Granite 4.2 3B vs GPT-5.6 Sol
At a Glance
| Compare |  GPT-5.6 SolOpenAI | |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence, Cost, and Efficiency | ||
| IntelligenceHigher is better · MM Intelligence v2.5 | UnrankedNot in the 46-model eligible cohort | #5 of 4685.3 score · 3/3 sources · complete |
| CostLower is better · Published-token output estimate | UnrankedNot in the 44-model eligible cohort | #24 of 44$0.117 per LiveBench case |
| EfficiencyHigher is better · MM Efficiency v1.5 | UnrankedNot in the 38-model eligible cohort | #3 of 3865.3 score · 3/3 sources · complete |
| Pricing and Limits | ||
| Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $0.030Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 23, 2026 | $2.00Openrouter ↗ · Sep 23, 2026 |
| Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $0.12Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 23, 2026 | $10.00Openrouter ↗ · Sep 23, 2026 |
| Context windowMaximum documented tokens | 131K | 1,050K |
| Model facts checked | Sep 2, 2026View model evidence → | Aug 28, 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 4.2 3B | GPT-5.6 Sol |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text Arenatext-2026-09-13-d25aabda0010 · arena_rating · leader | 1,297.4989% of row best · rating · granite-4.2-3b; 95% CI [1285.72127313, 1309.24903304]; votes 3072; rank 238 | 1,455.05100% of row best · rating · gpt-5.6-sol-xhigh; 95% CI [1450.16111002, 1459.93036454]; votes 27069; rank 37 |
| 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 4.2 3B | GPT-5.6 Sol |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | IBM | OpenAI |
| Family | Granite 4 2 | Gpt 5 6 |
| Model | Granite 4.2 3B | GPT-5.6 Sol |
| Version | Granite 4.2 3B | GPT-5.6 Sol |
| Lifecycle | active | active |
| Released | 2026-08-25 | Unknown |
| Knowledge cutoff | Unknown | 2026-02-16 |
| Input modalities | Text | Text, Image |
| Output modalities | Text | Text |
| Context window | 131K | 1,050K |
| Total parameters | 3.7B | Unknown |
| Active parameters | Unknown | Unknown |
| License | apache-2.0 | Unknown |
| Open weights | Yes | No |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | No |
| Provider access | Deepinfra (Standard) | Openai (Standard), Openrouter (Standard) |
| Capabilities | chat, generation, reasoning, structured_outputs, tools | chat, generation, reasoning, tools |
Granite 4.2 3B Capabilities
GPT-5.6 Sol Capabilities
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| vs |  GLM-5.3Z.ai | cross-developer peerstext | |
| vs |  Hy4 previewTencent | cross-developer peerstext | |
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| vs |  Mistral Large 3Mistral AI | cross-developer peerstext |
Primary Evidence
Sources and Freshness
Questions
Granite 4.2 3B vs GPT-5.6 Sol FAQs
Is Granite 4.2 3B or GPT-5.6 Sol better for coding?+
This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both Granite 4.2 3B and GPT-5.6 Sol, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.
Which is cheaper, Granite 4.2 3B or GPT-5.6 Sol?+
Granite 4.2 3B is $0.030 and GPT-5.6 Sol is $2.00 per million tokens, so Granite 4.2 3B is cheaper on this metric. Granite 4.2 3B is $0.12 and GPT-5.6 Sol is $10.00 per million tokens, so Granite 4.2 3B is cheaper on this metric.
Which has a larger context window, Granite 4.2 3B or GPT-5.6 Sol?+
GPT-5.6 Sol has the larger sourced context window. Granite 4.2 3B supports 131K and GPT-5.6 Sol supports 1,050K.
Which performs better in benchmarks, Granite 4.2 3B or GPT-5.6 Sol?+
There is no overall benchmark winner: At least two independently verified, protocol-matched benchmarks are required for an overall winner.
Can Granite 4.2 3B or GPT-5.6 Sol be self-hosted?+
Granite 4.2 3B is the only model in this pair currently marked as self-hostable. Granite 4.2 3B is open weight; GPT-5.6 Sol is not marked open weight.
Can Granite 4.2 3B and GPT-5.6 Sol understand images?+
Granite 4.2 3B is not documented with image input; GPT-5.6 Sol is documented with image input. This reflects supported input modalities, not vision quality.
Which can generate longer answers, Granite 4.2 3B or GPT-5.6 Sol?+
Neither has a larger sourced maximum output. Granite 4.2 3B is — and GPT-5.6 Sol is 128K.
Do Granite 4.2 3B and GPT-5.6 Sol support reasoning and tool use?+
Granite 4.2 3B: reasoning and tool calling. GPT-5.6 Sol: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. Feature support does not establish relative quality.
Which is available from more inference providers, Granite 4.2 3B or GPT-5.6 Sol?+
Granite 4.2 3B has 1 sourced provider route; GPT-5.6 Sol has 2, so GPT-5.6 Sol has broader tracked availability.
Which offers better value, Granite 4.2 3B or GPT-5.6 Sol?+
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.