# Granite 4.2 30b vs Step 5 Preview

> Step 5 Preview is the stronger model overall, scoring 43.8 to 41.4 on the Noometry Index.

- Canonical page: https://noometry.com/compare/granite-4-2-30b-vs-step-5-preview
- Last updated: 2026-10-10
- Shared benchmarks: 0

## Summary

- The widest gap is in reasoning, where Step 5 Preview leads 38.0 to 26.7.
- Granite 4.2 30b has downloadable open weights; the other is API-only.

## Snapshot

| | Granite 4.2 30b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | IBM | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 41.4 | 43.8 |
| Rank | 126 | 78 |
| Context | — | 1.02M |
| Input $/M | — | $1 |
| Output $/M | — | $2.70 |
| Weights | Open | Proprietary |

## Coding

- Granite 4.2 30b: 40.4 (#127)
- Step 5 Preview: 50.6 (#40)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 30b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena WebDev | — | 1569 |
| SciCode | — | 58.9% |
| LMArena Coding | 1394 | — |

## Reasoning

- Granite 4.2 30b: 26.7 (#114)
- Step 5 Preview: 38.0 (#58)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 30b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| CritPt | — | 20.9% |
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1375 | — |

## Knowledge

- Granite 4.2 30b: 38.5 (#134)
- Step 5 Preview: —

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 30b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1405 | — |

## Multilingual

- Granite 4.2 30b: 47.4 (#146)
- Step 5 Preview: —

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 30b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1340 | — |
| LMArena Chinese | 1415 | — |
| LMArena Russian | 1342 | — |

## Instruction Following

- Granite 4.2 30b: 71.3 (#150)
- Step 5 Preview: —

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 30b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1346 | — |

## Long Context

- Granite 4.2 30b: 41.4 (#135)
- Step 5 Preview: —

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 30b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1359 | — |

## Writing & Preference

- Granite 4.2 30b: 54.3 (#147)
- Step 5 Preview: —

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 30b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1363 | — |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1294 | — |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1340 | — |

## FAQ

### Is Granite 4.2 30b better than Step 5 Preview?

Step 5 Preview is the stronger model overall, scoring 43.8 to 41.4 on the Noometry Index.

### Is Granite 4.2 30b or Step 5 Preview better for coding?

Step 5 Preview scores higher on coding benchmarks: 50.6 versus 40.4 in the Noometry coding category.

### How many benchmarks do Granite 4.2 30b and Step 5 Preview share?

0 benchmarks have published results for both models. Granite 4.2 30b has 11 scored results on Noometry and Step 5 Preview has 3.