# Granite 4.2 8B vs Step 3.5 Flash

> Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 41.7 to 40.0 on the Noometry Index.

- Canonical page: https://noometry.com/compare/granite-4-2-8b-vs-step-3-5-flash
- Last updated: 2026-10-10
- Shared benchmarks: 11

## Summary

- They share 11 benchmarks with published results for both. Granite 4.2 8B scores higher in 1 category and Step 3.5 Flash in 6 categories; 7 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in writing & preference, where Step 3.5 Flash leads 59.0 to 49.8.
- Granite 4.2 8B is cheaper at $0.06 / $0.25 per million input/output tokens, against $0.10 / $0.30 for Step 3.5 Flash.
- Step 3.5 Flash accepts more context: 256K tokens versus 131K.

## Snapshot

| | Granite 4.2 8B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | IBM | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 40.0 | 41.7 |
| Rank | 143 | 116 |
| Context | 131K | 256K |
| Input $/M | $0.06 | $0.10 |
| Output $/M | $0.25 | $0.30 |
| Weights | Open | Open |

## Coding

- Granite 4.2 8B: 39.9 (#138)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 41.7 (#106)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1379 | 1436 |

## Reasoning

- Granite 4.2 8B: 25.5 (#130)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 21.2 (#202)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1327 | 1411 |
| NYT Connections (extended) | — | 28.4% |

## Math

- Granite 4.2 8B: —
- Step 3.5 Flash: 40.6 (#77)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| MathArena Final-Answer Competitions | — | 66.8% |
| LMArena Math | — | 1408 |

## Knowledge

- Granite 4.2 8B: 37.7 (#144)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 39.0 (#127)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1380 | 1422 |

## Multilingual

- Granite 4.2 8B: 44.5 (#173)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 50.7 (#115)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1299 | 1386 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1361 | 1448 |
| LMArena Russian | 1283 | 1385 |
| LMArena French | — | 1421 |
| LMArena German | — | 1404 |
| LMArena Japanese | — | 1353 |
| LMArena Korean | — | 1350 |
| LMArena Spanish | — | 1419 |

## Instruction Following

- Granite 4.2 8B: 68.7 (#183)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 73.3 (#119)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1298 | 1385 |

## Long Context

- Granite 4.2 8B: 40.2 (#154)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 42.8 (#112)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1323 | 1402 |

## Writing & Preference

- Granite 4.2 8B: 49.8 (#183)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 59.0 (#108)

| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1319 | 1403 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1238 | 1357 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1299 | 1405 |

## FAQ

### Is Granite 4.2 8B better than Step 3.5 Flash?

Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 41.7 to 40.0 on the Noometry Index.

### Which is cheaper, Granite 4.2 8B or Step 3.5 Flash?

Granite 4.2 8B is cheaper. It lists at $0.06 per million input tokens and $0.25 per million output tokens; Step 3.5 Flash lists at $0.10 and $0.30.

### Is Granite 4.2 8B or Step 3.5 Flash better for coding?

Step 3.5 Flash scores higher on coding benchmarks: 41.7 versus 39.9 in the Noometry coding category.

### Which has the bigger context window?

Step 3.5 Flash does, with 256K tokens against 131K.

### How many benchmarks do Granite 4.2 8B and Step 3.5 Flash share?

11 benchmarks have published results for both models. Granite 4.2 8B has 11 scored results on Noometry and Step 3.5 Flash has 19.