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Granite 4.2 8B vs Mistral Small 4

Mistral Small 4 leads Granite 4.2 8B on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 11.3 to 11.1, and Granite 4.2 8B costs 3.0x less per output token ($0.20 vs $0.60 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; 7 benchmarks have a result for both.

Replace Granite 4.2 8B Replace Mistral Small 4
Granite 4.2 8BIBM Granite
Coding
No data
Overall
No data
Output $/M
$0.20
1
Mistral Small 4Mistral AI
Coding
No data
Overall
No data
Output $/M
$0.60
6
vs boards won of 7 shared

Granite 4.2 8B or Mistral Small 4: 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 3.0x cheaper ($0.20 vs $0.60 per million) and work measured by AA Coding Index or SciCode, where it leads.

Model AGranite 4.2 8BIBM GraniteNot benchmarkedNo coding benchmarkNo cost per solved taskModel BMistral Small 4Mistral AINot benchmarked1 independent benchmarkNo cost per solved task
Shared results
7
Granite 4.2 8B only
20
Mistral Small 4 only
8
Like-for-like categories
5 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, Mistral Small 4 not benchmarked.
Widest category
Reasoning, 7.0 points apart on average over 2 shared benchmarks.
Widest single gap
GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run): Granite 4.2 8B 63.1% against Mistral Small 4 76.9%, 13.8 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
Output price
Granite 4.2 8B $0.20 against Mistral Small 4 $0.60 per million output tokens, 3.0x apart.
Context window
Granite 4.2 8B takes 131K tokens, Mistral Small 4 262K.

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 8BBarsMistral Small 4Ties
Coding02
Intelligence01
Agentic work10
Reasoning02
General01
All shared boards16
CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index02
Coding benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Mistral Small 4
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BMistral Small 4Leader
AA Coding Index22.426.6Mistral Small 4
Vibe Code Bench (Vals AI)Not measured0.0%Only Mistral Small 4 measured
SciCode31.5%38.8%Mistral Small 4
Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run)Not measured17.4%Only Mistral Small 4 measured
ALE-BenchNot measured497.6Only Mistral Small 4 measured
LMArena Text: coding1378Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: software and IT1367Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
Neither model has a result on the other 36 boards here
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
Intelligence benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Mistral Small 4
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BMistral Small 4Leader
AA Intelligence Index11.111.3Mistral Small 4
Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here
Agentic workLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10
Agentic work benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Mistral Small 4
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BMistral Small 4Leader
AA Agentic Index1.30.8Granite 4.2 8B
τ²-Bench TelecomNot measured41.2%Only Mistral Small 4 measured
Neither model has a result on the other 40 boards here
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index02
Reasoning benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Mistral Small 4
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BMistral Small 4Leader
GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run)63.1%76.9%Mistral Small 4
Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run)9.7%9.9%Mistral Small 4
LMArena Text: hard prompts1327Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: expert1386Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: hard prompts in English1345Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
Kagi LLM BenchmarkNot measured40.5%Only Mistral Small 4 measured
Neither model has a result on the other 17 boards here
MathNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
Math benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Mistral Small 4
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BMistral Small 4Leader
Neither model has a result on 14 boards here
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards, none shared
Knowledge benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Mistral Small 4
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BMistral Small 4Leader
LMArena Text: science1336Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare1336Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: legal and government1327Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: business and finance1322Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
Neither model has a result on the other 16 boards here
Web designNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
Web design benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Mistral Small 4
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BMistral Small 4Leader
Neither model has a result on 9 boards here
GeneralLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
General benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Mistral Small 4
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BMistral Small 4Leader
IFBenchNot measured48.2%Only Mistral Small 4 measured
Long context reasoning (AA-LCR)45.0%49.7%Mistral Small 4
DTBenchNot measured70.9%Only Mistral Small 4 measured
LMCANot measured20.6%Only Mistral Small 4 measured
LMArena Text1319Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: instruction following1300Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: creative writing1236Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: English1337Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: non-English1301Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: Chinese1367Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: Russian1282Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: multi-turn1301Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: longer queries1325Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: writing and language1269Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
LMArena Text: entertainment and media1271Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
Neither model has a result on the other 33 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 Mistral Small 4
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BMistral Small 4Leader
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
Mistral Small 4$0.0004Fits 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
Mistral Small 4$0.0093Fits 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
Mistral Small 4$0.036Fits in one request

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 Mistral Small 4
SpecificationIBM Granite 4.2 8BMistral Small 4
MakerIBM GraniteMistral AI
WeightsOpen weightsOpen weights
ReleasedAugust 31, 2026March 16, 2026
Context window131K262K
Input $/Mtok$0.08$0.15
Output $/Mtok$0.20$0.60
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 Mistral Small 4 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 3.0x cheaper ($0.20 vs $0.60 per million) and work measured by AA Coding Index or SciCode, where it leads.

Which is cheaper, Granite 4.2 8B or Mistral Small 4?

Granite 4.2 8B costs $0.08 per million input tokens and $0.20 per million output tokens; Mistral Small 4 costs $0.15 and $0.60. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.

Which has the bigger context window, Granite 4.2 8B or Mistral Small 4?

Mistral Small 4, with 262K tokens against 131K.

How many benchmarks is the Granite 4.2 8B vs Mistral Small 4 comparison based on?

7 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 Mistral Small 4's on 1. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.

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