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Granite 4.2 8B vs Qwen3 30B A3B

Granite 4.2 8B leads Qwen3 30B A3B on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 11.1 to 7.6, and Granite 4.2 8B costs 2.5x less per output token ($0.20 vs $0.50 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; 24 benchmarks have a result for both.

Replace Granite 4.2 8B Replace Qwen3 30B A3B
Granite 4.2 8BIBM Granite
Coding
No data
Overall
No data
Output $/M
$0.20
20
Qwen3 30B A3BQwen
Coding
No data
Overall
38.2
Output $/M
$0.50
4
vs boards won of 24 shared

Granite 4.2 8B or Qwen3 30B A3B: 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 2.5x cheaper ($0.20 vs $0.50 per million) and a larger context window (131K against 41K tokens).

Model AGranite 4.2 8BIBM GraniteNot benchmarkedNo coding benchmarkNo cost per solved taskModel BQwen3 30B A3BQwenNot benchmarkedNo coding benchmarkNo cost per solved task
Shared results
24
Granite 4.2 8B only
3
Qwen3 30B A3B only
29
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, Qwen3 30B A3B not benchmarked.
Widest category
General, 5.8 points apart on average over 12 shared benchmarks.
Widest single gap
Long context reasoning (AA-LCR): Granite 4.2 8B 45.0% against Qwen3 30B A3B 0.0%, 45.0 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
Output price
Granite 4.2 8B $0.20 against Qwen3 30B A3B $0.50 per million output tokens, 2.5x apart.
Context window
Granite 4.2 8B takes 131K tokens, Qwen3 30B A3B 41K.

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 8BBarsQwen3 30B A3BTies
Coding20
Intelligence10
Reasoning50
Knowledge40
General84
All shared boards204
CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index20
Coding benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Qwen3 30B A3B
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BQwen3 30B A3BLeader
AA Coding Index22.4Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run)Not measured50.6%Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
SciCode31.5%Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run)Not measured6.8%Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
WeirdMLNot measured29.8%Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
LMArena Text: coding13781337Granite 4.2 8B
LMArena Text: software and IT13671340Granite 4.2 8B
Neither model has a result on the other 36 boards here
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10
Intelligence benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Qwen3 30B A3B
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BQwen3 30B A3BLeader
AA Intelligence Index11.17.6Granite 4.2 8B
Epoch Capabilities IndexNot measured137.3Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
Agentic work benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Qwen3 30B A3B
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BQwen3 30B A3BLeader
AA Agentic Index1.3Not measuredOnly Granite 4.2 8B measured
τ²-Bench TelecomNot measured26.0%Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
Neither model has a result on the other 40 boards here
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index50
Reasoning benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Qwen3 30B A3B
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BQwen3 30B A3BLeader
GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run)63.1%61.6%Granite 4.2 8B
Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run)9.7%6.2%Granite 4.2 8B
GPQA Diamond (Epoch AI run)Not measured61.7%Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
LMArena Text: hard prompts13271314Granite 4.2 8B
LMArena Text: expert13861314Granite 4.2 8B
LMArena Text: hard prompts in English13451329Granite 4.2 8B
Neither model has a result on the other 17 boards here
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index6 boards, none shared
Math benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Qwen3 30B A3B
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BQwen3 30B A3BLeader
AA Math IndexNot measured72.3Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
AIME 2025 (Artificial Analysis run)Not measured72.3%Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
OTIS Mock AIMENot measured62.8%Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
LMArena Text: mathNot measured1355Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
LMArena Text: mathematical workNot measured1363Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
MathArenaNot measured9.4%Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
Neither model has a result on the other 8 boards here
KnowledgeLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index40
Knowledge benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Qwen3 30B A3B
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BQwen3 30B A3BLeader
MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run)Not measured77.7%Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
LMArena Text: science13361321Granite 4.2 8B
LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare13361318Granite 4.2 8B
LMArena Text: legal and government13271314Granite 4.2 8B
LMArena Text: business and finance13221309Granite 4.2 8B
Neither model has a result on the other 15 boards here
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index5 boards, none shared
Web design benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Qwen3 30B A3B
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BQwen3 30B A3BLeader
Design Arena: websitesNot measured954Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
Design Arena: UI componentsNot measured943Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
Design Arena: game devNot measured898Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
Design Arena: data vizNot measured967Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
Design Arena: all code categoriesNot measured941Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
Neither model has a result on the other 4 boards here
GeneralLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index84
General benchmarks for Granite 4.2 8B and Qwen3 30B A3B
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BQwen3 30B A3BLeader
IFBenchNot measured41.5%Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
Long context reasoning (AA-LCR)45.0%0.0%Granite 4.2 8B
DTBenchNot measured60.3%Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
LMCANot measured15.8%Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
Fiction.LiveBenchNot measured40.6%Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
Creative writing (Lech Mazur)Not measured75.3%Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
LMArena Text13191317Granite 4.2 8B
LMArena Text: instruction following13001283Granite 4.2 8B
LMArena Text: creative writing12361271Qwen3 30B A3B
LMArena Text: English13371335Granite 4.2 8B
LMArena Text: non-English13011295Granite 4.2 8B
LMArena Text: Chinese13671347Granite 4.2 8B
LMArena Text: GermanNot measured1307Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
LMArena Text: JapaneseNot measured1254Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
LMArena Text: KoreanNot measured1261Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
LMArena Text: FrenchNot measured1352Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
LMArena Text: SpanishNot measured1317Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
LMArena Text: Russian12821291Qwen3 30B A3B
LMArena Text: PolishNot measured1299Only Qwen3 30B A3B measured
LMArena Text: multi-turn13011307Qwen3 30B A3B
LMArena Text: longer queries13251312Granite 4.2 8B
LMArena Text: writing and language12691290Qwen3 30B A3B
LMArena Text: entertainment and media12711258Granite 4.2 8B
Neither model has a result on the other 25 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 Qwen3 30B A3B
BenchmarkGranite 4.2 8BQwen3 30B A3BLeader
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
Qwen3 30B A3B$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
Qwen3 30B A3B$0.0075Exceeds the context window

Granite 4.2 8B costs less

Agent loop

200K input + 10K output tokens

Granite 4.2 8B$0.018Exceeds the context window
Qwen3 30B A3B$0.029Exceeds 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 Qwen3 30B A3B
SpecificationIBM Granite 4.2 8BQwen3 30B A3B
MakerIBM GraniteQwen
WeightsOpen weightsOpen weights
ReleasedAugust 31, 2026April 28, 2025
Context window131K41K
Input $/Mtok$0.08$0.12
Output $/Mtok$0.20$0.50
Coding indexNot benchmarkedNot benchmarked
Independent measurements behind it00
Cost per solved taskNot computableNot computable
SourceOpenRouter listingOpenRouter listing

Questions

Is Granite 4.2 8B better than Qwen3 30B A3B 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 2.5x cheaper ($0.20 vs $0.50 per million) and a larger context window (131K against 41K tokens).

Which is cheaper, Granite 4.2 8B or Qwen3 30B A3B?

Granite 4.2 8B costs $0.08 per million input tokens and $0.20 per million output tokens; Qwen3 30B A3B costs $0.12 and $0.50. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.

Which has the bigger context window, Granite 4.2 8B or Qwen3 30B A3B?

Granite 4.2 8B, with 131K tokens against 41K.

How many benchmarks is the Granite 4.2 8B vs Qwen3 30B A3B comparison based on?

24 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 Qwen3 30B A3B's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.

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