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Head-to-head comparison

granite 4.2 3b vs gpt-oss-20b

granite 4.2 3b (IBM Granite) and gpt-oss-20b (OpenAI) 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, gpt-oss-20b holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#135 vs #138).

Which should you choose?

Choose granite 4.2 3b if…

  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1380 against 1369.
  • AA Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 9.1 against 9.0.
  • you want the more recently listed model — granite 4.2 3b was listed 7 August 2026, gpt-oss-20b 5 August 2025.

Choose gpt-oss-20b if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #135 against #138 (27.9 vs 25.6 points).
  • you want provider choice — 12 listed API providers against 0.
  • AA Humanity's Last Exam is your yardstick — 11.0% against 6.6%.

granite 4.2 3b vs gpt-oss-20b: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of granite 4.2 3b and gpt-oss-20b
Fieldgranite 4.2 3bIBM Granitegpt-oss-20bOpenAI
ModelCap Index position#138#135
Index score25.627.9
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokensUnlisted$0.03
Output price / 1M tokensUnlisted$0.13
Context window131K tokens131K tokens
Max output tokens—118K
API providers listed012
Weight accessOpen weightsOpen weights
Input modalitiesTextText
First listed7 August 20265 August 2025
PublisherIBM GraniteOpenAI

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

Benchmark scores: granite 4.2 3b vs gpt-oss-20b

Public benchmark boards where granite 4.2 3b or gpt-oss-20b has a published result
Boardgranite 4.2 3bgpt-oss-20bLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)13801358–140213691356–1382granite 4.2 3b
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis9.1intelligence-index:v4.3:reasoning-unspecified9.0intelligence-index:v4.3:highgranite 4.2 3b
AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Artificial Analysis13.9%terminal-bench:2.1:terminus-2:e2b:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="Granite 4.2 3B":reasoning=true13.9%terminal-bench:2.1:terminus-2:e2b:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="gpt-oss-20b (high)":reasoning=trueTied
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis—60.2%tau2:telecom:dual-control:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="gpt-oss-20b (high)":reasoning=trueOnly one result
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=true11.0%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="gpt-oss-20b (high)":reasoning=truegpt-oss-20b

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 gpt-oss-20b: common questions

Is granite 4.2 3b better than gpt-oss-20b?

gpt-oss-20b ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 9 September 2026: #135 against #138. 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 gpt-oss-20b?

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 gpt-oss-20b?

Both publish a 131K-token context window.

Which is better for coding, granite 4.2 3b or gpt-oss-20b?

Arena coding: granite 4.2 3b 1380, gpt-oss-20b 1369 — granite 4.2 3b leads. AA Terminal-Bench 2.1: granite 4.2 3b 13.9%, gpt-oss-20b 13.9% — tied.

Are granite 4.2 3b and gpt-oss-20b open-weight models?

granite 4.2 3b: Open weights. gpt-oss-20b: 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 gpt-oss-20b?

ModelCap currently lists 0 API providers for granite 4.2 3b and 12 for gpt-oss-20b, 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 gpt-oss-20b 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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