GLM 5.3 FlashX Legal vs Gemini 3.8 Flash
GLM 5.3 FlashX Legal took 45 min 14 s and $0.42 at list price, Gemini 3.8 Flash took 8 min 33 s and $0.32 at list price. GLM 5.3 FlashX Legal took 5.3× as long and cost 1.3× as much.
GLM 5.3 FlashX Legal
Z.ai · $1.25/M out
Gemini 3.8 Flash
Google · $4.13/M out · 1,293 HN pts
Pelican
Generate an SVG of a pelican riding a bicycle
Watch
Draw a mechanical wristwatch that shows the current local time, with a sweeping seconds hand and a date window. Make it look expensive.
Landing
Build the landing page for Lumen Cycles, a Copenhagen workshop that builds custom cargo bikes to order. Make it look like a real brand you would trust with 4,000 euros.
Breakout
Make a Breakout game I can play right now with the keyboard or the mouse. Give it several levels, a score and some juice.
Logo
Design a logo for Night Heron, an independent bookshop that only opens after dark.
About
Write the opening of the About us page for Patchbay, a three-person studio in Rotterdam that repairs vintage synthesizers. About 150 words.
Patchbay is a three-person studio in Rotterdam devoted to the repair and restoration of vintage synthesizers. We work on the machines that shaped the sound of the last fifty years — Roland, Moog, Yamaha, Korg, EMS, and the rest — from the rare and legendary to the well-loved and well-worn.
We started the studio because these instruments matter. They were built to be repaired, with discrete components, schematics, and construction that reward patience and care. Somewhere along the way, that way of making things fell out of fashion. We think it's worth keeping alive.
Every synthesizer that comes through our door is treated the same way: carefully diagnosed, honestly assessed, and repaired with respect for its original character. No unnecessary modifications, no shortcuts that compromise the instrument. Whether it's a failed voice chip, a dead key, or years of dust and neglect, our job is to put the machine back in the hands of the people who play it.
Tucked away in Rotterdam, Patchbay is a three-person repair studio dedicated to the preservation and revival of vintage synthesizers. We believe that classic instruments are living machines rather than museum relics—tools built to inspire, create, and be played loud. Between the three of us, we combine decades of experience in electronics engineering, sound design, and meticulous craftsmanship. Whether tracking down elusive voice chips for an eighties polyphonic giant, rebuilding power supplies, or recalibrating the drift on a cantankerous monophonic circuit from the seventies, we treat every piece of gear with obsessive attention to detail. Our workbench is built on a deep respect for historical engineering and a refusal to cut corners. For musicians, producers, and collectors across the Netherlands and beyond, Patchbay is where forgotten circuits find their current again, keeping the tactile soul of analog synthesis alive and resonant.
Specs and numbers
| GLM 5.3 FlashX Legal | Gemini 3.8 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Z.ai | |
| Made in | China | US |
| Released | 2 Nov 2026 | 2 Sep 2026 |
| Price in, per M tokens | $0.37 | $0.825 |
| Price out, per M tokens | $1.25 | $4.13 |
| Context | 1,048,576 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens |
| Weights | closed | closed |
| Hacker News points | — | 1,293 |
| Time for the six prompts | 45 min 14 s | 8 min 33 s |
| List price of the six prompts | $0.42 | $0.32 |
Gemini 3.8 Flash was cheaper: $0.092 less at list price, and less on 3 of the 6 prompts. Gemini 3.8 Flash was faster: 36 min 41 s less in total, and faster on 5 of the 6 prompts.
In the recording, both Breakout games play.





