# Granite 3.0 2b Instruct vs Granite 4.2 30b

> Granite 4.2 30b is the stronger model overall, scoring 41.8 to 30.8 on the Noometry Index.

- Canonical page: https://noometry.com/compare/granite-3-0-2b-instruct-vs-granite-4-2-30b
- Last updated: 2026-10-12
- Shared benchmarks: 11

## Summary

- They share 11 benchmarks with published results for both. Granite 3.0 2b Instruct scores higher in 0 categories and Granite 4.2 30b in 7 categories; 7 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in writing & preference, where Granite 4.2 30b leads 53.8 to 29.6.

## Snapshot

| | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Granite 4.2 30b |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | IBM | IBM |
| Noometry Index | 30.8 | 41.8 |
| Rank | 286 | 130 |
| Context | — | — |
| Input $/M | — | — |
| Output $/M | — | — |
| Weights | Open | Open |

## Coding

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 28.3 (#316)
- Granite 4.2 30b: 41.0 (#126)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Granite 4.2 30b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1090 | 1396 |
| BigCodeBench Instruct | 20.5% | — |

## Reasoning

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 20.5 (#235)
- Granite 4.2 30b: 27.8 (#112)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Granite 4.2 30b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1073 | 1374 |

## Math

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 32.2 (#217)
- Granite 4.2 30b: —

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Granite 4.2 30b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1117 | — |

## Knowledge

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 29.0 (#241)
- Granite 4.2 30b: 39.1 (#138)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Granite 4.2 30b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1064 | 1406 |

## Multilingual

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 27.0 (#278)
- Granite 4.2 30b: 47.3 (#151)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Granite 4.2 30b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1033 | 1340 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1070 | 1414 |
| LMArena Russian | 1045 | 1343 |

## Instruction Following

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 53.9 (#284)
- Granite 4.2 30b: 71.2 (#155)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Granite 4.2 30b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1056 | 1347 |

## Long Context

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 32.5 (#268)
- Granite 4.2 30b: 41.4 (#140)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Granite 4.2 30b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1070 | 1359 |

## Writing & Preference

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 29.6 (#292)
- Granite 4.2 30b: 53.8 (#156)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Granite 4.2 30b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1080 | 1361 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1046 | 1288 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1053 | 1339 |

## FAQ

### Is Granite 3.0 2b Instruct better than Granite 4.2 30b?

Granite 4.2 30b is the stronger model overall, scoring 41.8 to 30.8 on the Noometry Index.

### Is Granite 3.0 2b Instruct or Granite 4.2 30b better for coding?

Granite 4.2 30b scores higher on coding benchmarks: 41.0 versus 28.3 in the Noometry coding category.

### How many benchmarks do Granite 3.0 2b Instruct and Granite 4.2 30b share?

11 benchmarks have published results for both models. Granite 3.0 2b Instruct has 13 scored results on Noometry and Granite 4.2 30b has 11.