# Granite 4.2 3b vs Grok 4.1

> Grok 4.1 is the stronger model overall, scoring 40.8 to 39.0 on the Noometry Index.

- Canonical page: https://noometry.com/compare/granite-4-2-3b-vs-grok-4-1
- Last updated: 2026-10-10
- Shared benchmarks: 11

## Summary

- They share 11 benchmarks with published results for both. Granite 4.2 3b scores higher in 1 category and Grok 4.1 in 6 categories; 7 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in writing & preference, where Grok 4.1 leads 62.6 to 47.9.
- Granite 4.2 3b has downloadable open weights; the other is API-only.

## Snapshot

| | Granite 4.2 3b | Grok 4.1 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | IBM | xAI |
| Noometry Index | 39.0 | 40.8 |
| Rank | 163 | 135 |
| Context | — | — |
| Input $/M | — | — |
| Output $/M | — | — |
| Weights | Open | Proprietary |

## Coding

- Granite 4.2 3b: 39.4 (#146)
- Grok 4.1: 33.4 (#246)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Grok 4.1 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1363 | 1445 |
| LMArena WebDev | — | 1214 |

## Agentic & Tool Use

- Granite 4.2 3b: —
- Grok 4.1: 33.8 (#47)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Grok 4.1 |
|---|---|---|
| Cybench | — | 39% |

## Reasoning

- Granite 4.2 3b: 25.0 (#136)
- Grok 4.1: 28.3 (#91)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Grok 4.1 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1308 | 1436 |

## Math

- Granite 4.2 3b: —
- Grok 4.1: 36.2 (#124)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Grok 4.1 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | — | 1422 |

## Knowledge

- Granite 4.2 3b: 35.6 (#169)
- Grok 4.1: 38.9 (#129)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Grok 4.1 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1313 | 1417 |

## Multilingual

- Granite 4.2 3b: 42.4 (#193)
- Grok 4.1: 53.6 (#64)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Grok 4.1 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1268 | 1425 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1268 | 1464 |
| LMArena Russian | 1249 | 1434 |
| LMArena French | — | 1448 |
| LMArena German | — | 1447 |
| LMArena Japanese | — | 1396 |
| LMArena Korean | — | 1407 |
| LMArena Spanish | — | 1438 |

## Instruction Following

- Granite 4.2 3b: 67.2 (#195)
- Grok 4.1: 74.0 (#106)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Grok 4.1 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1271 | 1400 |

## Long Context

- Granite 4.2 3b: 39.3 (#179)
- Grok 4.1: 43.2 (#96)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Grok 4.1 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1293 | 1416 |

## Writing & Preference

- Granite 4.2 3b: 47.9 (#202)
- Grok 4.1: 62.6 (#71)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Grok 4.1 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1295 | 1437 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1215 | 1411 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1293 | 1438 |

## FAQ

### Is Granite 4.2 3b better than Grok 4.1?

Grok 4.1 is the stronger model overall, scoring 40.8 to 39.0 on the Noometry Index.

### Is Granite 4.2 3b or Grok 4.1 better for coding?

Granite 4.2 3b scores higher on coding benchmarks: 39.4 versus 33.4 in the Noometry coding category.

### How many benchmarks do Granite 4.2 3b and Grok 4.1 share?

11 benchmarks have published results for both models. Granite 4.2 3b has 11 scored results on Noometry and Grok 4.1 has 19.