Model comparison
Granite 4.2 8B vs Step 2 16k Exp 202412
Granite 4.2 8B is the stronger model overall, scoring 40.5 to 39.2 on the Noometry Index.
Last verified . 11 shared benchmarks.
StepFunSummary
- They share 11 benchmarks with published results for both. Granite 4.2 8B scores higher in 6 categories and Step 2 16k Exp 202412 in 1 category; 3 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in knowledge, where Granite 4.2 8B leads 38.4 to 35.2.
- Granite 4.2 8B has downloadable open weights; the other is API-only.
Side by side
| Granite 4.2 8B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | IBM | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 40.5 | 39.2 |
| Released | — | — |
| Weights | Open | Proprietary |
| Context window | 131K | — |
| Max output | 118K | — |
| Input $ / M tokens | $0.06 | — |
| Output $ / M tokens | $0.25 | — |
| Results tracked | 11 | 12 |
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Category by category
Coding Granite 4.2 8B leads
Granite 4.2 8B: 40.5 (#137), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 38.5 (#174)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1380 | 1316 |
Reasoning Too close to call
Granite 4.2 8B: 26.6 (#131), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 25.9 (#142)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1329 | 1299 |
Math Not comparable
Granite 4.2 8B: —, Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 36.3 (#169)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | — | 1304 |
Knowledge Granite 4.2 8B leads
Granite 4.2 8B: 38.4 (#145), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 35.2 (#187)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1384 | 1279 |
Multilingual Too close to call
Granite 4.2 8B: 44.5 (#178), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 43.7 (#181)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1302 | 1290 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1366 | 1331 |
| LMArena Russian | 1285 | 1324 |
Instruction Following Too close to call
Granite 4.2 8B: 68.7 (#184), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 67.9 (#192)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1301 | 1287 |
Long Context Too close to call
Granite 4.2 8B: 40.3 (#159), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 39.7 (#170)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1324 | 1307 |
Writing & Preference Step 2 16k Exp 202412 leads
Granite 4.2 8B: 49.6 (#189), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 52.3 (#173)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1320 | 1321 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1236 | 1328 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1301 | 1292 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Granite 4.2 8B better than Step 2 16k Exp 202412?
Granite 4.2 8B is the stronger model overall, scoring 40.5 to 39.2 on the Noometry Index.
Is Granite 4.2 8B or Step 2 16k Exp 202412 better for coding?
Granite 4.2 8B scores higher on coding benchmarks: 40.5 versus 38.5 in the Noometry coding category.
How many benchmarks do Granite 4.2 8B and Step 2 16k Exp 202412 share?
11 benchmarks have published results for both models. Granite 4.2 8B has 11 scored results on Noometry and Step 2 16k Exp 202412 has 12.