Granite 4.2 8B vs Qwen-Plus
Granite 4.2 8B costs 3.9x less per output token than Qwen-Plus ($0.20 vs $0.78 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; 20 benchmarks have a result for both.
Granite 4.2 8B or Qwen-Plus: 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 3.9x cheaper ($0.20 vs $0.78 per million) and work measured by LMArena Text: science or LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare, where it leads.
- Shared results
- 20
- Granite 4.2 8B only
- 7
- Qwen-Plus only
- 8
- Like-for-like categories
- 4 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.
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
Long documents
Listed context window
Qwen-Plus
Qwen-Plus takes 1M tokens against 131K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Granite 4.2 8B
Granite 4.2 8B $0.0002, Qwen-Plus $0.0006 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Granite 4.2 8B not benchmarked, Qwen-Plus not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Coding, 6.2 points apart on average over 2 shared benchmarks.
- Widest single gap
- LMArena Text: expert: Granite 4.2 8B 1386 against Qwen-Plus 1328, 9.7 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Granite 4.2 8B $0.20 against Qwen-Plus $0.78 per million output tokens, 3.9x apart.
- Context window
- Granite 4.2 8B takes 131K tokens, Qwen-Plus 1M.
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.
| Category | Granite 4.2 8B | Bars | Qwen-Plus | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | 2 | 0 | ||
| Reasoning | 3 | 0 | ||
| Knowledge | 1 | 3 | ||
| General | 3 | 8 | ||
| All shared boards | 9 | 11 |
CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index20
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Qwen-Plus | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Coding Index | 22.4 | Not measured | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| SciCode | 31.5% | Not measured | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| LMArena Text: coding | 1378 | 1328 | Granite 4.2 8B |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | 1367 | 1343 | Granite 4.2 8B |
| Neither model has a result on the other 35 boards here | |||
IntelligenceDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board, none shared
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Qwen-Plus | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 11.1 | Not measured | 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, none shared
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Qwen-Plus | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic Index | 1.3 | Not measured | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 40 boards here | |||
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index30
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Qwen-Plus | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 63.1% | Not measured | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 9.7% | Not measured | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| GPQA Diamond (Epoch AI run) | Not measured | 48.1% | Only Qwen-Plus measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | 1327 | 1317 | Granite 4.2 8B |
| LMArena Text: expert | 1386 | 1328 | Granite 4.2 8B |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | 1345 | 1333 | Granite 4.2 8B |
| Neither model has a result on the other 16 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Qwen-Plus | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| OTIS Mock AIME | Not measured | 17.8% | Only Qwen-Plus measured |
| MATH level 5 | Not measured | 65.3% | Only Qwen-Plus measured |
| LMArena Text: math | Not measured | 1326 | Only Qwen-Plus measured |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | Not measured | 1332 | Only Qwen-Plus measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 9 boards here | |||
KnowledgeLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index13
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Qwen-Plus | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: science | 1336 | 1352 | Qwen-Plus |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | 1336 | 1350 | Qwen-Plus |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | 1327 | 1349 | Qwen-Plus |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | 1322 | 1303 | Granite 4.2 8B |
| Neither model has a result on the other 14 boards here | |||
Web designNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Qwen-Plus | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 9 boards here | |||
GeneralLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index38
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Qwen-Plus | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 45.0% | Not measured | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| DTBench | Not measured | 81.1% | Only Qwen-Plus measured |
| LMCA | Not measured | 24.0% | Only Qwen-Plus measured |
| LMArena Text | 1319 | 1326 | Qwen-Plus |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | 1300 | 1303 | Qwen-Plus |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | 1236 | 1292 | Qwen-Plus |
| LMArena Text: English | 1337 | 1339 | Qwen-Plus |
| LMArena Text: non-English | 1301 | 1310 | Qwen-Plus |
| LMArena Text: Chinese | 1367 | 1347 | Granite 4.2 8B |
| LMArena Text: Japanese | Not measured | 1251 | Only Qwen-Plus measured |
| LMArena Text: Russian | 1282 | 1323 | Qwen-Plus |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | 1301 | 1336 | Qwen-Plus |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | 1325 | 1324 | Granite 4.2 8B |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | 1269 | 1296 | Qwen-Plus |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | 1271 | 1270 | Granite 4.2 8B |
| Neither model has a result on the other 31 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Qwen-Plus | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Granite 4.2 8B costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
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.
| Specification | IBM Granite 4.2 8B | Qwen-Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | IBM Granite | Qwen |
| Weights | Open weights | No public weights listed |
| Released | August 31, 2026 | February 1, 2025 |
| Context window | 131K | 1M |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.08 | $0.26 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.20 | $0.78 |
| 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 Granite 4.2 8B better than Qwen-Plus 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 3.9x cheaper ($0.20 vs $0.78 per million) and work measured by LMArena Text: science or LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare, where it leads.
Which is cheaper, Granite 4.2 8B or Qwen-Plus?
Granite 4.2 8B costs $0.08 per million input tokens and $0.20 per million output tokens; Qwen-Plus costs $0.26 and $0.78. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Granite 4.2 8B or Qwen-Plus?
Qwen-Plus, with 1M tokens against 131K.
How many benchmarks is the Granite 4.2 8B vs Qwen-Plus comparison based on?
20 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 Qwen-Plus's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.