Model comparison
Granite 4.2 3b vs Step 5 Preview
Step 5 Preview is the stronger model overall, scoring 47.9 to 39.4 on the Noometry Index.
Last verified . 11 shared benchmarks.
StepFunSummary
- They share 11 benchmarks with published results for both. Granite 4.2 3b scores higher in 0 categories and Step 5 Preview in 7 categories; 7 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in writing & preference, where Step 5 Preview leads 62.8 to 47.2.
- Granite 4.2 3b has downloadable open weights; the other is API-only.
Side by side
| Granite 4.2 3b | Step 5 Preview | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | IBM | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 39.4 | 47.9 |
| Released | — | 2026-09-16 |
| Weights | Open | Proprietary |
| Context window | — | 1.02M |
| Max output | — | 66K |
| Input $ / M tokens | — | $1 |
| Output $ / M tokens | — | $2.70 |
| Results tracked | 11 | 18 |
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Category by category
Coding Step 5 Preview leads
Granite 4.2 3b: 40.0 (#151), Step 5 Preview: 51.8 (#36)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1361 | 1480 |
| LMArena WebDev | — | 1564 |
| SciCode | — | 58.9% |
Reasoning Step 5 Preview leads
Granite 4.2 3b: 26.0 (#138), Step 5 Preview: 40.0 (#57)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1306 | 1465 |
| CritPt | — | 20.9% |
Math Not comparable
Granite 4.2 3b: —, Step 5 Preview: 46.1 (#72)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| ProofBench | — | 42% |
| LMArena Math | — | 1470 |
Knowledge Step 5 Preview leads
Granite 4.2 3b: 36.3 (#171), Step 5 Preview: 41.2 (#112)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1315 | 1470 |
Multimodal Not comparable
Granite 4.2 3b: —, Step 5 Preview: 41.0 (#41)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Vision | — | 1267 |
Multilingual Step 5 Preview leads
Granite 4.2 3b: 42.1 (#198), Step 5 Preview: 53.8 (#54)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1268 | 1432 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1269 | 1519 |
| LMArena Russian | 1249 | 1436 |
| LMArena Spanish | — | 1439 |
Instruction Following Step 5 Preview leads
Granite 4.2 3b: 67.1 (#200), Step 5 Preview: 76.0 (#50)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1273 | 1444 |
Long Context Step 5 Preview leads
Granite 4.2 3b: 39.2 (#185), Step 5 Preview: 44.5 (#64)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1291 | 1455 |
Writing & Preference Step 5 Preview leads
Granite 4.2 3b: 47.2 (#212), Step 5 Preview: 62.8 (#71)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1293 | 1442 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1205 | 1410 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1290 | 1447 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Granite 4.2 3b better than Step 5 Preview?
Step 5 Preview is the stronger model overall, scoring 47.9 to 39.4 on the Noometry Index.
Is Granite 4.2 3b or Step 5 Preview better for coding?
Step 5 Preview scores higher on coding benchmarks: 51.8 versus 40.0 in the Noometry coding category.
How many benchmarks do Granite 4.2 3b and Step 5 Preview share?
11 benchmarks have published results for both models. Granite 4.2 3b has 11 scored results on Noometry and Step 5 Preview has 18.