DeepSeek V3 vs Granite 4.2 8B

Granite 4.2 8B costs 4.8x less per output token than DeepSeek V3 ($0.20 vs $0.9594 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; no benchmark has tested both models yet.

Replace DeepSeek V3 Replace Granite 4.2 8B

DeepSeek V3DeepSeek

Coding: No data
Overall: No data
Output $/M: $0.9594

Granite 4.2 8BIBM Granite

Coding: No data
Overall: No data
Output $/M: $0.20

vs $0.9594 vs $0.20 per 1M output tokens. Granite 4.2 8B is 4.8x cheaper.

DeepSeek V3 or Granite 4.2 8B: which to pick

Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.

Pick DeepSeek V3 for a larger context window (164K against 131K tokens).

Model ADeepSeek V3DeepSeekNot benchmarkedNo coding benchmarkNo cost per solved task Model BGranite 4.2 8BIBM GraniteNot benchmarkedNo coding benchmarkNo cost per solved task

No benchmark has tested both yet. DeepSeek V3 has results on Aider polyglot, SWE-bench Lite and GPQA Diamond (Epoch AI run); Granite 4.2 8B on AA Coding Index, SciCode and LMArena Text: coding. Compare them on price and context instead.

Which one for your work

Each card is decided by one number both models carry. Where only one has it, the card says so and makes no call.

Coding
Vibe Coding Index, six public coding benchmarks
No call
Neither has a coding score yet.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
No call
Only Granite 4.2 8B has a AA Intelligence Index result, 11.1.
Directional only
Agentic work
AA Agentic Index
No call
Only Granite 4.2 8B has a AA Agentic Index result, 1.3.
Directional only
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only DeepSeek V3 has a Design Arena: websites result, 1120.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
DeepSeek V3
DeepSeek V3 takes 164K tokens against 131K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Granite 4.2 8B
DeepSeek V3 $0.0008, Granite 4.2 8B $0.0002 per turn.
List prices

At a glance

Coding index: DeepSeek V3 not benchmarked, Granite 4.2 8B not benchmarked.
Widest category: None yet: no category has been tested on both models.
Widest single gap: None yet: no benchmark has tested both models.
Output price: DeepSeek V3 $0.9594 against Granite 4.2 8B $0.20 per million output tokens, 4.8x apart.
Context window: DeepSeek V3 takes 164K tokens, Granite 4.2 8B 131K.

Benchmark by benchmark

Every board either model has a result on, a category to a fold; bars are each result on a 0 to 100 scale. Only one model is measured on each, so no row names a leader.

CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index6 boards measured

Coding benchmarks for DeepSeek V3 and Granite 4.2 8B
Benchmark	DeepSeek V3	Granite 4.2 8B	Leader
Aider polyglot	70.2%	Not measured	Only DeepSeek V3 measured
SWE-bench Lite	30.7%	Not measured	Only DeepSeek V3 measured
AA Coding Index	Not measured	22.4	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
SciCode	Not measured	31.5%	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: coding	Not measured	1378	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: software and IT	Not measured	1367	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
Neither model has a result on the other 33 boards here

IntelligenceDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board measured

Intelligence benchmarks for DeepSeek V3 and Granite 4.2 8B
Benchmark	DeepSeek V3	Granite 4.2 8B	Leader
AA Intelligence Index	Not measured	11.1	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here

Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board measured

Agentic work benchmarks for DeepSeek V3 and Granite 4.2 8B
Benchmark	DeepSeek V3	Granite 4.2 8B	Leader
AA Agentic Index	Not measured	1.3	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
Neither model has a result on the other 40 boards here

ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index7 boards measured

Reasoning benchmarks for DeepSeek V3 and Granite 4.2 8B
Benchmark	DeepSeek V3	Granite 4.2 8B	Leader
GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run)	Not measured	63.1%	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run)	Not measured	9.7%	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
GPQA Diamond (Epoch AI run)	71.2%	Not measured	Only DeepSeek V3 measured
LMArena Text: hard prompts	Not measured	1327	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: expert	Not measured	1386	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: hard prompts in English	Not measured	1345	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
Kagi LLM Benchmark	52.3%	Not measured	Only DeepSeek V3 measured
Neither model has a result on the other 15 boards here

MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board measured

Math benchmarks for DeepSeek V3 and Granite 4.2 8B
Benchmark	DeepSeek V3	Granite 4.2 8B	Leader
OTIS Mock AIME	48.9%	Not measured	Only DeepSeek V3 measured
Neither model has a result on the other 12 boards here

KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards measured

Knowledge benchmarks for DeepSeek V3 and Granite 4.2 8B
Benchmark	DeepSeek V3	Granite 4.2 8B	Leader
LMArena Text: science	Not measured	1336	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare	Not measured	1336	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: legal and government	Not measured	1327	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: business and finance	Not measured	1322	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
Neither model has a result on the other 14 boards here

Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index7 boards measured

Web design benchmarks for DeepSeek V3 and Granite 4.2 8B
Benchmark	DeepSeek V3	Granite 4.2 8B	Leader
Design Arena: websites	1120	Not measured	Only DeepSeek V3 measured
Design Arena: UI components	1090	Not measured	Only DeepSeek V3 measured
Design Arena: game dev	1053	Not measured	Only DeepSeek V3 measured
Design Arena: data viz	1089	Not measured	Only DeepSeek V3 measured
Design Arena: 3D	1086	Not measured	Only DeepSeek V3 measured
Design Arena: all code categories	1108	Not measured	Only DeepSeek V3 measured
Design Arena: SVG	976	Not measured	Only DeepSeek V3 measured
Neither model has a result on the other 2 boards here

GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index14 boards measured

General benchmarks for DeepSeek V3 and Granite 4.2 8B
Benchmark	DeepSeek V3	Granite 4.2 8B	Leader
Long context reasoning (AA-LCR)	Not measured	45.0%	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
DTBench	62.7%	Not measured	Only DeepSeek V3 measured
LMCA	15.2%	Not measured	Only DeepSeek V3 measured
LMArena Text	Not measured	1319	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: instruction following	Not measured	1300	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: creative writing	Not measured	1236	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: English	Not measured	1337	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: non-English	Not measured	1301	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: Chinese	Not measured	1367	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: Russian	Not measured	1282	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: multi-turn	Not measured	1301	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: longer queries	Not measured	1325	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: writing and language	Not measured	1269	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: entertainment and media	Not measured	1271	Only Granite 4.2 8B measured
Neither model has a result on the other 32 boards here

What each workload costs

Three fixed token mixes at each model's listed price, so per-token rates become a bill.

Chat turn

1K input + 500 output tokens

DeepSeek V3$0.0008Fits in one request

Granite 4.2 8B$0.0002Fits in one request

Granite 4.2 8B costs less

Repository review

50K input + 3K output tokens

DeepSeek V3$0.017Fits in one request

Granite 4.2 8B$0.0046Fits in one request

Granite 4.2 8B costs less

Agent loop

200K input + 10K output tokens

DeepSeek V3$0.067Exceeds the context window

Granite 4.2 8B$0.018Exceeds the context window

Granite 4.2 8B costs less

Listed OpenRouter rates, without cache or batch discounts. A workload that does not fit a model's context window would need splitting.

Specification differences

The leading value in a row is marked; a row with a missing value names no leader. Our two rows are marked in red.

Specifications of DeepSeek V3 and Granite 4.2 8B
Specification	DeepSeek V3	IBM Granite 4.2 8B
Maker	DeepSeek	IBM Granite
Weights	Open weights	Open weights
Released	December 26, 2024	August 31, 2026
Context window	164K	131K
Input $/Mtok	$0.2887	$0.08
Output $/Mtok	$0.9594	$0.20
Coding index	Not benchmarked	Not benchmarked
Independent measurements behind it	0	0
Cost per solved task	Not computable	Not computable
Source	OpenRouter listing	OpenRouter listing

Questions

Is DeepSeek V3 better than Granite 4.2 8B for coding?

Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick DeepSeek V3 for a larger context window (164K against 131K tokens).

Which is cheaper, DeepSeek V3 or Granite 4.2 8B?

DeepSeek V3 costs $0.2887 per million input tokens and $0.9594 per million output tokens; Granite 4.2 8B costs $0.08 and $0.20. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.

Which has the bigger context window, DeepSeek V3 or Granite 4.2 8B?

DeepSeek V3, with 164K tokens against 131K.

Has any benchmark tested both DeepSeek V3 and Granite 4.2 8B?

DeepSeek V3 or Granite 4.2 8B: which to pick

Which one for your work

Coding

Intelligence

Agentic work

Web design

Long documents

Everyday cost

At a glance

Benchmark by benchmark

What each workload costs

Chat turn

Repository review

Agent loop

Specification differences

Questions

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