# Granite 3.1 2b Instruct vs Granite 4.1 8b

> Granite 4.1 8b is the stronger model overall, scoring 37.4 to 33.2 on the Noometry Index.

- Canonical page: https://noometry.com/compare/granite-3-1-2b-instruct-vs-granite-4-1-8b
- Last updated: 2026-10-12
- Shared benchmarks: 12

## Summary

- They share 12 benchmarks with published results for both. Granite 3.1 2b Instruct scores higher in 1 category and Granite 4.1 8b in 7 categories; 8 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in writing & preference, where Granite 4.1 8b leads 48.1 to 34.1.

## Snapshot

| | Granite 3.1 2b Instruct | Granite 4.1 8b |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | IBM | IBM |
| Noometry Index | 33.2 | 37.4 |
| Rank | 247 | 205 |
| Context | — | — |
| Input $/M | — | — |
| Output $/M | — | — |
| Weights | Open | Open |

## Coding

- Granite 3.1 2b Instruct: 33.4 (#257)
- Granite 4.1 8b: 30.1 (#297)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.1 2b Instruct | Granite 4.1 8b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1149 | 1312 |
| LMArena WebDev | — | 1192 |

## Reasoning

- Granite 3.1 2b Instruct: 22.0 (#209)
- Granite 4.1 8b: 25.7 (#143)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.1 2b Instruct | Granite 4.1 8b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1138 | 1293 |

## Math

- Granite 3.1 2b Instruct: 33.1 (#206)
- Granite 4.1 8b: 36.4 (#166)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.1 2b Instruct | Granite 4.1 8b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1159 | 1312 |

## Knowledge

- Granite 3.1 2b Instruct: 30.8 (#224)
- Granite 4.1 8b: 36.1 (#174)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.1 2b Instruct | Granite 4.1 8b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1131 | 1309 |

## Multilingual

- Granite 3.1 2b Instruct: 29.1 (#269)
- Granite 4.1 8b: 41.7 (#204)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.1 2b Instruct | Granite 4.1 8b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1068 | 1261 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1139 | 1337 |
| LMArena Russian | 1063 | 1240 |

## Instruction Following

- Granite 3.1 2b Instruct: 57.7 (#264)
- Granite 4.1 8b: 66.9 (#203)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.1 2b Instruct | Granite 4.1 8b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1116 | 1269 |

## Long Context

- Granite 3.1 2b Instruct: 35.0 (#244)
- Granite 4.1 8b: 38.7 (#193)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.1 2b Instruct | Granite 4.1 8b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1155 | 1275 |

## Writing & Preference

- Granite 3.1 2b Instruct: 34.1 (#274)
- Granite 4.1 8b: 48.1 (#204)

| Benchmark | Granite 3.1 2b Instruct | Granite 4.1 8b |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1127 | 1290 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1116 | 1251 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1099 | 1268 |

## FAQ

### Is Granite 3.1 2b Instruct better than Granite 4.1 8b?

Granite 4.1 8b is the stronger model overall, scoring 37.4 to 33.2 on the Noometry Index.

### Is Granite 3.1 2b Instruct or Granite 4.1 8b better for coding?

Granite 3.1 2b Instruct scores higher on coding benchmarks: 33.4 versus 30.1 in the Noometry coding category.

### How many benchmarks do Granite 3.1 2b Instruct and Granite 4.1 8b share?

12 benchmarks have published results for both models. Granite 3.1 2b Instruct has 12 scored results on Noometry and Granite 4.1 8b has 13.