# Gemma 1.1 2b IT vs Granite 4.2 3b

> Granite 4.2 3b is the stronger model overall, scoring 39.4 to 29.3 on the Noometry Index.

- Canonical page: https://noometry.com/compare/gemma-1-1-2b-it-vs-granite-4-2-3b
- Last updated: 2026-10-10
- Shared benchmarks: 11

## Summary

- They share 11 benchmarks with published results for both. Gemma 1.1 2b IT scores higher in 0 categories and Granite 4.2 3b in 7 categories; 7 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in writing & preference, where Granite 4.2 3b leads 47.2 to 25.1.

## Snapshot

| | Gemma 1.1 2b IT | Granite 4.2 3b |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Google | IBM |
| Noometry Index | 29.3 | 39.4 |
| Rank | 313 | 169 |
| Context | — | — |
| Input $/M | — | — |
| Output $/M | — | — |
| Weights | Open | Open |

## Coding

- Gemma 1.1 2b IT: 30.1 (#299)
- Granite 4.2 3b: 40.0 (#151)

| Benchmark | Gemma 1.1 2b IT | Granite 4.2 3b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1034 | 1361 |
| HumanEval+ | 17.7% | — |
| MBPP+ | 23.3% | — |

## Reasoning

- Gemma 1.1 2b IT: 19.1 (#270)
- Granite 4.2 3b: 26.0 (#138)

| Benchmark | Gemma 1.1 2b IT | Granite 4.2 3b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1005 | 1306 |

## Math

- Gemma 1.1 2b IT: 30.8 (#232)
- Granite 4.2 3b: —

| Benchmark | Gemma 1.1 2b IT | Granite 4.2 3b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1047 | — |

## Knowledge

- Gemma 1.1 2b IT: 26.5 (#258)
- Granite 4.2 3b: 36.3 (#171)

| Benchmark | Gemma 1.1 2b IT | Granite 4.2 3b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 970 | 1315 |

## Multilingual

- Gemma 1.1 2b IT: 24.6 (#289)
- Granite 4.2 3b: 42.1 (#198)

| Benchmark | Gemma 1.1 2b IT | Granite 4.2 3b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 988 | 1268 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1012 | 1269 |
| LMArena Russian | 990 | 1249 |
| LMArena German | 944 | — |
| LMArena Korean | 899 | — |

## Instruction Following

- Gemma 1.1 2b IT: 49.9 (#299)
- Granite 4.2 3b: 67.1 (#200)

| Benchmark | Gemma 1.1 2b IT | Granite 4.2 3b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 992 | 1273 |

## Long Context

- Gemma 1.1 2b IT: 30.6 (#286)
- Granite 4.2 3b: 39.2 (#185)

| Benchmark | Gemma 1.1 2b IT | Granite 4.2 3b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1003 | 1291 |

## Writing & Preference

- Gemma 1.1 2b IT: 25.1 (#306)
- Granite 4.2 3b: 47.2 (#212)

| Benchmark | Gemma 1.1 2b IT | Granite 4.2 3b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1022 | 1293 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 998 | 1205 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 959 | 1290 |

## FAQ

### Is Gemma 1.1 2b IT better than Granite 4.2 3b?

Granite 4.2 3b is the stronger model overall, scoring 39.4 to 29.3 on the Noometry Index.

### Is Gemma 1.1 2b IT or Granite 4.2 3b better for coding?

Granite 4.2 3b scores higher on coding benchmarks: 40.0 versus 30.1 in the Noometry coding category.

### How many benchmarks do Gemma 1.1 2b IT and Granite 4.2 3b share?

11 benchmarks have published results for both models. Gemma 1.1 2b IT has 16 scored results on Noometry and Granite 4.2 3b has 11.