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Head-to-head comparison

granite 4.2 30b vs Qwen3.5-9B

granite 4.2 30b (IBM Granite) and Qwen3.5-9B (Qwen) 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, granite 4.2 30b holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#86 vs #87); and Qwen3.5-9B offers the longer context window (262K vs 131K tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose granite 4.2 30b if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #86 against #87 (30.4 vs 29.0 points).
  • AA Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 23.7 against 21.8.
  • you want the more recently listed model — granite 4.2 30b was listed 7 August 2026, Qwen3.5-9B 10 March 2026.

Choose Qwen3.5-9B if…

  • you need the longer context window — 262K tokens against 131K.
  • you want provider choice — 5 listed API providers against 0.
  • AA Terminal-Bench 2.1 is your yardstick — 29.2% against 26.6%.
  • AA Humanity's Last Exam is your yardstick — 14.9% against 11.2%.

granite 4.2 30b vs Qwen3.5-9B: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of granite 4.2 30b and Qwen3.5-9B
Fieldgranite 4.2 30bIBM GraniteQwen3.5-9BQwen
ModelCap Index position#86#87
Index score30.429.0
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokensUnlisted$0.10
Output price / 1M tokensUnlisted$0.15
Context window131K tokens262K tokens
Max output tokens—236K
API providers listed05
Weight accessOpen weightsOpen weights
Input modalitiesTextText, Image, Video
First listed7 August 202610 March 2026
PublisherIBM GraniteQwen

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 Qwen3.5-9B

Public benchmark boards where granite 4.2 30b or Qwen3.5-9B has a published result
Boardgranite 4.2 30bQwen3.5-9BLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)13961374–1417—Only one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis23.7intelligence-index21.8intelligence-indexgranite 4.2 30b
AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Artificial Analysis26.6%terminal-bench-2.129.2%terminal-bench-2.1Qwen3.5-9B
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis—86.8%tau2-bench-telecomOnly one result
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis11.2%humanitys-last-exam14.9%humanitys-last-examQwen3.5-9B

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 Qwen3.5-9B: common questions

Is granite 4.2 30b better than Qwen3.5-9B?

granite 4.2 30b ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 3 September 2026: #86 against #87. 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 Qwen3.5-9B?

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 Qwen3.5-9B?

Qwen3.5-9B has the larger context window: 262K tokens against 131K.

Which is better for coding, granite 4.2 30b or Qwen3.5-9B?

AA Terminal-Bench 2.1: granite 4.2 30b 26.6%, Qwen3.5-9B 29.2% — Qwen3.5-9B leads.

Are granite 4.2 30b and Qwen3.5-9B open-weight models?

granite 4.2 30b: Open weights. Qwen3.5-9B: 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 Qwen3.5-9B?

ModelCap currently lists 0 API providers for granite 4.2 30b and 5 for Qwen3.5-9B, 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 Qwen3.5-9B 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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