Granite 4.1 8B vs Granite 4.2 8B
At a Glance
| Compare | ||
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence, Cost, and Efficiency | ||
| IntelligenceHigher is better · MM Intelligence v4.4 | UnrankedNot in the 57-model eligible cohort | #43 of 570.0 score · 1/3 sources · single-source provisional · missing LiveBench, ARC-AGI-2 · full-core range 0.0–66.7 |
| Pricing and Limits | ||
| Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $0.050Openrouter ↗ · Sep 4, 2026 | $0.060Deepinfra ↗ · Oct 19, 2026 |
| Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $0.10Openrouter ↗ · Sep 4, 2026 | $0.25Deepinfra ↗ · Oct 19, 2026 |
| Context windowMaximum documented tokens | 131K | 131K |
| Model facts checked | Aug 28, 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 | granite-4.1-8b | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text Arenatext-2026-10-15-a64ca3b12b6e · arena_rating · leader | 1,290.6998% of row best · rating · granite-4.1-8b; 95% CI [1280.76464094, 1300.60785998]; votes 4180; rank 256 | 1,319.58100% of row best · rating · granite-4.2-8b; 95% CI [1308.51127780, 1330.64584507]; votes 3254; rank 234 |
| Overall ResultCounted from the protocol-matched rows above | 0 benchmark winsNo overall winner | 1 benchmark winNo 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 | granite-4.1-8b | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | IBM | IBM |
| Family | Granite 4 1 8b | Granite 4 2 |
| Model | granite-4.1-8b | Granite 4.2 8B |
| Version | granite-4.1-8b | Granite 4.2 8B |
| Lifecycle | active | active |
| Released | 2026-04-29 | 2026-08-25 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Unknown | Unknown |
| Input modalities | Text | Text |
| Output modalities | Text | Text |
| Context window | 131K | 131K |
| Total parameters | 8.8B | 8.8B |
| Active parameters | Unknown | Unknown |
| License | apache-2.0 | apache-2.0 |
| Open weights | Yes | Yes |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Provider access | Openrouter (Standard) | Deepinfra (Standard), Openrouter (Standard) |
| Capabilities | chat, generation, tools | chat, generation, reasoning, structured_outputs, tools |
Granite 4.1 8B Capabilities
Granite 4.2 8B Capabilities
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| vs |  Llama-3.1-8BMeta | cross-developer peerstext | |
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| vs |  Phi-4-mini-instructMicrosoft | cross-developer peerstext | |
| vs |  Ministral-3-8B-Instruct-2512Mistral AI | cross-developer peerstext | |
| vs | Ministral-3-8B-Reasoning-2512Mistral AI | cross-developer peerstext | |
| vs | Ministral-8B-Instruct-2410Mistral AI | cross-developer peerstext |
Primary Evidence
Sources and Freshness
Questions
Granite 4.1 8B vs Granite 4.2 8B FAQs
Is Granite 4.1 8B or Granite 4.2 8B better for coding?+
This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both Granite 4.1 8B and Granite 4.2 8B, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.
Which is cheaper, Granite 4.1 8B or Granite 4.2 8B?+
Granite 4.1 8B is $0.050 and Granite 4.2 8B is $0.060 per million tokens, so Granite 4.1 8B is cheaper on this metric. Granite 4.1 8B is $0.10 and Granite 4.2 8B is $0.25 per million tokens, so Granite 4.1 8B is cheaper on this metric.
Which has a larger context window, Granite 4.1 8B or Granite 4.2 8B?+
Both models have the same sourced context window: 131,072 tokens each.
Which performs better in benchmarks, Granite 4.1 8B 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 Granite 4.1 8B or Granite 4.2 8B be self-hosted?+
Both models have the same sourced self-hosting status: supported. Granite 4.1 8B is open weight; Granite 4.2 8B is open weight.
Can Granite 4.1 8B and Granite 4.2 8B understand images?+
Granite 4.1 8B is not 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, Granite 4.1 8B or Granite 4.2 8B?+
Neither model has a sourced maximum output in this comparison, so a larger limit cannot be determined.
Do Granite 4.1 8B and Granite 4.2 8B support reasoning and tool use?+
Granite 4.1 8B: tool calling. Granite 4.2 8B: reasoning and tool calling. Feature support does not establish relative quality.
Which is available from more inference providers, Granite 4.1 8B or Granite 4.2 8B?+
Granite 4.1 8B has 1 sourced provider route; Granite 4.2 8B has 2, so Granite 4.2 8B has broader tracked availability.
Which offers better value, Granite 4.1 8B 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.