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Head-to-head comparison

granite 4.2 3b vs Mistral Small 4

granite 4.2 3b (IBM Granite) and Mistral Small 4 (Mistral AI) 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 15 September 2026

As of 15 September 2026, Mistral Small 4 holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#117 vs #164); and Mistral Small 4 offers the longer context window (262K vs 131K tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose granite 4.2 3b if…

  • you want the more recently listed model — granite 4.2 3b was listed 7 August 2026, Mistral Small 4 16 March 2026.

Choose Mistral Small 4 if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #117 against #164 (40.7 vs 25.1 points).
  • you need the longer context window — 262K tokens against 131K.
  • you want provider choice — 2 listed API providers against 0.
  • AA Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 11.5 against 9.1.

granite 4.2 3b vs Mistral Small 4: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of granite 4.2 3b and Mistral Small 4
Fieldgranite 4.2 3bIBM GraniteMistral Small 4Mistral AI
ModelCap Index position#164#117
Index score25.140.7
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokensUnlisted$0.15
Output price / 1M tokensUnlisted$0.60
Context window131K tokens262K tokens
Max output tokens—210K
API providers listed02
Weight accessOpen weightsOpen weights
Input modalitiesTextText, Image
First listed7 August 202616 March 2026
PublisherIBM GraniteMistral AI

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 3b vs Mistral Small 4

Public benchmark boards where granite 4.2 3b or Mistral Small 4 has a published result
Boardgranite 4.2 3bMistral Small 4Leads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)13781356–1401—Only one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis9.1intelligence-index:v4.3:reasoning-unspecified11.5intelligence-index:v4.3:reasoning-unspecifiedMistral Small 4
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis6.6%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="Granite 4.2 3B":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 3b vs Mistral Small 4: common questions

Is granite 4.2 3b better than Mistral Small 4?

Mistral Small 4 ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 15 September 2026: #117 against #164. 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 3b cheaper than Mistral Small 4?

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 3b or Mistral Small 4?

Mistral Small 4 has the larger context window: 262K tokens against 131K.

Which is better for coding, granite 4.2 3b or Mistral Small 4?

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 3b and Mistral Small 4 open-weight models?

granite 4.2 3b: Open weights. Mistral Small 4: 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 3b and Mistral Small 4?

ModelCap currently lists 0 API providers for granite 4.2 3b and 2 for Mistral Small 4, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this granite 4.2 3b vs Mistral Small 4 comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 15 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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