload you care about most.

GPT-4.1 is also the more expensive model on tokens at $2.00 input / $8.00 output per 1M tokens, versus $1.40 input / $4.40 output per 1M tokens for GLM-5.1. GLM-5.1 is the reasoning model in the pair, while GPT-4.1 is not. That usually helps on harder chain-of-thought-heavy tests, but it can also mean more latency and more token spend in real use. GPT-4.1 gives you the larger context window at 1M, compared with 203K for GLM-5.1.