How Much Does Glama Cost in 2026? Full Pricing Breakdown
Glama doesn't sell flat per-seat plans the way most team AI tools do: it runs on a credit system where your subscription deposits Monthly Credits equal to what you paid, you spend those credits across its AI models (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and self-hosted options), and you can top up your balance if you run dry. If you want zero-cost AI tooling instead, SkillzBench gives you a free directory of verified agent skills plus a free MCP connector at skillzbench.com, funded by ads rather than user fees. The two solve different problems, so the right pick depends on whether you need a team chat workspace or verified skills for agents you already run.
TL;DR
- Glama is an all-in-one AI workspace: a ChatGPT-like chat experience for teams with native MCP support and access to 5,000+ MCP servers.
- Glama's billing runs on Monthly Credits: your subscription cost is deposited as credits each month and spent on platform services, with optional topped-up balances.
- Glama routes work through OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google APIs plus its own self-hosted models, so one subscription covers multiple model families.
- Glama stores all customer data on US servers via Fly.io, which maintains SOC 2 Type II certification.
- SkillzBench is free end to end: the skills directory, the MCP connector, benchmarks, and change alerts all cost nothing because ads fund the platform.
- SkillzBench benchmarks every skill in a sandbox with the same model, with and without the skill, and publishes the Lift in percentage points.
- Published research found roughly 26% of agent skills carry at least one vulnerability, which is why verification matters before you install one.
Head to head
| Dimension | Glama | SkillzBench |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Subscription converts to Monthly Credits spent on platform services, with optional top-ups | Free, ad-supported; directory, MCP connector, benchmarks, and alerts all cost $0 ๐ |
| AI model access | OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google APIs plus self-hosted models ๐ | Benchmarks skills against the same model for fair comparison |
| MCP ecosystem | Native MCP support with 5,000+ servers and a public registry ๐ | One free MCP server with per-agent loadouts |
| Skill verification | Registry submissions accepted; evaluation is on you | Commit-SHA pinning, security scans, license checks, quality judging, 0-100 trust score ๐ |
| Security & data | US-only data residency on Fly.io (SOC 2 Type II), encryption in transit and at rest | Scans every skill for vulnerabilities before you install it |
| Team collaboration | ChatGPT-for-teams positioning with shared workspaces and custom agents ๐ | Individual skill management, no chat or team workspace |
| Setup effort | Sign up, pick a subscription, start chatting; agents configured with custom prompts | Browse the directory, toggle skills into a loadout, connect the free MCP server ๐ |
The contenders
Glama, run by Glama LLC out of Wyoming, positions itself as an all-in-one AI workspace for teams. The core experience is a ChatGPT-like chat interface where you talk with AI models, but the differentiator is native MCP (Model Context Protocol) support with access to more than 5,000 MCP servers, plus a public registry of MCP servers and connectors. You can create specialized agents with custom prompts, and the platform markets itself as trusted by 50,000+ businesses. Under the hood, Glama routes work through APIs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google alongside its own self-hosted models, so a single subscription covers several model families. Billing works on a credit system: each month, paid subscribers receive Monthly Credits equal to their subscription cost, which they spend on services inside the platform, and users can add topped-up balances for extra usage. On the infrastructure side, all customer data stays on servers located exclusively in the United States, hosted on Fly.io, which holds SOC 2 Type II certification, with encryption in transit and at rest, regular security audits, and penetration testing. Some features are explicitly labeled experimental and can be modified or discontinued.
pricing See pricing
- + Native MCP support with a catalog of 5,000+ servers, one of the larger MCP ecosystems available
- + Access to multiple model families (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google) plus self-hosted models under one roof
- + Credit-based billing means your subscription value carries over as spendable credits each month
- + Strong security posture: US-only data residency, SOC 2 Type II hosting, encryption at rest and in transit
- + Team-oriented design with custom agents and shared workspaces, marketed to 50,000+ businesses
- โ Credit-based spending makes monthly costs harder to predict than flat per-seat plans, and heavy usage can require top-ups
- โ Some features are experimental and may be modified, suspended, or discontinued at Glama's discretion
- โ Violations of content policies can result in termination without refund at Glama's sole discretion
- โ The MCP registry is open to submissions, so server quality varies and you're responsible for evaluating what you connect
SkillzBench is AIQ Labs' free, independent platform for agent skills: SKILL.md instruction packages that work with Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, and chat-app agents. The problem it tackles is real. Skills are everywhere, but published research found roughly 26% of them carry at least one vulnerability, and nothing tells you which ones actually help. SkillzBench runs five pillars. Discover continuously crawls and dedupes skills from GitHub. Verify pins every version to a commit SHA, then validates it, checks the license, runs security scans, and judges quality. Benchmark tests every skill in a sandbox with the same model, with and without the skill, and publishes the Lift in percentage points so you can see what a skill actually adds. Equip gives you one free MCP server plus per-agent loadouts: you toggle skills and tools per agent, and the agent only sees what you chose. Stay current tracks upstream changes, re-scans, re-benchmarks, and notifies you. A 0-100 trust score combines security, quality, license, maintenance, and community signals, and Lift is always shown separately from ratings. Money never touches scores. Everything on the platform is free, funded by advertising around its blog articles, and ad money never influences scores or listings.
