Best AI for coding / head-to-head

GLM 5.2 vs GPT-5.6 Solfor coding

The verdict

GPT-5.6 Sol wins, 9392

Same 18 coding tasks, marked blind by three rival labs. GPT-5.6 Sol took 6 tasks, GLM 5.2 took 5, 7 tied. Tested 16 Aug 2026.

Where they differed most

The task — Duration parser

Write a Python function parse_duration(s) that converts strings like '1h30m', '45s', '2h', '90m', '1h2m3s' into total seconds. Raise ValueError on anything malformed. Include three assert-based tests, one of which covers a malformed input.

```python
import re

def parse_duration(s):
    """
    Convert a duration string like '1h30m', '45s', '2h', '90m', '1h2m3s' into total seconds.
    
    The string must consist of one or more components, each being a non-negative integer
    followed by a unit 'h', 'm', or 's'. Units must appear in the order h, m, s (each at most once).
    Raises ValueError on any malformed input.
    """
    if not s:
        raise ValueError("Empty string")
    
    # Match all number+unit pairs
    pattern = re.compile(r'(\d+)([hms])')
    matches = patter…
```python
import re

_DURATION_PATTERN = re.compile(
    r"(?:(?P<hours>[0-9]+)h)?"
    r"(?:(?P<minutes>[0-9]+)m)?"
    r"(?:(?P<seconds>[0-9]+)s)?"
)


def parse_duration(s):
    if not isinstance(s, str) or not s:
        raise ValueError("Malformed duration")

    match = _DURATION_PATTERN.fullmatch(s)
    if not match:
        raise ValueError(f"Malformed duration: {s!r}")

    hours = int(match.group("hours") or 0)
    minutes = int(match.group("minutes") or 0)
    seconds = int(match.group("seconds") or 0)

    return hours * 3600 + minu…

Task by task

TaskGLM 5.2GPT-5.6 Sol
Duration parser810
Find the bug109
SQL without window functions1010
Infinite useEffect1010
Typed debounce89
Leftmost binary search1010
Security review910
Safe migration79
Fix the code not the test1010
Race condition99
Retry with backoff108
Recursive type109
Bash one-liner109
Explain and cost99
Regex with limits89
Callback to async109
Diagnose from a trace89
Idempotency99

Full receipts: GLM 5.2, GPT-5.6 Sol · judges claude-sonnet-5, gemini-3.1-pro-preview, gpt-5.6-terra

Questions people ask

Which is better for coding: GLM 5.2 or GPT-5.6 Sol?

GPT-5.6 Sol — it scored 93/100 against 92/100 on our 18-task coding suite, winning 6 tasks to 5 with 7 tied. Every answer was marked blind by three judges from three rival AI labs.

How was this tested?

Both models answered the identical published coding tasks. Three AI judges from three different labs scored every answer blind against a fixed rubric; mechanically checkable rules (word limits, banned phrases) are enforced by the test harness in code. The raw outputs and judge verdicts are downloadable.

More coding head-to-heads: GPT-5.6 Luna vs GPT-5.6 Sol · GLM 5.2 vs GPT-5.6 Luna · GPT-5.6 Sol vs GPT-5.6 Terra · GPT-5.3-Codex vs GPT-5.6 Sol · GPT-5.5 vs GPT-5.6 Sol · GPT-5.6 Sol vs Qwen3.7 Max

Full ranking: Best AI for coding · model pages: GLM 5.2, GPT-5.6 Sol