Verdict
Z.ai's MIT 320B/18B MoE Flash. Intelligence 42 at list $0.15/$0.50. Launch promo $0.075/$0.25 ends 9 Sep 2026 (UTC+8). Best price/intelligence open-weight for Indian bootstrapped backends if China-hosted API is acceptable, else self-host.
“The September 2026 price-performance pick.”
Best default for Indian bootstrapped backends if the API region is acceptable; pin list prices after the promo.
Training data policy: N/A — open weights. Self-host for full control.
DPDP Act (India): Self-host in India for full DPDP compliance.
Data residency: Self-hosted
Self-host in India