Claude Alternative Alert: GLM-4.7 for 20 RMB, Serious Performance at 1/7 the Price

Developer savings guide: 1/7 the Claude price, 3x usage, Code Arena on par with Opus.

1. Why GLM Coding Plan?

1) Top-tier model performance

Zhipu’s latest flagship GLM-4.7 is here.

On Code Arena, GLM-4.7 scored 1449, ranking in the top tier alongside Claude Opus 4.5 (1480) and GPT-5.2 (1398).

Description

Core strengths:

✅ Code generation at open-source SOTA
✅ Stronger reasoning for complex tasks
✅ Solid frontend aesthetics, high UI fidelity
✅ Excellent tool-calling and agent behavior

2) Extreme value

Compared with Claude Pro:

Item	Claude Pro	GLM Coding Lite	Advantage
Price	$20/month (~145 RMB)	20 RMB/month	1/7 price
Usage	base quota	3x Claude Pro	3x usage
Context	200K	200K	equal

From 240 RMB/year for a full year of AI coding assistance.

3) Seamless support for 20+ tools

Works with almost all mainstream AI coding tools:

Fully supported:

Claude Code (officially recommended ⭐)
Cline (VS Code extension)
Cursor (popular AI editor)
OpenCode, Roo Code, Kilo Code
Crush, Goose, Factory Droid
More coming…

Configure in minutes and use GLM-4.7 in your favorite tools.

2. Holiday promotion details

Dec 8, 2024 - Jan 15, 2025

Discount

🎉 50% off first purchase + extra holiday perks

Plan pricing

Plan	Original	First-time	Renewal	Usage
Lite	120 RMB/quarter	54 RMB/quarter	120 RMB/quarter	3x Claude Pro
Pro 🔥	600 RMB/quarter	270 RMB/quarter	600 RMB/quarter	5x Lite
Max	1200 RMB/quarter	540 RMB/quarter	1200 RMB/quarter	4x Pro

Recommended: Pro annual plan (most popular)

~600 prompts per 5 hours
~3x Claude Max (5x) usage
includes vision, web search, web reader, repo MCP
40-60% faster than Lite

Invite friends group deal

Up to 50% bonus credit, no cap.

Invite friends with your link:

friend buys first time, you get 50% of the order as bonus
bonus credits can be used for renewal
invite more, get more

🚀 My invite link:

https://www.bigmodel.cn/glm-coding?ic=T8DZ40WK7M

Copy and share to save together.

3. Use GLM in Claude Code

Claude Code is Anthropic’s official terminal AI coding tool. With GLM Coding Plan, it works great.

Step 1: Install Claude Code

Prerequisites:

Node.js 18+
Windows users: Git for Windows

Install:

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Verify:

claude --version

Step 2: Configure GLM Coding Plan

Get your Zhipu API Key:
- visit https://www.bigmodel.cn
- register/login
- create a key in API Key page
Set env vars:

Windows (PowerShell):

$env:ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your_zhipu_api_key"

macOS/Linux:

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your_zhipu_api_key"

Configure models:

Edit or create ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL": "glm-4.5-air",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL": "glm-4.7",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL": "glm-4.7"
  }
}

This is cc switch, which I will cover in a separate article. It manages models for Claude Code, Codex, and Gemini clients.

Step 3: Start using

cd your-project
claude

The first launch asks if you trust the directory. Select Yes.

Check model status:

In Claude Code:

/status

Confirm the model is GLM-4.7.

4. One-click helper (recommended)

If manual config is too painful, Zhipu provides a one-click helper with a GUI.

Features

✅ guided wizard
✅ auto detect and install coding tools
✅ one-click GLM plan setup
✅ MCP management UI
✅ built-in Claude Code plugin marketplace
✅ zh/en UI

Quick start

Option A: npx (recommended)

npx @z_ai/coding-helper

Option B: global install

npm install -g @z_ai/coding-helper
coding-helper

Flow

The wizard walks you through:

Description

Choose UI language
Pick plan (Lite/Pro/Max)
Enter API key
Select tools (Claude Code/OpenCode/Crush, etc.)
Auto install tools (if needed)
Apply plan to tools
Manage MCP (optional)
Done

5. MCP features included

With GLM Coding Plan you get MCP services for free, adding superpowers to your AI.

MCP overview

📖 What is MCP?

MCP (Model Context Protocol) lets AI call external tools and services. With MCP, GLM-4.7 can:

understand images and video
search the web in real time
read web pages
analyze GitHub repos

1) Vision MCP

Features:

🎨 UI screenshot to code
📸 image content analysis
🎬 video understanding (MP4/MOV/M4V)
🐛 error screenshot diagnosis
📊 chart analysis
🏗️ architecture diagram understanding

One-click install (Claude Code):

# replace your_api_key
claude mcp add -s user zai-mcp-server --env Z_AI_API_KEY=your_api_key -- npx -y "@z_ai/mcp-server"

Manual config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zai-mcp-server": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@z_ai/mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "Z_AI_API_KEY": "your_api_key",
        "Z_AI_MODE": "ZHIPU"
      }
    }
  }
}

Usage examples:

“Analyze this UI screenshot and generate code”
“How do I fix this error screenshot?”
“Describe the trend in this chart”

2) Web search MCP

Features:

🔍 real-time web search
📰 latest news
📚 docs lookup
💡 answer search

One-click install:

claude mcp add -s user -t http web-search-prime https://open.bigmodel.cn/api/mcp/web_search_prime/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer your_api_key"

