Granite 4.2 8B vs Beam 1.0 501B A23B
Granite 4.2 8B costs 6.0x less per output token than Beam 1.0 501B A23B ($0.20 vs $1.20 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; 20 benchmarks have a result for both.
Granite 4.2 8B or Beam 1.0 501B A23B: 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 6.0x cheaper ($0.20 vs $1.20 per million) and work measured by LMArena Text: coding or LMArena Text: software and IT, where it leads.
- Shared results
- 20
- Granite 4.2 8B only
- 7
- Beam 1.0 501B A23B 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
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B has a Design Arena: websites result, 1245.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Beam 1.0 501B A23B
Beam 1.0 501B A23B takes 1.05M tokens against 131K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Granite 4.2 8B
Granite 4.2 8B $0.0002, Beam 1.0 501B A23B $0.0010 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Granite 4.2 8B not benchmarked, Beam 1.0 501B A23B not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- General, 19.2 points apart on average over 11 shared benchmarks.
- Widest single gap
- LMArena Text: creative writing: Granite 4.2 8B 1236 against Beam 1.0 501B A23B 1390, 25.7 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Granite 4.2 8B $0.20 against Beam 1.0 501B A23B $1.20 per million output tokens, 6.0x apart.
- Context window
- Granite 4.2 8B takes 131K tokens, Beam 1.0 501B A23B 1.05M.
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 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | 0 | 2 | ||
| Reasoning | 0 | 3 | ||
| Knowledge | 0 | 4 | ||
| General | 0 | 11 | ||
| All shared boards | 0 | 20 |
CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index02
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena WebDev | Not measured | 1437 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| 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 | 1473 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | 1367 | 1461 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
| LMArena WebDev: React | Not measured | 1443 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena WebDev: HTML | Not measured | 1436 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 36 boards here | |||
IntelligenceDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board, none shared
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | 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 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic Index | 1.3 | Not measured | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 41 boards here | |||
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index03
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | 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 |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | 1327 | 1442 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
| LMArena Text: expert | 1386 | 1447 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | 1345 | 1451 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
| Neither model has a result on the other 18 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: math | Not measured | 1459 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | Not measured | 1475 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 12 boards here | |||
KnowledgeLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index04
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: science | 1336 | 1430 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | 1336 | 1376 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | 1327 | 1433 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | 1322 | 1430 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
| Neither model has a result on the other 16 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | Not measured | 1245 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | Not measured | 1220 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 7 boards here | |||
GeneralLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index011
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 45.0% | Not measured | Only Granite 4.2 8B measured |
| LMArena Text | 1319 | 1425 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | 1300 | 1430 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | 1236 | 1390 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
| LMArena Text: English | 1337 | 1436 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
| LMArena Text: non-English | 1301 | 1413 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
| LMArena Text: Chinese | 1367 | 1424 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
| LMArena Text: French | Not measured | 1461 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena Text: Russian | 1282 | 1412 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | 1301 | 1414 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | 1325 | 1429 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | 1269 | 1400 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | 1271 | 1399 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
| 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
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | 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 | Reflection Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | IBM Granite | Reflection |
| Weights | Open weights | Open weights |
| Released | August 31, 2026 | October 16, 2026 |
| Context window | 131K | 1.05M |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.08 | $0.40 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.20 | $1.20 |
| Coding index | Not benchmarked | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 0 | 1 |
| Cost per solved task | Not computable | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Granite 4.2 8B better than Beam 1.0 501B A23B 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 6.0x cheaper ($0.20 vs $1.20 per million) and work measured by LMArena Text: coding or LMArena Text: software and IT, where it leads.
Which is cheaper, Granite 4.2 8B or Beam 1.0 501B A23B?
Granite 4.2 8B costs $0.08 per million input tokens and $0.20 per million output tokens; Beam 1.0 501B A23B costs $0.40 and $1.20. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Granite 4.2 8B or Beam 1.0 501B A23B?
Beam 1.0 501B A23B, with 1.05M tokens against 131K.
How many benchmarks is the Granite 4.2 8B vs Beam 1.0 501B A23B 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 Beam 1.0 501B A23B's on 1. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.