Coding subscriptions trade a fixed bill for quota rules. Z.AI meters points, Alibaba meters credits, and MiniMax uses plan windows. Compare those units with a week of measured API use before subscribing.
For the pay-per-token alternative, see coding plans vs pay-per-token.
The price snapshot below was checked against official provider pages on June 9, 2026.
The plans
Cheap coding plans: official snapshot
| Z.AI GLM Coding Plan | $18/mo starting price; Lite ~80 prompts/5h and ~400/week; Pro/Max raise limits |
|---|---|
| Alibaba Token Plan | Credits pool, seats, and dedicated plan endpoints |
| MiniMax Token Plan | Plus $20/mo, Max $50/mo, Ultra $120/mo; 5-hour rolling and weekly windows |
| Xiaomi MiMo | PAYG V2.5 is $0.0028 hit / $0.14 miss / $0.28 output per 1M; token plan advertises off-peak and renewal discounts |
Direct plan links
Plan links
Where to verify and subscribe
4 plans
Z.AI GLM Coding Plan
Starts at $18/month. Lite is roughly 80 prompts per 5 hours and 400 per week; Pro is roughly 400/5h and 2,000/week; Max is roughly 1,600/5h and 8,000/week.
Start here
Check Z.AI pricing, then follow the Claude Code integration docs Official pages
Why it fits: It is the cheapest serious subscription entry here, especially if you want predictable monthly spend for Claude Code, Cline, or OpenCode-style tools.
Alibaba Coding Plan
Current plans use credits and seats. Model multipliers, included credits, and promotional prices are shown on the live purchase page.
Start here
Check the Qwen-Coder / Model Studio plan terms Official pages
Why it fits: It fits very heavy coding-tool usage where a large request allowance beats normal DashScope pay-per-token billing.
MiniMax Token Plan
Plus is $20/month, Max is $50/month, and Ultra is $120/month. All use 5-hour rolling and weekly quota windows and cover MiniMax API Platform models.
Start here
Compare token plans against MiniMax PAYG Official pages
Why it fits: It can make sense if your agent workflow already runs best on MiniMax and you want a predictable quota instead of pure metered tokens.
Xiaomi MiMo Token Plan
PAYG V2.5 overseas rates are $0.0028 cache-hit input, $0.14 cache-miss input, and $0.28 output per 1M tokens; the token-plan page advertises off-peak and renewal discounts.
Start here
Compare token-plan credits, off-peak windows, and reset rules Official pages
Why it fits: It belongs in the comparison when long-context MiMo work is your main usage pattern and token-plan credits beat PAYG.
Z.AI GLM Coding Plan: cheapest entry
Z.AI’s current Coding Plan includes GLM-5.3 and meters use with points. Model choice and traffic period affect consumption, with half-points charging during Z.AI’s published off-peak window. Check the live plan page for current tier prices and quotas. See GLM Coding Plan setup.
This suits individual heavy users who want predictable billing.
Alibaba Coding Plan: big allowance
Alibaba’s current Token Plan uses seats and a shared credits pool rather than the old fixed request allowance. Supported models consume credits at different rates, and plan keys use dedicated endpoints. See Alibaba Token Plan vs pay-as-you-go.
This suits very heavy users who want a large allowance and several model choices.
Other token plans to compare
MiniMax and Xiaomi MiMo also publish plan-style billing, but they are not drop-in replacements for GLM or Alibaba’s coding-tool subscriptions.
MiniMax Token Plan has Plus at $20/month, Max at $50/month, and Ultra at $120/month, each with 5-hour rolling and weekly windows. Its PAYG baseline for MiniMax-M3 is $0.30 input, $1.20 output, and $0.06 prompt-cache read per 1M tokens up to 512K input.
MiMo’s public PAYG page lists overseas mimo-v2.5 at $0.0028 cache-hit input, $0.14 cache-miss input, and $0.28 output per 1M tokens; mimo-v2.5-pro is $0.0036 / $0.435 / $0.87. Its token-plan comparison page advertises public-beta preferential rates, 20% off off-peak calls, and up to 30% monthly auto-renewal savings. Compare those credits against PAYG before assuming the plan wins.
The usage windows everyone forgets
This is the detail that decides whether a plan actually fits you. Steady all-day coding sits comfortably within the windows; occasional marathon sessions can hit the cap, which a higher tier addresses.
Plan vs pay-per-token
Plans win for heavy, consistent use; pay-per-token (DeepSeek) wins for light or bursty use. The crossover is roughly where your monthly token spend would exceed the plan price. Estimate from a real week before subscribing.
How to choose
- For the lowest individual entry price, check the current GLM Coding Plan tiers.
- For very heavy use and model variety, compare the current Alibaba Token Plan credits and seat limits.
- For a MiniMax-heavy workflow, compare its Token Plan with pay-as-you-go billing.
- For large MiMo contexts, compare the MiMo Token Plan with pay-as-you-go billing.
- Light or bursty use usually fits pay-per-token billing better than a subscription.
- If you often hit window caps, compare a higher plan tier with a separate pay-per-token overflow key.
Picking a coding plan
- Estimate your monthly usage and burst pattern
- Cheapest entry → GLM Coding Plan
- Very heavy / model variety → Alibaba plan
- Light/bursty → pay-per-token instead
- Check the rolling-window cap before subscribing
Verify the result
For heavy daily coding, GLM’s Coding Plan from $18/month is the cheapest serious subscription entry, while Alibaba’s $50 plan suits very heavy users wanting a big request allowance and bundled models. The catch on any flat plan is the rolling usage window, match the tier to your bursts. For light use, pay-per-token still wins.
For setup, see GLM Coding Plan setup; for the broader decision, coding plans vs pay-per-token.
