Glaciers, primarily distributed in high mountainous and high-latitude regions globally, play a critical role in the global water cycle, serve as a significant part of the Earth’s climate system. There are still discrepancies in the gravimetry-based glacier mass balance due to differences in data processing by various institutions, regional divisions, and inversion methods. Here, we analyzed the performance of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mascon solutions provided by the NASA’s CSR, JPL, and GSFC in estimating glacier mass balance and discussed the differences among these mascon solutions. The results reveal a negative trend in gravity signals over global glacier areas, with glacier mass balances of -163.7(CSR-M), -182.3(GSFC-M),-174.3 {plus minus} 11.6 Gt/yr (JPL-M) from April 2002 to September 2023. Additionally, we compared the glacier mass balance from three mascon solutions with that from CryoSat-2, DEM time series data, and GRACE spherical harmonics (SH) solutions. Our findings demonstrate that the GSFC mascon solutions exhibit superior performance across fifteen subregions of the Randolph Glacier Inventory (RGI). In High Mountains Asia and the Southern Andes, gravity variations within glacier areas are significantly affected by terrestrial water sources, including soil moisture, seismic activity, and other geophysical signals, thereby influencing glacier mass balance estimates. Consequently, meticulous consideration of these additional signals is essential when using GRACE mascon solutions for glacier mass balance studies in these regions. This study provides valuable guidance in the selection and processing of GRACE data, facilitating a more accurate understanding of global glacier mass balance.