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Head-to-head comparison

Nova 2 Lite vs granite 4.2 30b

Nova 2 Lite (Amazon) and granite 4.2 30b (IBM Granite) compared on the ModelCap Index, API price, context window, provider availability, weight access and every public benchmark board they share. Figures are the same ones shown on the live rankings; nothing here is a hidden score.

Snapshot as of 9 September 2026

As of 9 September 2026, granite 4.2 30b holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#126 vs #129); Nova 2 Lite offers the longer context window (1M vs 131K tokens); and granite 4.2 30b ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose Nova 2 Lite if…

  • you need the longer context window — 1M tokens against 131K.
  • you want provider choice — 1 listed API providers against 0.

Choose granite 4.2 30b if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #126 against #129 (32.5 vs 30.9 points).
  • you want to self-host: granite 4.2 30b ships open weights while Nova 2 Lite is api only.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1396 against 1394.
  • you want the more recently listed model — granite 4.2 30b was listed 7 August 2026, Nova 2 Lite 2 December 2025.

Nova 2 Lite vs granite 4.2 30b: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Nova 2 Lite and granite 4.2 30b
FieldNova 2 LiteAmazongranite 4.2 30bIBM Granite
ModelCap Index position#129#126
Index score30.932.5
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.30Unlisted
Output price / 1M tokens$2.50Unlisted
Context window1M tokens131K tokens
Max output tokens66K—
API providers listed10
Weight accessAPI onlyOpen weights
Input modalitiesText, Image, Video, FileText
First listed2 December 20257 August 2026
PublisherAmazonIBM Granite

Evidence: 2 public benchmark observations across 2 boards · 2 public benchmark observations across 2 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Nova 2 Lite vs granite 4.2 30b

Public benchmark boards where Nova 2 Lite or granite 4.2 30b has a published result
BoardNova 2 Litegranite 4.2 30bLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)13941383–140613961375–1417granite 4.2 30b
AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Artificial Analysis—26.6%terminal-bench:2.1:terminus-2:e2b:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="Granite 4.2 30B":reasoning=trueOnly one result
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis—11.2%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="Granite 4.2 30B":reasoning=trueOnly one result

Scores are the sources' own published figures for each model's best evaluated configuration; ModelCap never re-runs a benchmark.

Want a different pairing? Open the interactive comparison tool to swap either model for any current ranked language model.

Nova 2 Lite vs granite 4.2 30b: common questions

Is Nova 2 Lite better than granite 4.2 30b?

granite 4.2 30b ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 9 September 2026: #126 against #129. That is a capability ranking built from public benchmark evidence with published uncertainty; whether it is "better" for you also depends on price, context and where you can run it. Their published uncertainty intervals overlap, so the rank difference alone does not establish a reliable capability advantage for your workload.

Is Nova 2 Lite cheaper than granite 4.2 30b?

At least one of the two has no listed API price on ModelCap right now, so no price comparison is made.

Which has the bigger context window, Nova 2 Lite or granite 4.2 30b?

Nova 2 Lite has the larger context window: 1M tokens against 131K.

Which is better for coding, Nova 2 Lite or granite 4.2 30b?

Arena coding: Nova 2 Lite 1394, granite 4.2 30b 1396 — granite 4.2 30b leads.

Are Nova 2 Lite and granite 4.2 30b open-weight models?

Nova 2 Lite: API only. granite 4.2 30b: Open weights. Open weights mean the checkpoint can be downloaded and self-hosted under its licence; API-only models are available solely through hosted endpoints.

Where can I run Nova 2 Lite and granite 4.2 30b?

ModelCap currently lists 1 API provider for Nova 2 Lite and 0 for granite 4.2 30b, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Nova 2 Lite vs granite 4.2 30b comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 9 September 2026; the page re-renders within a minute of each data refresh, and the ModelCap Index positions are the same ones shown on the live rankings.

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