The Secret is Out: Pony Alpha is GLM-5 (And It’s Free in Kilo)
Z AI's new model is remarkably good at complex tasks
For the past few weeks, the AI world has been buzzing about a “stealth” model appearing in the wild. Known only as Pony Alpha, this mystery model has been crushing coding benchmarks and showing off “deep-thinking” reasoning capabilities that rival the biggest names in the industry.
Reddit has been losing its mind. Ponies have been galloping. Horses have been calling.
Today, we’re pulling back the curtain.
Pony Alpha is actually GLM-5, the brand-new flagship model from Z AI (Zhipu AI). And because we want every developer to experience this next-level reasoning firsthand, GLM-5 is now available for FREE in Kilo Code for a limited time.
What makes GLM-5 different?
GLM 4.7 has been one of the most popular models on Kilo since its release in December 2025. It was a part of the significant rise of OSS models in terms of capabilities, not just cost.
GLM-5 isn’t just another incremental update; it’s a massive leap forward in “System 2” thinking for AI. Built by the world-class researchers at Z AI, it brings a new level of logic to software engineering.
Deep Reasoning: GLM-5 excels at “thinking through” complex architectural problems before writing a single line of code.
Coding Excellence: It is already ranking among the top models for code generation, bug fixing, and refactoring.
Lightning Fast: Despite its massive power, GLM-5 delivers significantly faster inference speeds, keeping you in the flow state.
Bilingual Mastery: Best-in-class support for multiple languages, making it a powerhouse for global teams.
But that leap ahead isn’t cheap. GLM-5 raises the price for Z AI—it’s 2x more expensive than the GLM models you’re used to. That said, it often hits a home run on the first pass. Early testing by WaveSpeedAI found that GLM-5 has some latency issues but that this is balanced by effective complex reasoning and synthesis : “When a single GLM-5 pass does what two GLM-4.7 passes required, it’s cost-effective.”
In other words, it’s punching way above its weight class.
To give everybody equal access to try the best LLMs, we’ve made GLM-5 totally free across modes and features in Kilo for a limited time.
Why we’re giving it away
At Kilo, our mission is to put the world’s best models at your fingertips. We know that once you experience the “deep thinking” capability of GLM-5—the same magic that made Alpha Pony a viral sensation—you won’t want to go back.
For a limited time, you can access GLM-5 in Kilo Code with:
No API keys required.
No subscriptions.
No hidden costs.
Put GLM-5 to the test with Cloud Agents or the new Kilo CLI. What will you build?
How to get started
If you’re already using Kilo Code, GLM-5 is waiting for you in the model selector right now.
If you haven’t joined the 1.5M+ developers using Kilo yet:
Open the Chat or Architect panel.
Select GLM-5 from the dropdown.
Start building.
No hidden costs. Just the best AI coding in the world.
Whether you’re debugging a race condition or architecting a new microservice, see why the “Pony Alpha” mystery had everyone talking. Try it alongside over 500 other models in Kilo.
Try GLM-5 for free in Kilo today.
The GLM-5 reveal explains the “mystery model” hype. What stood out for me wasn’t just benchmark scores, it was how structured the reasoning felt.
Models that plan before coding change how people build software. Less trial and error, more first-pass correctness.
Making GLM-5 free in Kilo Code is huge for devs to actually feel that difference, not just read about it.
It is nice to try to discover which models are the stealth ones, it add some fun to the work!