# Granite 3.0 2b Instruct vs Step 3.5 Flash

> Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 30.8 on the Noometry Index.

- Canonical page: https://noometry.com/compare/granite-3-0-2b-instruct-vs-step-3-5-flash
- Last updated: 2026-10-11
- Shared benchmarks: 12

## Summary

- They share 12 benchmarks with published results for both. Granite 3.0 2b Instruct scores higher in 0 categories and Step 3.5 Flash in 8 categories; 8 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in writing & preference, where Step 3.5 Flash leads 58.8 to 29.6.

## Snapshot

| | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | IBM | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 30.8 | 42.3 |
| Rank | 286 | 116 |
| Context | — | 256K |
| Input $/M | — | $0.10 |
| Output $/M | — | $0.30 |
| Weights | Open | Open |

## Coding

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 28.3 (#316)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 42.4 (#105)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1090 | 1436 |
| BigCodeBench Instruct | 20.5% | — |

## Reasoning

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 20.5 (#235)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 22.2 (#202)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1073 | 1411 |
| NYT Connections (extended) | — | 28.4% |

## Math

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 32.2 (#217)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 42.6 (#84)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1117 | 1408 |
| MathArena Final-Answer Competitions | — | 66.8% |

## Knowledge

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 29.0 (#241)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 39.6 (#132)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1064 | 1421 |

## Multilingual

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 27.0 (#278)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 50.5 (#119)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1033 | 1385 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1070 | 1447 |
| LMArena Russian | 1045 | 1385 |
| LMArena French | — | 1421 |
| LMArena German | — | 1405 |
| LMArena Japanese | — | 1354 |
| LMArena Korean | — | 1352 |
| LMArena Spanish | — | 1419 |

## Instruction Following

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 53.9 (#284)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 73.1 (#124)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1056 | 1385 |

## Long Context

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 32.5 (#268)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 42.8 (#117)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1070 | 1402 |

## Writing & Preference

- Granite 3.0 2b Instruct: 29.6 (#292)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 58.8 (#113)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.0 2b Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1080 | 1403 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1046 | 1357 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1053 | 1405 |

## FAQ

### Is Granite 3.0 2b Instruct better than Step 3.5 Flash?

Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 30.8 on the Noometry Index.

### Is Granite 3.0 2b Instruct or Step 3.5 Flash better for coding?

Step 3.5 Flash scores higher on coding benchmarks: 42.4 versus 28.3 in the Noometry coding category.

### How many benchmarks do Granite 3.0 2b Instruct and Step 3.5 Flash share?

12 benchmarks have published results for both models. Granite 3.0 2b Instruct has 13 scored results on Noometry and Step 3.5 Flash has 19.