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Head-to-head comparison

granite 4.2 30b vs Nemotron 3.5 Lightning

granite 4.2 30b (IBM Granite) and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning (NVIDIA) 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 3 September 2026

As of 3 September 2026, Nemotron 3.5 Lightning holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#84 vs #86); Nemotron 3.5 Lightning offers the longer context window (262K vs 131K tokens); and granite 4.2 30b ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose granite 4.2 30b if…

  • you want to self-host: granite 4.2 30b ships open weights while Nemotron 3.5 Lightning is restricted license.
  • AA Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 23.7 against 23.6.
  • AA Terminal-Bench 2.1 is your yardstick — 26.6% against 24.3%.
  • AA Humanity's Last Exam is your yardstick — 11.2% against 10.6%.

Choose Nemotron 3.5 Lightning if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #84 against #86 (31.2 vs 30.4 points).
  • you need the longer context window — 262K tokens against 131K.
  • you want provider choice — 2 listed API providers against 0.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Nemotron 3.5 Lightning was listed 11 August 2026, granite 4.2 30b 7 August 2026.

granite 4.2 30b vs Nemotron 3.5 Lightning: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of granite 4.2 30b and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
Fieldgranite 4.2 30bIBM GraniteNemotron 3.5 LightningNVIDIA
ModelCap Index position#86#84
Index score30.431.2
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokensUnlisted$0.08
Output price / 1M tokensUnlisted$0.20
Context window131K tokens262K tokens
Max output tokens—131K
API providers listed02
Weight accessOpen weightsRestricted license
Input modalitiesTextText
First listed7 August 202611 August 2026
PublisherIBM GraniteNVIDIA

Evidence: 3 public benchmark observations across 3 boards · 1 public benchmark observation across 1 board. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: granite 4.2 30b vs Nemotron 3.5 Lightning

Public benchmark boards where granite 4.2 30b or Nemotron 3.5 Lightning has a published result
Boardgranite 4.2 30bNemotron 3.5 LightningLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)13961374–1417—Only one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis23.7intelligence-index23.6intelligence-indexgranite 4.2 30b
AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Artificial Analysis26.6%terminal-bench-2.124.3%terminal-bench-2.1granite 4.2 30b
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis11.2%humanitys-last-exam10.6%humanitys-last-examgranite 4.2 30b

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 Nemotron 3.5 Lightning: common questions

Is granite 4.2 30b better than Nemotron 3.5 Lightning?

Nemotron 3.5 Lightning ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 3 September 2026: #84 against #86. 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.

Is granite 4.2 30b cheaper than Nemotron 3.5 Lightning?

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 Nemotron 3.5 Lightning?

Nemotron 3.5 Lightning has the larger context window: 262K tokens against 131K.

Which is better for coding, granite 4.2 30b or Nemotron 3.5 Lightning?

AA Terminal-Bench 2.1: granite 4.2 30b 26.6%, Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 24.3% — granite 4.2 30b leads.

Are granite 4.2 30b and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning open-weight models?

granite 4.2 30b: Open weights. Nemotron 3.5 Lightning: Restricted license. 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 Nemotron 3.5 Lightning?

ModelCap currently lists 0 API providers for granite 4.2 30b and 2 for Nemotron 3.5 Lightning, 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 Nemotron 3.5 Lightning comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 3 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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