# Granite 4.2 3b vs Step 5 Preview

> Step 5 Preview is the stronger model overall, scoring 47.9 to 39.4 on the Noometry Index.

- Canonical page: https://noometry.com/compare/granite-4-2-3b-vs-step-5-preview
- 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 0 categories and Step 5 Preview in 7 categories; 7 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in writing & preference, where Step 5 Preview leads 62.8 to 47.2.
- Granite 4.2 3b has downloadable open weights; the other is API-only.

## Snapshot

| | Granite 4.2 3b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | IBM | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 39.4 | 47.9 |
| Rank | 169 | 58 |
| Context | — | 1.02M |
| Input $/M | — | $1 |
| Output $/M | — | $2.70 |
| Weights | Open | Proprietary |

## Coding

- Granite 4.2 3b: 40.0 (#151)
- Step 5 Preview: 51.8 (#36)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1361 | 1480 |
| LMArena WebDev | — | 1564 |
| SciCode | — | 58.9% |

## Reasoning

- Granite 4.2 3b: 26.0 (#138)
- Step 5 Preview: 40.0 (#57)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1306 | 1465 |
| CritPt | — | 20.9% |

## Math

- Granite 4.2 3b: —
- Step 5 Preview: 46.1 (#72)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| ProofBench | — | 42% |
| LMArena Math | — | 1470 |

## Knowledge

- Granite 4.2 3b: 36.3 (#171)
- Step 5 Preview: 41.2 (#112)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1315 | 1470 |

## Multimodal

- Granite 4.2 3b: —
- Step 5 Preview: 41.0 (#41)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Vision | — | 1267 |

## Multilingual

- Granite 4.2 3b: 42.1 (#198)
- Step 5 Preview: 53.8 (#54)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1268 | 1432 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1269 | 1519 |
| LMArena Russian | 1249 | 1436 |
| LMArena Spanish | — | 1439 |

## Instruction Following

- Granite 4.2 3b: 67.1 (#200)
- Step 5 Preview: 76.0 (#50)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1273 | 1444 |

## Long Context

- Granite 4.2 3b: 39.2 (#185)
- Step 5 Preview: 44.5 (#64)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1291 | 1455 |

## Writing & Preference

- Granite 4.2 3b: 47.2 (#212)
- Step 5 Preview: 62.8 (#71)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 3b | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1293 | 1442 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1205 | 1410 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1290 | 1447 |

## FAQ

### Is Granite 4.2 3b better than Step 5 Preview?

Step 5 Preview is the stronger model overall, scoring 47.9 to 39.4 on the Noometry Index.

### Is Granite 4.2 3b or Step 5 Preview better for coding?

Step 5 Preview scores higher on coding benchmarks: 51.8 versus 40.0 in the Noometry coding category.

### How many benchmarks do Granite 4.2 3b and Step 5 Preview share?

11 benchmarks have published results for both models. Granite 4.2 3b has 11 scored results on Noometry and Step 5 Preview has 18.