Msty vs Z.ai Chat

Features, pricing, ratings, and pros and cons, side by side.

Msty

Private AI workspace for chatting with local and online models, with your data under your control

Freemium

Visit website View details

Z.ai Chat

Free GLM-powered AI chatbot and agent from Zhipu AI for writing, coding and research

Freemium

Visit website View details

Verdict

Msty and Z.ai Chat are both AI Assistants tools. Both have a free plan or trial. Only Msty is available on Windows, macOS and iOS. Only Z.ai Chat offers an API.

Best overall

Msty

Privacy-conscious individuals
Developers
Researchers
Educators

Choose Msty if

You want a tool built for running local and cloud models side by side from one desktop app while keeping data on your own device.
Permanent free Studio tier that includes local and online model chat and Knowledge Stacks.
Data stays on the user's device, with zero product telemetry stated.

Choose Z.ai Chat if

You want a tool built for trying GLM models at no cost, drafting and summarizing text, coding questions, low-cost API experimentation.
Free web chat with recent GLM models and no subscription needed.
Low per-token API prices, such as $0.15 input and $0.50 output per 1M tokens for GLM-5.3-Flash.

Best for beginners: Z.ai Chat
Best for business: Msty

Features

18 features compared.

Local and Online Models
Msty
Available
Z.ai Chat
Not available
Knowledge Stacks
Msty
Available
Z.ai Chat
Not available
Personas and Crew Conversations
Msty
Available
Z.ai Chat
Not available
Agent Mode
Msty
Available
Z.ai Chat
Not available
Toolbox with MCP
Msty
Available
Z.ai Chat
Not available
Prompt, Persona, Skill and Media Studios
Msty
Available
Z.ai Chat
Not available
Studio Web
Msty
Available
Z.ai Chat
Not available
Msty Go Agents
Msty
Available
Z.ai Chat
Not available
Msty Nexus
Msty
Available
Z.ai Chat
Not available
Enterprise Governance
Msty
Available
Z.ai Chat
Not available
GLM Chat
Msty
Not available
Z.ai Chat
Available
Agent Capabilities
Msty
Not available
Z.ai Chat
Available
Vision Understanding
Msty
Not available
Z.ai Chat
Available
Coding Assistance
Msty
Not available
Z.ai Chat
Available
GLM Coding Plan
Msty
Not available
Z.ai Chat
Available
Web Search and Web Reader MCP
Msty
Not available
Z.ai Chat
Available
Z.ai API Platform
Msty
Not available
Z.ai Chat
Available
Open-Weights Models
Msty
Not available
Z.ai Chat
Available

Pricing

Plans as listed by each vendor. Check their sites for current prices.

Pricing model
Msty
Freemium
Z.ai Chat
Freemium
Free plan
Msty
Yes
Z.ai Chat
Yes
Starting price
Msty
$0
Z.ai Chat
$0
Plans
Msty
4 plans
Z.ai Chat
4 plans

Msty plans

Studio Free
$0
Free desktop workspace for local and online model chat
- Local and online model chat
- Persona and Crew Conversations
- Agent Mode
- Knowledge Stacks
- Prompt Studio
- Persona Studio
- Skill Studio
- Media Studio (several features limited)
Aurum
$149/year
Power-user tier billed yearly
- Studio Web
- Azure and Bedrock providers
- Studio Assistants
- Shadow Personas
- Turnstiles
- Insights
- Forge Mode
Aurum Lifetime
Most popular
$349/one-time
One-time purchase with all Aurum features
- All Aurum features
- lifetime updates and access
Enterprise & Teams
Custom/custom
Sales-led plan for organizations, minimum 5 seats
- SSO
- user and team management
- role-based access control
- audit logs
- shared team resources
- priority support

Z.ai Chat plans

Chat (Free)
$0
Web chat with GLM models at chat.z.ai
- Web chat
- GLM-5.3-Flash
- agent features
GLM Coding Lite
$18/month
Lightweight coding workloads
- 2,000 credits per 5 hours
- 10,000 credits per week
- GLM-5.3 and GLM-5.3-Flash
GLM Coding Pro
$80/month
Professional coding workloads
- 12,000 credits per 5 hours
- 60,000 credits per week
- Vision
- Web Search and Web Reader MCP
GLM Coding Max
$168/month
High-volume coding workloads
- 28,000 credits per 5 hours
- 140,000 credits per week
- Vision
- Web Search and Web Reader MCP

Our ratings

Scored out of 10 by the Finder Atlas editorial team. Last reviewed October 2026.

Msty: 8.1overall
Z.ai Chat: 8.0overall

Msty leads in 2 categories and Z.ai Chat in 2, with 1 tied.

