Cheaper alternatives to Grok 4.5
Grok 4.5 scores 1451 on the overall Arena and costs about $600.00/month at 100,000 calls (1,500 in / 500 out). Here are models that match or beat it on quality for less.
| GLM-5.2 | 1463 | $430.00 | $170.00/mo | Z.ai (Zhipu AI) |
Intelligence scores are community Arena ratings from LMArena / arena.ai, used under CC BY 4.0. Snapshot last refreshed 28 July 2026. Scores are a relative signal, not an absolute measure of capability. A Measured score was voted on directly; an Estimated score is inherited from an identical base model (a regional/creator-prefixed hosting duplicate). See our methodology.
FAQ
Is there a cheaper model as good as Grok 4.5?
Yes. GLM-5.2 matches or beats Grok 4.5 on the overall Arena leaderboard and costs about $430.00/month versus $600.00/month at a typical volume of 100,000 calls — saving roughly $170.00/month.
How is 'as good' defined?
We only list models with an overall Arena score at or above Grok 4.5's (1451). Arena scores are community preference ratings, not a single benchmark — confirm the alternative on your own task before switching.
Cite / link to this page
You’re welcome to reference this page and its figures with attribution and a link back.
https://aicalculatorpro.com/alternatives/grok-4.5/<a href="https://aicalculatorpro.com/alternatives/grok-4.5/">Cheaper alternatives to Grok 4.5 — AI Calculator Pro</a>