Comprehensive comparison of GLM-5, Qwen 3.5, and Gemma 4 cloud models for coding agents and app modernisation
Test Date: April 8-9, 2026
Six comprehensive tests evaluating code generation, bug fixing, code review, refactoring, test writing, and architecture design.
| Test | Qwen 3.5 | Gemma 4 | GLM-5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Code Generation | 75.1s | 19.7s 🏆 | 72.9s |
| 2. Bug Fixing | 13.9s 🏆 | 84.0s | 171.7s |
| 3. Code Review | 19.0s 🏆 | 48.8s | 104.2s |
| 4. Refactoring | 28.2s 🏆 | 25.1s | 92.0s |
| 5. Test Writing | 49.8s 🏆 | 101.0s | 167.2s |
| 6. Architecture | 70.4s 🏆 | 78.3s | 201.2s |
Keep Qwen 3.5 as primary — it's the best all-rounder for agentic workflows. Speed + quality is unbeatable. GLM-5 is powerful but 3x slower, making it unsuitable for real-time agents. Use GLM-5 for offline batch analysis only.
Six complex tests: PL/SQL rules extraction, Java JEE documentation, OpenAPI spec generation, .NET forward engineering, integration design, and test specifications.
| Test | Qwen 3.5 | Gemma 4 | GLM-5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. PL/SQL Rules Extraction | 19.8s 🏆 | 47.2s | 161.4s |
| 2. Java JEE Documentation | 18.1s 🏆 | 48.3s | 109.1s |
| 3. OpenAPI Spec Generation | 56.2s | 101.5s | 165.6s 🏆 (most detailed) |
| 4. .NET Forward Engineering | 114.4s | 110.0s 🏆 | 144.7s |
| 5. Integration Design | 58.6s 🏆 | 102.3s | 318.2s |
| 6. Test Specification | 56.9s 🏆 | 126.0s | 106.9s |
Keep Qwen 3.5 as primary — wins 4 of 6 tests with faster execution and comparable or better output depth. GLM-5 only excels at OpenAPI spec completeness and has one real edge: catching subtle logic gaps in legacy code. For production workflows, Qwen is the clear choice.