Ease of Use
Tied
Msty
8.0
Z.ai Chat
8.0
Feature Depth
Msty leads by 0.8
Msty
8.6
Z.ai Chat
7.8
Value for Money
Z.ai Chat leads by 0.4
Msty
8.4
Z.ai Chat
8.8
Performance & Speed
Z.ai Chat leads by 0.2
Msty
7.8
Z.ai Chat
8.0
Documentation & Support
Msty leads by 0.1
Msty
7.6
Z.ai Chat
7.5

Scores weigh documented features, plan value, platform coverage, integrations and user feedback. A missing score means we have not rated that area yet.

Pros and cons

Msty

Pros

Permanent free Studio tier that includes local and online model chat and Knowledge Stacks.
Data stays on the user's device, with zero product telemetry stated.
One-time Aurum Lifetime option at $349 avoids a recurring subscription.
Supports MCP tools and enterprise controls such as SSO and audit logs.
Broad product family covering chat (Studio), agents (Go) and a model gateway (Nexus).

Cons

Studio data does not sync between devices.
Studio Web needs a connection to Studio Desktop or Sidecar for local models, Toolbox and real-time data.
SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certifications are not yet complete.
Msty Go is still in beta and Stack is not yet released.

Z.ai Chat

Pros

Free web chat with recent GLM models and no subscription needed.
Low per-token API prices, such as $0.15 input and $0.50 output per 1M tokens for GLM-5.3-Flash.
Many GLM models are open-weights, so they can be self-hosted.
The Coding Plan works with 20+ existing coding agent tools rather than locking users into one editor.
Vision, search and reader tools are included in Coding Plan tiers.

Cons

No confirmed official native iOS or Android app for the chat.
Coding Plan terms have changed several times (legacy plans replaced by credits on July 30, 2026), which makes usage harder to predict.
Service is operated by a China-based company, which may be a concern for data-residency-sensitive users.
Free chat usage limits are not publicly documented.

Platforms

Web
Msty
Supported
Z.ai Chat
Supported
Windows
Msty
Supported
Z.ai Chat
Not supported
macOS
Msty
Supported
Z.ai Chat
Not supported
iOS
Msty
Supported
Z.ai Chat
Not supported
Android
Msty
Supported
Z.ai Chat
Not supported
API
Msty
Not supported
Z.ai Chat
Supported
Browser Extension
Msty
Not supported
Z.ai Chat
Not supported
Linux
Msty
Supported
Z.ai Chat
Not supported

Integrations

Msty

9 integrations

Ollama
Azure OpenAI
Amazon Bedrock
Discord
Telegram
WhatsApp
Docker
Podman
MCP

Z.ai Chat

7 integrations

Claude Code
Codex
Cline
Kilo Code
OpenCode
ZCode
OpenClaw

Company

Company
Msty
CloudStack, LLC
Z.ai Chat
Z.ai (Zhipu AI)
Founded
Msty
Not listed
Z.ai Chat
2019
Headquarters
Msty
Not listed
Z.ai Chat
Beijing, China
Listing
Msty
Claimed
Z.ai Chat
Claimed

Featured AI Assistants

Picked by our editors. Not paid placement.

Frequently asked questions

Is Msty better than Z.ai Chat?

It depends on your workflow. Msty is built for running local and cloud models side by side from one desktop app while keeping data on your own device. Z.ai Chat is built for trying GLM models at no cost, drafting and summarizing text, coding questions, low-cost API experimentation.

What are the key feature differences between Msty and Z.ai Chat?

Msty: Private AI workspace for chatting with local and online models, with your data under your control. Z.ai Chat: Free GLM-powered AI chatbot and agent from Zhipu AI for writing, coding and research.

Does Msty or Z.ai Chat have a free plan?

Yes, both do. Msty is freemium and Z.ai Chat is freemium, and each has a free plan or trial.

Which is cheaper, Msty or Z.ai Chat?

Both can be used for free. Paid plans differ in limits and features, so compare the tiers in the pricing table above.

Verdict

Best overall

Choose Msty if

Choose Z.ai Chat if

Features

Pricing

Msty plans

Studio Free

Aurum

Aurum Lifetime

Enterprise & Teams

Z.ai Chat plans

Chat (Free)

GLM Coding Lite

GLM Coding Pro

GLM Coding Max

Our ratings

Ease of Use

Feature Depth

Value for Money

Performance & Speed

Documentation & Support

Pros and cons

Msty

Pros

Cons

Z.ai Chat

Pros

Cons

Platforms

Integrations

Msty

Z.ai Chat

Company

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Frequently asked questions