Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Granite 4.2 8B
At a Glance
| Compare |  Gemma 4 26B A4BGoogle DeepMind | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing and Limits | ||
| Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $0.070Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 | $0.060Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 |
| Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $0.30Openrouter ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 | $0.25Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 |
| Context windowMaximum documented tokens | 262K | 131K |
| Model facts checked | Sep 3, 2026View model evidence → | Sep 2, 2026View model evidence → |
Token prices are the lowest available sourced USD rates; input and output may use different providers. Cost ranking estimates output spend on LiveBench, not a full request bill. Ranking methodology →
Available Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Gemma 4 26B-A4B | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text Arenatext-2026-09-13-d25aabda0010 · arena_rating · leader | 1,434.47100% of row best · rating · gemma-4-26b-a4b; 95% CI [1426.87673667, 1442.06986887]; votes 5804; rank 80 | 1,316.7892% of row best · rating · granite-4.2-8b; 95% CI [1305.41435264, 1328.15511064]; votes 3087; rank 225 |
| Overall ResultCounted from the protocol-matched rows above | 1 benchmark winNo overall winner | 0 benchmark winsNo overall winner |
Third-party benchmark Only like-for-like primary-publisher results are shown; raw scores, relative scores, configuration, and token spend remain visible.
Side-by-Side Facts
| Field | Gemma 4 26B-A4B | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Google DeepMind | IBM |
| Family | Gemma 4 | Granite 4 2 |
| Model | Gemma 4 26B-A4B | Granite 4.2 8B |
| Version | Gemma 4 26B-A4B | Granite 4.2 8B |
| Lifecycle | active | active |
| Released | 2026-03-11 | 2026-08-25 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Unknown | Unknown |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text |
| Output modalities | Text | Text |
| Context window | 262K | 131K |
| Total parameters | 26B | 8.8B |
| Active parameters | 4B | Unknown |
| License | apache-2.0 | apache-2.0 |
| Open weights | Yes | Yes |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Provider access | Deepinfra (Standard), Google Gemini (Standard), Openrouter (Standard), Together Ai (Standard) | Deepinfra (Standard), Openrouter (Standard) |
| Capabilities | chat, generation, reasoning, structured_outputs, tools | chat, generation, reasoning, structured_outputs, tools |
Gemma 4 26B A4B Capabilities
Granite 4.2 8B Capabilities
Related Comparisons
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|---|---|---|---|
Gemma 4 26B-A4BGoogle DeepMind | vs |  GPT-6 AstraOpenAI | cross-developer peersimage, text |
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Gemma 4 26B-A4BGoogle DeepMind | vs | Grok 4.6xAI | cross-developer peersimage, text |
Gemma 4 26B-A4BGoogle DeepMind | vs |  Qwen3.8-MaxQwen | cross-developer peersimage, text |
Gemma 4 26B-A4BGoogle DeepMind | vs |  Kimi-K3Moonshot AI | cross-developer peersimage, text |
 MiniMax-M3MiniMax | vs | Gemma 4 26B-A4BGoogle DeepMind | cross-developer peersimage, text |
Gemma 4 26B-A4BGoogle DeepMind | vs |  GLM-5.3Z.ai | cross-developer peerstext |
Gemma 4 26B-A4BGoogle DeepMind | vs |  Hy4 previewTencent | cross-developer peerstext |
Seed 2.1 ProByteDance Seed | vs | Gemma 4 26B-A4BGoogle DeepMind | cross-developer peersimage, text |
Gemma 4 26B-A4BGoogle DeepMind | vs |  Mistral Large 3Mistral AI | cross-developer peersimage, text |
Primary Evidence
Sources and Freshness
Questions
Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Granite 4.2 8B FAQs
Is Gemma 4 26B A4B or Granite 4.2 8B better for coding?+
This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both Gemma 4 26B A4B and Granite 4.2 8B, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.
Which is cheaper, Gemma 4 26B A4B or Granite 4.2 8B?+
Gemma 4 26B A4B is $0.070 and Granite 4.2 8B is $0.060 per million tokens, so Granite 4.2 8B is cheaper on this metric. Gemma 4 26B A4B is $0.30 and Granite 4.2 8B is $0.25 per million tokens, so Granite 4.2 8B is cheaper on this metric.
Which has a larger context window, Gemma 4 26B A4B or Granite 4.2 8B?+
Gemma 4 26B A4B has the larger sourced context window. Gemma 4 26B A4B supports 262K and Granite 4.2 8B supports 131K.
Which performs better in benchmarks, Gemma 4 26B A4B or Granite 4.2 8B?+
There is no overall benchmark winner: At least two independently verified, protocol-matched benchmarks are required for an overall winner.
Can Gemma 4 26B A4B or Granite 4.2 8B be self-hosted?+
Both models have the same recorded self-hosting status: supported. Gemma 4 26B A4B is open weight; Granite 4.2 8B is open weight.
Can Gemma 4 26B A4B and Granite 4.2 8B understand images?+
Gemma 4 26B A4B is documented with image input; Granite 4.2 8B is not documented with image input. This reflects supported input modalities, not vision quality.
Which can generate longer answers, Gemma 4 26B A4B or Granite 4.2 8B?+
Neither has a larger sourced maximum output. Gemma 4 26B A4B is — and Granite 4.2 8B is —.
Do Gemma 4 26B A4B and Granite 4.2 8B support reasoning and tool use?+
Gemma 4 26B A4B: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. Granite 4.2 8B: reasoning and tool calling. Feature support does not establish relative quality.
Which is available from more inference providers, Gemma 4 26B A4B or Granite 4.2 8B?+
Gemma 4 26B A4B has 4 sourced provider routes; Granite 4.2 8B has 2, so Gemma 4 26B A4B has broader tracked availability.
Which offers better value, Gemma 4 26B A4B or Granite 4.2 8B?+
There is no universal value winner. Compare the input and output prices above with the matched benchmark result for your workload: cheaper tokens can be offset by different quality, token usage, latency, or provider availability.