Model comparison
GPT-5.3 Chat vs Granite 4.2 8B
GPT-5.3 Chat is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.1 to 40.0 on the Noometry Index. Granite 4.2 8B costs 45× less per token, which makes it the better buy when GPT-5.3 Chat's lead doesn't matter for your workload.
Last verified . 11 shared benchmarks.
Summary
- They share 11 benchmarks with published results for both. GPT-5.3 Chat scores higher in 7 categories and Granite 4.2 8B in 0 categories; 5 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in writing & preference, where GPT-5.3 Chat leads 63.3 to 49.8.
- Granite 4.2 8B is cheaper at $0.06 / $0.25 per million input/output tokens, against $1.75 / $14 for GPT-5.3 Chat.
- Granite 4.2 8B accepts more context: 131K tokens versus 128K.
- Granite 4.2 8B has downloadable open weights; the other is API-only.
Side by side
| GPT-5.3 Chat | Granite 4.2 8B | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI | IBM |
| Noometry Index | 42.1 | 40.0 |
| Released | 2026-03-03 | — |
| Weights | Proprietary | Open |
| Context window | 128K | 131K |
| Max output | 16K | 118K |
| Input $ / M tokens | $1.75 | $0.06 |
| Output $ / M tokens | $14 | $0.25 |
| Results tracked | 18 | 11 |
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Category by category
Coding Too close to call
GPT-5.3 Chat: 40.8 (#124), Granite 4.2 8B: 39.9 (#138)
| Benchmark | GPT-5.3 Chat | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1408 | 1379 |
Reasoning GPT-5.3 Chat leads
GPT-5.3 Chat: 27.3 (#105), Granite 4.2 8B: 25.5 (#130)
| Benchmark | GPT-5.3 Chat | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1399 | 1327 |
Math Not comparable
GPT-5.3 Chat: 35.4 (#146), Granite 4.2 8B: —
| Benchmark | GPT-5.3 Chat | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1389 | — |
Knowledge Too close to call
GPT-5.3 Chat: 38.2 (#137), Granite 4.2 8B: 37.7 (#144)
| Benchmark | GPT-5.3 Chat | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1397 | 1380 |
Multilingual GPT-5.3 Chat leads
GPT-5.3 Chat: 50.5 (#119), Granite 4.2 8B: 44.5 (#173)
| Benchmark | GPT-5.3 Chat | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1383 | 1299 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1433 | 1361 |
| LMArena Russian | 1400 | 1283 |
| LMArena French | 1398 | — |
| LMArena German | 1384 | — |
| LMArena Japanese | 1351 | — |
| LMArena Korean | 1347 | — |
| LMArena Spanish | 1371 | — |
Instruction Following GPT-5.3 Chat leads
GPT-5.3 Chat: 73.0 (#124), Granite 4.2 8B: 68.7 (#183)
| Benchmark | GPT-5.3 Chat | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1378 | 1298 |
Long Context GPT-5.3 Chat leads
GPT-5.3 Chat: 42.6 (#115), Granite 4.2 8B: 40.2 (#154)
| Benchmark | GPT-5.3 Chat | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1396 | 1323 |
Writing & Preference GPT-5.3 Chat leads
GPT-5.3 Chat: 63.3 (#65), Granite 4.2 8B: 49.8 (#183)
| Benchmark | GPT-5.3 Chat | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1389 | 1319 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1356 | 1238 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1413 | 1299 |
| EQ-Bench Creative Writing | 1690 | — |
Frequently asked questions
Is GPT-5.3 Chat better than Granite 4.2 8B?
GPT-5.3 Chat is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.1 to 40.0 on the Noometry Index. Granite 4.2 8B costs 45× less per token, which makes it the better buy when GPT-5.3 Chat's lead doesn't matter for your workload.
Which is cheaper, GPT-5.3 Chat or Granite 4.2 8B?
Granite 4.2 8B is cheaper. It lists at $0.06 per million input tokens and $0.25 per million output tokens; GPT-5.3 Chat lists at $1.75 and $14.
Is GPT-5.3 Chat or Granite 4.2 8B better for coding?
They score almost the same on coding (40.8 vs 39.9); test both on your own repository before choosing.
Which has the bigger context window?
Granite 4.2 8B does, with 131K tokens against 128K.
How many benchmarks do GPT-5.3 Chat and Granite 4.2 8B share?
11 benchmarks have published results for both models. GPT-5.3 Chat has 18 scored results on Noometry and Granite 4.2 8B has 11.