Model comparison
Granite 4.2 8B vs Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent
Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent is the stronger model overall, scoring 46.2 to 40.5 on the Noometry Index. Granite 4.2 8B costs 15× less per token, which makes it the better buy when Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent's lead doesn't matter for your workload.
Last verified . 11 shared benchmarks.
Summary
- They share 11 benchmarks with published results for both. Granite 4.2 8B scores higher in 0 categories and Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent in 7 categories; 7 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in reasoning, where Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent leads 43.9 to 26.6.
- Granite 4.2 8B is cheaper at $0.06 / $0.25 per million input/output tokens, against $1.25 / $2.50 for Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent.
- Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent accepts more context: 1M tokens versus 131K.
- Granite 4.2 8B has downloadable open weights; the other is API-only.
Side by side
| Granite 4.2 8B | Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | IBM | xAI |
| Noometry Index | 40.5 | 46.2 |
| Released | — | 2026-03-09 |
| Weights | Open | Proprietary |
| Context window | 131K | 1M |
| Max output | 118K | 30K |
| Input $ / M tokens | $0.06 | $1.25 |
| Output $ / M tokens | $0.25 | $2.50 |
| Results tracked | 11 | 20 |
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Category by category
Coding Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent leads
Granite 4.2 8B: 40.5 (#137), Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent: 43.0 (#92)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1380 | 1457 |
Agentic & Tool Use Not comparable
Granite 4.2 8B: —, Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent: —
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Search | — | 1204 |
Reasoning Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent leads
Granite 4.2 8B: 26.6 (#131), Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent: 43.9 (#48)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1329 | 1448 |
| NYT Connections (extended) | — | 89.6% |
Math Not comparable
Granite 4.2 8B: —, Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent: 39.4 (#104)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | — | 1442 |
Knowledge Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent leads
Granite 4.2 8B: 38.4 (#145), Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent: 40.4 (#119)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1384 | 1445 |
Multimodal Not comparable
Granite 4.2 8B: —, Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent: 40.5 (#48)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Vision | — | 1259 |
Multilingual Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent leads
Granite 4.2 8B: 44.5 (#178), Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent: 54.4 (#43)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1302 | 1440 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1366 | 1475 |
| LMArena Russian | 1285 | 1457 |
| LMArena French | — | 1466 |
| LMArena German | — | 1456 |
| LMArena Japanese | — | 1405 |
| LMArena Korean | — | 1416 |
| LMArena Spanish | — | 1447 |
Instruction Following Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent leads
Granite 4.2 8B: 68.7 (#184), Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent: 74.8 (#84)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1301 | 1420 |
Long Context Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent leads
Granite 4.2 8B: 40.3 (#159), Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent: 43.7 (#88)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1324 | 1431 |
Writing & Preference Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent leads
Granite 4.2 8B: 49.6 (#189), Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent: 64.0 (#59)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1320 | 1450 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1236 | 1436 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1301 | 1452 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Granite 4.2 8B better than Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent?
Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent is the stronger model overall, scoring 46.2 to 40.5 on the Noometry Index. Granite 4.2 8B costs 15× less per token, which makes it the better buy when Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent's lead doesn't matter for your workload.
Which is cheaper, Granite 4.2 8B or Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent?
Granite 4.2 8B is cheaper. It lists at $0.06 per million input tokens and $0.25 per million output tokens; Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent lists at $1.25 and $2.50.
Is Granite 4.2 8B or Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent better for coding?
Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent scores higher on coding benchmarks: 43.0 versus 40.5 in the Noometry coding category.
Which has the bigger context window?
Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent does, with 1M tokens against 131K.
How many benchmarks do Granite 4.2 8B and Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent share?
11 benchmarks have published results for both models. Granite 4.2 8B has 11 scored results on Noometry and Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent has 20.