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Granite 4.2 8B vs Mercury 2

Granite 4.2 8B leads Mercury 2 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 11.1 to 10.8, and Granite 4.2 8B costs 3.8x less per output token ($0.20 vs $0.75 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; 26 benchmarks have a result for both.

Replace Granite 4.2 8B Replace Mercury 2
Granite 4.2 8BIBM Granite
Coding
No data
Overall
No data
Output $/M
$0.20
3
Mercury 2Inception
Coding
No data
Overall
No data
Output $/M
$0.75
23
vs boards won of 26 shared

Granite 4.2 8B or Mercury 2: which to pick

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

Pick Granite 4.2 8B for output tokens 3.8x cheaper ($0.20 vs $0.75 per million) and a larger context window (131K against 128K tokens).

Model AGranite 4.2 8BIBM GraniteNot benchmarkedNo coding benchmarkNo cost per solved taskModel BMercury 2InceptionNot benchmarked1 independent benchmarkNo cost per solved task
Shared results
26
Granite 4.2 8B only
1
Mercury 2 only
16
Like-for-like categories
6 of 9

Only benchmarks that tested both models count toward a pick; a result only one model has is shown but not compared.

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.

At a glance

Coding index
Granite 4.2 8B not benchmarked, Mercury 2 not benchmarked.
Widest category
Reasoning, 7.3 points apart on average over 5 shared benchmarks.
Widest single gap
GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run): Granite 4.2 8B 63.1% against Mercury 2 77.0%, 13.9 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
Output price
Granite 4.2 8B $0.20 against Mercury 2 $0.75 per million output tokens, 3.8x apart.
Context window
Granite 4.2 8B takes 131K tokens, Mercury 2 128K.

Benchmark by benchmark

First the score: boards each model leads, per category, where both have a result. Then every board, a category to a fold; bars are each result on a 0 to 100 scale, so compare the two in a row, not one row with another.

Boards won, where both have a result
CategoryGranite 4.2 8BBarsMercury 2Ties
Coding04
Intelligence10
Agentic work01
Reasoning14
Knowledge03
General111
All shared boards323
CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index04
Coding benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Mercury 2
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BMercury 2Leader
LMArena WebDevNot measured1171Only Mercury 2 measured
AA Coding Index22.431.1Mercury 2
SciCode31.5%37.7%Mercury 2
Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run)Not measured26.5%Only Mercury 2 measured
WeirdMLNot measured43.2%Only Mercury 2 measured
ALE-BenchNot measured785.6Only Mercury 2 measured
LMArena Text: coding13781390Mercury 2
LMArena Text: software and IT13671385Mercury 2
LMArena WebDev: ReactNot measured1160Only Mercury 2 measured
LMArena WebDev: HTMLNot measured1199Only Mercury 2 measured
Neither model has a result on the other 33 boards here
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10
Intelligence benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Mercury 2
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BMercury 2Leader
AA Intelligence Index11.110.8Granite 4.2 8B
Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here
Agentic workLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
Agentic work benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Mercury 2
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BMercury 2Leader
AA Agentic Index1.31.6Mercury 2
τ²-Bench TelecomNot measured70.8%Only Mercury 2 measured
Neither model has a result on the other 40 boards here
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index14
Reasoning benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Mercury 2
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BMercury 2Leader
GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run)63.1%77.0%Mercury 2
Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run)9.7%17.1%Mercury 2
LMArena Text: hard prompts13271362Mercury 2
LMArena Text: expert13861358Granite 4.2 8B
LMArena Text: hard prompts in English13451374Mercury 2
Neither model has a result on the other 18 boards here
MathNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
Math benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Mercury 2
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BMercury 2Leader
Neither model has a result on 14 boards here
KnowledgeLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index03
Knowledge benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Mercury 2
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BMercury 2Leader
LMArena Text: science13361343Mercury 2
LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare13361363Mercury 2
LMArena Text: legal and government1327Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: business and finance13221349Mercury 2
Neither model has a result on the other 16 boards here
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index8 boards, none shared
Web design benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Mercury 2
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BMercury 2Leader
Design Arena: websitesNot measured1035Only Mercury 2 measured
Design Arena: UI componentsNot measured996Only Mercury 2 measured
Design Arena: game devNot measured983Only Mercury 2 measured
Design Arena: data vizNot measured1010Only Mercury 2 measured
Design Arena: 3DNot measured982Only Mercury 2 measured
Design Arena: all code categoriesNot measured1021Only Mercury 2 measured
Design Arena: SVGNot measured997Only Mercury 2 measured
Design Arena: ASCII artNot measured988Only Mercury 2 measured
Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here
GeneralLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index111
General benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Mercury 2
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BMercury 2Leader
IFBenchNot measured69.8%Only Mercury 2 measured
Long context reasoning (AA-LCR)45.0%43.7%Granite 4.2 8B
LMArena Text13191354Mercury 2
LMArena Text: instruction following13001328Mercury 2
LMArena Text: creative writing12361286Mercury 2
LMArena Text: English13371378Mercury 2
LMArena Text: non-English13011330Mercury 2
LMArena Text: Chinese13671414Mercury 2
LMArena Text: Russian12821304Mercury 2
LMArena Text: multi-turn13011357Mercury 2
LMArena Text: longer queries13251329Mercury 2
LMArena Text: writing and language12691300Mercury 2
LMArena Text: entertainment and media12711314Mercury 2
Neither model has a result on the other 35 boards here
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
Image generation benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Mercury 2
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BMercury 2Leader
Neither model has a result on 5 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

Granite 4.2 8B$0.0002Fits in one request
Mercury 2$0.0006Fits in one request

Granite 4.2 8B costs less

Repository review

50K input + 3K output tokens

Granite 4.2 8B$0.0046Fits in one request
Mercury 2$0.015Fits in one request

Granite 4.2 8B costs less

Agent loop

200K input + 10K output tokens

Granite 4.2 8B$0.018Exceeds the context window
Mercury 2$0.058Exceeds 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 Granite 4.2 8B and Mercury 2
SpecificationIBM Granite 4.2 8BInception Mercury 2
MakerIBM GraniteInception
WeightsOpen weightsNo public weights listed
ReleasedAugust 31, 2026March 4, 2026
Context window131K128K
Input $/Mtok$0.08$0.25
Output $/Mtok$0.20$0.75
Coding indexNot benchmarkedNot benchmarked
Independent measurements behind it01
Cost per solved taskNot computableNot computable
SourceOpenRouter listingOpenRouter listing

Questions

Is Granite 4.2 8B better than Mercury 2 for coding?

Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Granite 4.2 8B for output tokens 3.8x cheaper ($0.20 vs $0.75 per million) and a larger context window (131K against 128K tokens).

Which is cheaper, Granite 4.2 8B or Mercury 2?

Granite 4.2 8B costs $0.08 per million input tokens and $0.20 per million output tokens; Mercury 2 costs $0.25 and $0.75. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.

Which has the bigger context window, Granite 4.2 8B or Mercury 2?

Granite 4.2 8B, with 131K tokens against 128K.

How many benchmarks is the Granite 4.2 8B vs Mercury 2 comparison based on?

26 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 22, 2026. Granite 4.2 8B's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and Mercury 2's on 1. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.

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