Manual config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "web-search-prime": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://open.bigmodel.cn/api/mcp/web_search_prime/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer your_api_key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Usage examples:

“Search for React 19 new features”
“Find Python async best practices”
“What is new in AI coding tools in 2025?“

3) Web reader MCP

Features:

🌐 fetch full web content
📄 extract main text + metadata
🔗 list page links
📖 parse technical docs

One-click install:

claude mcp add -s user -t http web-reader https://open.bigmodel.cn/api/mcp/web_reader/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer your_api_key"

Manual config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "web-reader": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://open.bigmodel.cn/api/mcp/web_reader/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer your_api_key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Usage examples:

“Read this URL and summarize”
“Extract install steps from this doc”
“Parse the key points of this article”

4) Open-source repo MCP

Features:

🔍 search repo docs
📁 get directory structure
📝 read specific files
🐛 view issues/commits

One-click install:

claude mcp add -s user -t http zread https://open.bigmodel.cn/api/mcp/zread/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer your_api_key"

Manual config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zread": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://open.bigmodel.cn/api/mcp/zread/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer your_api_key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Usage examples:

“Analyze vitejs/vite repo structure”
“Search React docs for Hooks”
“Read this repo README”

MCP quota

Plan	web search/reader/repo	vision
Lite	100/month	shared 5-hour pool
Pro	1000/month	shared 5-hour pool
Max	4000/month	shared 5-hour pool

Notes:

web search/reader/repo share the same quota
vision uses a separate 5-hour pool, resets every 5 hours
quota reset is monthly unless you upgrade

6. Limited bonus: Zhipu AI IME

Subscribe to any plan and get Zhipu AI input method (limited offer).

Highlights:

macOS and Windows
unlimited during plan term
voice input to text
smart correction and completion

7. Zhipu IPO event

Zhipu AI went public in 2025.

To celebrate, there are multiple promotions:

GLM Coding Plan 50% off first purchase, Dec 8, 2024 - Jan 15, 2025

All Coding Plan users can claim a gift pack.

How to claim:

Open Claude Code or any tool using GLM Coding Plan
Enter: 智谱旺旺
Follow the prompts to submit shipping info

Gift pack includes:

🥛 custom Want Want milk (your name on it)
🎨 limited Zhipu IPO stickers

Important:

Period: Jan 8 - Jan 16, 2025
Paid users only: any paid plan (Lite/Pro/Max)
One per account: limited quantity, first come first served
Supported tools: Claude Code, Cline, Cursor, etc.

Step-by-step:

# 1. launch Claude Code
claude

# 2. enter in chat
智谱旺旺

# 3. read the ASCII art and instructions
# 4. submit shipping info
# 5. wait for delivery

Follow Zhipu AI on WeChat, send “阿姨助我” to get a milk tea coupon.

Invite friends for group purchase, up to 50% bonus credits.

IPO news: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/NFK61KcfIBzAF2EF5ElghQ

8. Take action now

👉 Official page: https://www.bigmodel.cn/glm-coding

👉 My invite link: https://www.bigmodel.cn/glm-coding?ic=T8DZ40WK7M

Steps

Visit the page and register/login
Get API key
Choose plan (Lite/Pro/Max)
Subscribe with invite link for 50% off
Install Claude Code or use coding helper
Configure GLM-4.7
Start coding with AI

Closing

In 2026, embrace AI coding.

GLM-4.7 + Claude Code + GLM Coding Plan = unstoppable.

From 20 RMB/month you get top-tier AI coding help. It might be the best investment of 2025.

Do not wait. The offer ends Jan 15, 2025.

🚀 Subscribe now:

https://www.bigmodel.cn/glm-coding?ic=T8DZ40WK7M

Make GLM-4.7 your coding partner. 10x productivity is real.

Links summary:

GLM Coding Plan: https://www.bigmodel.cn/glm-coding
Invite link: https://www.bigmodel.cn/glm-coding?ic=T8DZ40WK7M
Model overview: https://docs.bigmodel.cn/cn/guide/start/model-overview
Plan overview: https://docs.bigmodel.cn/cn/coding-plan/overview
Claude Code setup: https://docs.bigmodel.cn/cn/coding-plan/tool/claude
Coding helper: https://docs.bigmodel.cn/cn/coding-plan/extension/coding-tool-helper
IPO news: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/NFK61KcfIBzAF2EF5ElghQ

This is a personal experience summary, not official promotion.

Like, bookmark, and share so more developers can benefit. 🎉

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1. Why GLM Coding Plan?

1) Top-tier model performance

2) Extreme value

3) Seamless support for 20+ tools

2. Holiday promotion details

Promo period

Discount

Plan pricing

Invite friends group deal

3. Use GLM in Claude Code

Step 1: Install Claude Code

Step 2: Configure GLM Coding Plan

Step 3: Start using

4. One-click helper (recommended)

Features

Quick start

Flow

5. MCP features included

MCP overview

1) Vision MCP

2) Web search MCP

3) Web reader MCP

4) Open-source repo MCP

MCP quota

6. Limited bonus: Zhipu AI IME

7. Zhipu IPO event

🎉 Promo 1: Holiday discount

🎁 Promo 2: Coding Plan gift pack

🥤 Promo 3: WeChat official account bonus

🚀 Promo 4: group purchase

8. Take action now

Subscribe

Steps

Closing