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Head-to-head comparison

granite 4.2 30b vs granite guardian 4.1 8b

granite 4.2 30b (IBM Granite) and granite guardian 4.1 8b (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 #144).

Which should you choose?

Choose granite 4.2 30b if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #126 against #144 (32.5 vs 20.4 points).
  • you want the more recently listed model — granite 4.2 30b was listed 7 August 2026, granite guardian 4.1 8b 16 April 2026.

Choose granite guardian 4.1 8b if…

  • ModelCap publishes no field on which granite guardian 4.1 8b leads granite 4.2 30b for this pair.

granite 4.2 30b vs granite guardian 4.1 8b: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of granite 4.2 30b and granite guardian 4.1 8b
Fieldgranite 4.2 30bIBM Granitegranite guardian 4.1 8bIBM Granite
ModelCap Index position#126#144
Index score32.520.4
EvidenceMeasuredInherited
Input price / 1M tokensUnlistedUnlisted
Output price / 1M tokensUnlistedUnlisted
Context window131K tokens— tokens
Max output tokens——
API providers listed00
Weight accessOpen weightsOpen weights
Input modalitiesTextText
First listed7 August 202616 April 2026
PublisherIBM GraniteIBM Granite

Evidence: 2 public benchmark observations across 2 boards · finetune of ibm-granite/granite-4.1-8b · finetune (100%). Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: granite 4.2 30b vs granite guardian 4.1 8b

Public benchmark boards where granite 4.2 30b or granite guardian 4.1 8b has a published result
Boardgranite 4.2 30bgranite guardian 4.1 8bLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)13961375–1417—Only one result
AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Artificial Analysis26.6%terminal-bench:2.1:terminus-2:e2b:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="Granite 4.2 30B":reasoning=true—Only one result
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis11.2%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="Granite 4.2 30B":reasoning=true—Only 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.

granite 4.2 30b vs granite guardian 4.1 8b: common questions

Is granite 4.2 30b better than granite guardian 4.1 8b?

granite 4.2 30b ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 9 September 2026: #126 against #144. 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 granite 4.2 30b cheaper than granite guardian 4.1 8b?

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, granite 4.2 30b or granite guardian 4.1 8b?

Both publish a 131K-token context window.

Which is better for coding, granite 4.2 30b or granite guardian 4.1 8b?

The two models do not share a coding benchmark board on ModelCap yet, so no head-to-head coding score is published; the ModelCap Index position is the closest overall signal.

Are granite 4.2 30b and granite guardian 4.1 8b open-weight models?

granite 4.2 30b: Open weights. granite guardian 4.1 8b: 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 granite 4.2 30b and granite guardian 4.1 8b?

ModelCap currently lists 0 API providers for granite 4.2 30b and 0 for granite guardian 4.1 8b, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this granite 4.2 30b vs granite guardian 4.1 8b 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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