# GLM-5.1 vs Granite 4.2 8B

> GLM-5.1 is the stronger model overall, scoring 47.8 to 40.5 on the Noometry Index. Granite 4.2 8B costs 20× less per token, which makes it the better buy when GLM-5.1's lead doesn't matter for your workload.

- Canonical page: https://noometry.com/compare/glm-5-1-vs-granite-4-2-8b
- Last updated: 2026-10-10
- Shared benchmarks: 11

## Summary

- They share 11 benchmarks with published results for both. GLM-5.1 scores higher in 7 categories and Granite 4.2 8B in 0 categories; 7 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in writing & preference, where GLM-5.1 leads 66.9 to 49.6.
- Granite 4.2 8B is cheaper at $0.06 / $0.25 per million input/output tokens, against $1.40 / $4.40 for GLM-5.1.
- GLM-5.1 accepts more context: 200K tokens versus 131K.

## Snapshot

| | GLM-5.1 | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Z.ai (Zhipu) | IBM |
| Noometry Index | 47.8 | 40.5 |
| Rank | 59 | 148 |
| Context | 200K | 131K |
| Input $/M | $1.40 | $0.06 |
| Output $/M | $4.40 | $0.25 |
| Weights | Open | Open |

## Coding

- GLM-5.1: 48.7 (#55)
- Granite 4.2 8B: 40.5 (#137)

| Benchmark | GLM-5.1 | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1485 | 1380 |
| SWE-bench Verified | 74.2% | — |
| LMArena WebDev | 1508 | — |
| SciCode | 43.8% | — |
| WeirdML | 57.1% | — |
| ALE-Bench | 887.1 | — |

## Agentic & Tool Use

- GLM-5.1: 24.9 (#113)
- Granite 4.2 8B: —

| Benchmark | GLM-5.1 | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| APEX-Agents | 40.9% | — |
| ExploitBench | 18.1% | — |
| GBAEval | 0% | — |
| Vending-Bench 2 | 5,634 | — |

## Reasoning

- GLM-5.1: 39.1 (#60)
- Granite 4.2 8B: 26.6 (#131)

| Benchmark | GLM-5.1 | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1472 | 1329 |
| SimpleBench | 55.1% | — |
| NYT Connections (extended) | 77.7% | — |
| CritPt | 4.6% | — |
| Chess Puzzles | 19% | — |
| Thematic Generalization | 69.8% | — |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | 149.84 | — |

## Math

- GLM-5.1: 49.7 (#60)
- Granite 4.2 8B: —

| Benchmark | GLM-5.1 | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| FrontierMath (Tiers 1-3) | 36.8% | — |
| MathArena Final-Answer Competitions | 67.1% | — |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024-2025 | 93.3% | — |
| ProofBench | 22.2% | — |
| LMArena Math | 1473 | — |
| FrontierMath (Feb 2025 set) | 33.4% | — |
| FrontierMath Tier 4 (v1) | 12.5% | — |

## Knowledge

- GLM-5.1: 54.9 (#50)
- Granite 4.2 8B: 38.4 (#145)

| Benchmark | GLM-5.1 | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1476 | 1384 |
| GPQA Diamond | 89.9% | — |
| SimpleQA Verified | 34% | — |

## Multilingual

- GLM-5.1: 55.0 (#36)
- Granite 4.2 8B: 44.5 (#178)

| Benchmark | GLM-5.1 | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1447 | 1302 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1515 | 1366 |
| LMArena Russian | 1454 | 1285 |
| LMArena French | 1474 | — |
| LMArena German | 1465 | — |
| LMArena Japanese | 1434 | — |
| LMArena Korean | 1418 | — |
| LMArena Spanish | 1469 | — |

## Instruction Following

- GLM-5.1: 76.3 (#42)
- Granite 4.2 8B: 68.7 (#184)

| Benchmark | GLM-5.1 | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1451 | 1301 |

## Long Context

- GLM-5.1: 44.9 (#53)
- Granite 4.2 8B: 40.3 (#159)

| Benchmark | GLM-5.1 | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1466 | 1324 |

## Writing & Preference

- GLM-5.1: 66.9 (#31)
- Granite 4.2 8B: 49.6 (#189)

| Benchmark | GLM-5.1 | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1461 | 1320 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1453 | 1236 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1472 | 1301 |
| EQ-Bench Creative Writing | 1592 | — |

## FAQ

### Is GLM-5.1 better than Granite 4.2 8B?

GLM-5.1 is the stronger model overall, scoring 47.8 to 40.5 on the Noometry Index. Granite 4.2 8B costs 20× less per token, which makes it the better buy when GLM-5.1's lead doesn't matter for your workload.

### Which is cheaper, GLM-5.1 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; GLM-5.1 lists at $1.40 and $4.40.

### Is GLM-5.1 or Granite 4.2 8B better for coding?

GLM-5.1 scores higher on coding benchmarks: 48.7 versus 40.5 in the Noometry coding category.

### Which has the bigger context window?

GLM-5.1 does, with 200K tokens against 131K.

### How many benchmarks do GLM-5.1 and Granite 4.2 8B share?

11 benchmarks have published results for both models. GLM-5.1 has 41 scored results on Noometry and Granite 4.2 8B has 11.