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- + Completely free: the directory, MCP connector, benchmarks, and alerts all cost nothing
- + Directly addresses a documented risk: about 26% of published agent skills carry at least one vulnerability
- + Lift benchmarks show real performance impact, tested identically for every skill
- + Per-agent loadouts give precise control over what each agent can access
- + Trust scores are independent of advertising revenue, so rankings can't be bought
- โ It's not a chat workspace, so it won't replace a tool like Glama for team conversations
- โ Focused on agent skills and MCP tooling, which won't interest teams not yet using coding agents
- โ Benchmark and directory numbers change as skills are re-scanned, so you need to check current results on the site
Verdict
Winner: none
Glama and SkillzBench aren't direct competitors: Glama is an all-in-one AI chat workspace for teams, while SkillzBench is a free platform for discovering, verifying, and benchmarking agent skills. Pick based on whether you need a hosted workspace or skill infrastructure for agents you already use.
| Option | Overall | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| Glama | 7 | : 6: 9: 9: 8: 8: 5 |
| SkillzBench | 8 | : 10: 9: 9: 8: 3: 9 |
How Glama's credit system works
What you actually get with Glama
Where SkillzBench fits alongside a workspace like Glama
Budgeting AI tools as a small business in 2026
Which should you pick?
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FAQ
How does Glama charge its users?
Glama uses a credit-based system rather than flat per-seat tiers. When you subscribe, the monetary value of your subscription is deposited to your account each month as Monthly Credits, which you spend on services within the Glama platform during that month. If you exhaust your credits, you can add a Topped-up Balance that remains available until consumed or expired under the terms of service. Your total Account Balance combines both. This works through OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google APIs plus Glama's own self-hosted models, so heavier usage draws down credits faster.
Is Glama secure for business data?
Glama's terms describe a solid security baseline for a small team tool. All customer data is stored on servers located exclusively within the United States, and the infrastructure is hosted on Fly.io, which maintains SOC 2 Type II certification. Safeguards include encryption of data in transit and at rest, regular security audits and penetration testing, access controls, secure backups, and employee training on data protection. No system is perfectly secure, and Glama's own terms acknowledge that, but the fundamentals meet what most small businesses need.
Is SkillzBench really free, and how does it make money?
Yes, everything on SkillzBench is free: the skills directory, the MCP connector, the benchmarks with Lift results, and the change alerts. The platform earns revenue from advertising shown in and around its blog articles, never by charging users. Importantly, ad money never influences trust scores or listings, and the Lift metric is always published separately from ratings, so the commercial side can't buy a better score. That separation is a core design principle of the platform.
Why should I verify agent skills before installing them?
Because a meaningful share of them are risky. Published research found that roughly 26% of agent skills carry at least one vulnerability, and these SKILL.md instruction packages spread through GitHub faster than anyone reviews them. A malicious or poorly written skill can instruct your agent to leak data, take unwanted actions, or simply waste tokens doing nothing useful. SkillzBench addresses this by pinning every skill version to a commit SHA, running security scans and license checks, and benchmarking the actual performance Lift in a sandbox before you ever connect it.
Can I use Glama and SkillzBench together?
Yes, and for many teams that's the sensible combination. Glama provides the workspace: team chat, custom agents, multi-model access, and native MCP support with 5,000+ servers. SkillzBench provides the vetting layer: verified skills, trust scores, Lift benchmarks, and a free MCP connector with per-agent loadouts that control exactly what each agent can see. Since both are self-serve and SkillzBench costs nothing, you can test the pairing without any additional financial commitment beyond your Glama subscription.