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Head-to-head comparison

Granite 4.2 8B vs Llama 3.3 70B Instruct

Granite 4.2 8B (IBM Granite) and Llama 3.3 70B Instruct (Meta) 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, Llama 3.3 70B Instruct holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#173 vs #176); Granite 4.2 8B is 2.1× cheaper per output token ($0.15/1M vs $0.32/1M); and Granite 4.2 8B ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose Granite 4.2 8B if…

  • API cost matters — $0.15/1M output tokens against $0.32/1M, about 2.1× cheaper.
  • you want to self-host: Granite 4.2 8B ships open weights while Llama 3.3 70B Instruct is gated access.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1363 against 1346.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Granite 4.2 8B was listed 31 August 2026, Llama 3.3 70B Instruct 6 December 2024.

Choose Llama 3.3 70B Instruct if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #173 against #176 (20.0 vs 19.3 points).
  • you want provider choice — 12 listed API providers against 1.

Granite 4.2 8B vs Llama 3.3 70B Instruct: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Granite 4.2 8B and Llama 3.3 70B Instruct
FieldGranite 4.2 8BIBM GraniteLlama 3.3 70B InstructMeta
ModelCap Index position#176#173
Index score19.320.0
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.10$0.10
Output price / 1M tokens$0.15$0.32
Context window131K tokens131K tokens
Max output tokens118K16K
API providers listed112
Weight accessOpen weightsGated access
Input modalitiesTextText
First listed31 August 20266 December 2024
PublisherIBM GraniteMeta

Evidence: 3 public benchmark observations across 3 boards · 2 public benchmark observations across 2 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Granite 4.2 8B vs Llama 3.3 70B Instruct

Public benchmark boards where Granite 4.2 8B or Llama 3.3 70B Instruct has a published result
BoardGranite 4.2 8BLlama 3.3 70B InstructLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)13631342–138513461339–1352Granite 4.2 8B
BFCL V4UC Berkeley (Gorilla)—31.9Function callingOnly one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis19.6intelligence-index—Only one result
AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Artificial Analysis18.4%terminal-bench-2.1—Only one result
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis9.7%humanitys-last-exam—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 8B vs Llama 3.3 70B Instruct: common questions

Is Granite 4.2 8B better than Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?

Llama 3.3 70B Instruct ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 3 September 2026: #173 against #176. 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 8B cheaper than Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?

Granite 4.2 8B is cheaper on output tokens: $0.15/1M against $0.32/1M. Input tokens are $0.10/1M for Granite 4.2 8B and $0.10/1M for Llama 3.3 70B Instruct. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, Granite 4.2 8B or Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?

Both publish a 131K-token context window.

Which is better for coding, Granite 4.2 8B or Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?

Arena coding: Granite 4.2 8B 1363, Llama 3.3 70B Instruct 1346 — Granite 4.2 8B leads.

Are Granite 4.2 8B and Llama 3.3 70B Instruct open-weight models?

Granite 4.2 8B: Open weights. Llama 3.3 70B Instruct: Gated access. 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 8B and Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?

ModelCap currently lists 1 API provider for Granite 4.2 8B and 12 for Llama 3.3 70B Instruct, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Granite 4.2 8B vs Llama 3.3 70B Instruct 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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