Zhipu AI (Z.ai) review
Updated September 28, 2026 · CompanionCue Editorial Team · Facts checked September 26, 2026
We earn a commission when you sign up through links on this site. Partner status can affect where a brand appears in our rankings. Partners with a live offer in your country come first, then every other brand by score.
Our verdict
Zhipu AI (Z.ai) suits adults who want both image and video generation at a monthly fee of $3, with a free chat tier included. It is the least expensive of the picks compared here, ranking 4 of 94 brands on monthly price.
Key facts
- Best for
- Adults who want image and video models plus a free chat tier for a low monthly fee.
- Monthly price
- $3↗
- What is free
- free chat tier available↗
- Video generation
- Yes↗
- Legal entity
- JINGSHENG HENGXING TECHNOLOGY PTE.LTD↗
- Support channels
- Help-centre, Community↗
- Pricing model
- Free, Premium
- Official website
- z.ai
Facts checked September 26, 2026, 4 sources
Pros and cons
Pros
- Low monthly fee of $3; the site median is €13.15 and the lower quartile is €8.77
- A free chat tier is available, so you can try the models at no cost
- Video generation is included, not just chat
- Model access is listed in free and premium tiers
Cons
- Support runs on help centre and community only, so help is self-serve
- The legal entity behind the service is JINGSHENG HENGXING TECHNOLOGY PTE.LTD, so account and billing questions sit with one company
- Free access covers a chat tier, not image and video generation
Who it suits
- Adults who want both image and video generation from a general model maker
- Readers who put monthly cost first, since the fee of $3 ranks 4 of 94 brands
- People happy to handle their own questions through help centre and community
Who should look elsewhere
- Adults who want a dedicated adult generator rather than a general model maker: SecretDesires.ai at $7.99 a month and DeepSwap at $9.99 a month are the listings to compare
- Readers who need live human support, since Zhipu AI runs on help centre and community only; Wordtune at $9.99 a month is worth checking for support fit
Pricing and free tier
Zhipu AI charges a monthly fee of $3, and free access covers a chat tier, so you can try the models before you pay anything. The free part is chat itself; image and video generation sit on the paid side of the plan, which is where the $3 figure matters for anyone generating regularly.
How Zhipu AI (Z.ai) compares
9.6 vs 9.0
9.6 vs 8.5
9.6 vs 8.5
9.6 vs 8.5
9.6 vs 8.5
9.6 vs 9.3
Frequently asked questions
How much is Zhipu AI per month?+
The published monthly fee is $3, and that figure is the full plan cost rather than an introductory rate. On the site's monthly price ranking the brand places 4 of 94, at the cheap end of the field rather than the middle.
Is there a free tier?+
Yes, a free chat tier is available, so you can try the models before paying anything. The free part covers chat; image and video generation sit on the paid side, where the monthly fee of $3 applies.
Does Zhipu AI make videos?+
Video generation is included, yes. It sits alongside the chat and model tiers, so the monthly fee of $3 covers a service that handles video as well as text. Free access covers the chat tier only.
What support does Zhipu AI offer?+
Support runs on help centre and community, so answers come from the help centre and the community rather than a live agent. Plan questions about the monthly fee of $3 and what free access includes are the kind of thing both routes handle.
Who runs Zhipu AI and what does that mean for billing?+
The privacy policy names JINGSHENG HENGXING TECHNOLOGY PTE.LTD as the legal entity behind the service. Anyone asking where account, billing or chat data sits is dealing with that company rather than a separate local entity, and the monthly fee of $3 is billed by the same operation.
How does the price compare with other brands?+
Its monthly fee of $3 places it 4 of 94 brands on the site's monthly price ranking. The site's median is €13.15 and the lower quartile is €8.77, so this sits well below the middle.
Who is Zhipu AI for?+
It suits adults who want both image and video generation and who put monthly cost first, given the fee of $3. It is a general model maker with a free chat tier, so readers who want a dedicated adult generator may prefer a different listing.
Sources
- docs.z.ai/legal-agreement/privacy-policy checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Legal entity
“Services are provided and controlled by JINGSHENG HENGXING TECHNOLOGY PTE.LTD”
- github.com/kyabarshinavya/qwendevstudio checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Monthly price
“Pricing: Starting from $3/month (GLM Coding Lite)”
- intelligentliving.co/gemini-3-8-flash-vs-glm-5-3-flash checked September 26, 2026
Backs: What is free, Pricing model
“chat.z.ai Free - $0 - Access to chat interface”
- z.ai/pricing checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Support channels, Video generation
“Contact Sales - X.com - Discord”
Compiled from 4 source pages, checked September 26, 2026. We did not open an account.
Not confirmed yet: Credits per image, Adult content policy.
Related by the facts
Zhipu AI (Z.ai)
Adults who want image and video models plus a free chat tier for a low monthly fee.