# Granite 4.1 8b vs Step 5 Preview

> Step 5 Preview is the stronger model overall, scoring 43.8 to 36.8 on the Noometry Index.

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

## Summary

- They share 1 benchmark with published results for both. Granite 4.1 8b scores higher in 0 categories and Step 5 Preview in 2 categories; 2 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in coding, where Step 5 Preview leads 50.6 to 29.9.
- Granite 4.1 8b has downloadable open weights; the other is API-only.

## Snapshot

| | Granite 4.1 8b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | IBM | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 36.8 | 43.8 |
| Rank | 202 | 78 |
| Context | — | 1.02M |
| Input $/M | — | $1 |
| Output $/M | — | $2.70 |
| Weights | Open | Proprietary |

## Coding

- Granite 4.1 8b: 29.9 (#291)
- Step 5 Preview: 50.6 (#40)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.1 8b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena WebDev | 1190 | 1569 |
| SciCode | — | 58.9% |
| LMArena Coding | 1313 | — |

## Reasoning

- Granite 4.1 8b: 24.6 (#142)
- Step 5 Preview: 38.0 (#58)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.1 8b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| CritPt | — | 20.9% |
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1294 | — |

## Math

- Granite 4.1 8b: 33.8 (#167)
- Step 5 Preview: —

| Benchmark | Granite 4.1 8b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1311 | — |

## Knowledge

- Granite 4.1 8b: 35.5 (#171)
- Step 5 Preview: —

| Benchmark | Granite 4.1 8b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1310 | — |

## Multilingual

- Granite 4.1 8b: 41.8 (#199)
- Step 5 Preview: —

| Benchmark | Granite 4.1 8b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1261 | — |
| LMArena Chinese | 1335 | — |
| LMArena Russian | 1238 | — |

## Instruction Following

- Granite 4.1 8b: 67.0 (#198)
- Step 5 Preview: —

| Benchmark | Granite 4.1 8b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1268 | — |

## Long Context

- Granite 4.1 8b: 38.7 (#188)
- Step 5 Preview: —

| Benchmark | Granite 4.1 8b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1275 | — |

## Writing & Preference

- Granite 4.1 8b: 48.3 (#199)
- Step 5 Preview: —

| Benchmark | Granite 4.1 8b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1291 | — |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1249 | — |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1269 | — |

## FAQ

### Is Granite 4.1 8b better than Step 5 Preview?

Step 5 Preview is the stronger model overall, scoring 43.8 to 36.8 on the Noometry Index.

### Is Granite 4.1 8b or Step 5 Preview better for coding?

Step 5 Preview scores higher on coding benchmarks: 50.6 versus 29.9 in the Noometry coding category.

### How many benchmarks do Granite 4.1 8b and Step 5 Preview share?

1 benchmark has published results for both models. Granite 4.1 8b has 13 scored results on Noometry and Step 5 Preview has 3.