# Granite 3.0 2b Instruct vs Granite 4.2 8B

> Granite 4.2 8B is the stronger model overall, scoring 40.0 to 30.2 on the Noometry Index.

- Canonical page: https://noometry.com/compare/granite-3-0-2b-instruct-vs-granite-4-2-8b
- Last updated: 2026-10-10
- 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 8B in 7 categories; 7 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in writing & preference, where Granite 4.2 8B leads 49.8 to 29.8.

## Snapshot

| | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | IBM | IBM |
| Noometry Index | 30.2 | 40.0 |
| Rank | 284 | 143 |
| Context | — | 131K |
| Input $/M | — | $0.06 |
| Output $/M | — | $0.25 |
| Weights | Open | Open |

## Coding

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 27.8 (#311)
- Granite 4.2 8B: 39.9 (#138)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1090 | 1379 |
| BigCodeBench Instruct | 20.5% | — |

## Reasoning

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 19.6 (#234)
- Granite 4.2 8B: 25.5 (#130)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1073 | 1327 |

## Math

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 29.7 (#215)
- Granite 4.2 8B: —

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1117 | — |

## Knowledge

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 28.4 (#238)
- Granite 4.2 8B: 37.7 (#144)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1064 | 1380 |

## Multilingual

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 27.1 (#273)
- Granite 4.2 8B: 44.5 (#173)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1033 | 1299 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1070 | 1361 |
| LMArena Russian | 1045 | 1283 |

## Instruction Following

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 54.2 (#279)
- Granite 4.2 8B: 68.7 (#183)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1056 | 1298 |

## Long Context

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 32.5 (#263)
- Granite 4.2 8B: 40.2 (#154)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1071 | 1323 |

## Writing & Preference

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 29.8 (#287)
- Granite 4.2 8B: 49.8 (#183)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Granite 4.2 8B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1080 | 1319 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1046 | 1238 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1053 | 1299 |

## FAQ

### Is Granite 3.0 2b Instruct better than Granite 4.2 8B?

Granite 4.2 8B is the stronger model overall, scoring 40.0 to 30.2 on the Noometry Index.

### Is Granite 3.0 2b Instruct or Granite 4.2 8B better for coding?

Granite 4.2 8B scores higher on coding benchmarks: 39.9 versus 27.8 in the Noometry coding category.

### How many benchmarks do Granite 3.0 2b Instruct and Granite 4.2 8B share?

11 benchmarks have published results for both models. Granite 3.0 2b Instruct has 13 scored results on Noometry and Granite 4.2 8B has 11.