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Head-to-head comparison

Granite 4.2 8B vs Llama 4 Maverick

Granite 4.2 8B (IBM Granite) and Llama 4 Maverick (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 19 September 2026

As of 19 September 2026, Granite 4.2 8B holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#162 vs #163); Granite 4.2 8B is 2.6× cheaper per output token ($0.25/1M vs $0.652/1M); Llama 4 Maverick offers the longer context window (1M vs 131K tokens); and Granite 4.2 8B ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose Granite 4.2 8B if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #162 against #163 (27.9 vs 27.7 points).
  • API cost matters — $0.25/1M output tokens against $0.652/1M, about 2.6× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.06/1M against $0.188/1M.
  • you want to self-host: Granite 4.2 8B ships open weights while Llama 4 Maverick is gated access.
  • AA Humanity's Last Exam is your yardstick — 9.7% against 4.9%.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Granite 4.2 8B was listed 31 August 2026, Llama 4 Maverick 5 April 2025.

Choose Llama 4 Maverick if…

  • you need the longer context window — 1M tokens against 131K.
  • you want provider choice — 5 listed API providers against 2.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1373 against 1362.

Granite 4.2 8B vs Llama 4 Maverick: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Granite 4.2 8B and Llama 4 Maverick
FieldGranite 4.2 8BIBM GraniteLlama 4 MaverickMeta
ModelCap Index position#162#163
Index score27.927.7
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.06$0.188
Output price / 1M tokens$0.25$0.652
Context window131K tokens1M tokens
Max output tokens118K16K
API providers listed25
Weight accessOpen weightsGated access
Input modalitiesTextText, Image
First listed31 August 20265 April 2025
PublisherIBM GraniteMeta

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 8B vs Llama 4 Maverick

Public benchmark boards where Granite 4.2 8B or Llama 4 Maverick has a published result
BoardGranite 4.2 8BLlama 4 MaverickLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)13621340–138413731365–1380Llama 4 Maverick
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation—0.0%Only one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis11.1intelligence-index:v4.3:reasoning-unspecified—Only one result
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis—17.8%tau2:telecom:dual-control:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="Llama 4 Maverick":reasoning=falseOnly one result
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis9.7%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="Granite 4.2 8B":reasoning=true4.9%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="Llama 4 Maverick":reasoning=falseGranite 4.2 8B

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 4 Maverick: common questions

Is Granite 4.2 8B better than Llama 4 Maverick?

Granite 4.2 8B ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 19 September 2026: #162 against #163. 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 8B cheaper than Llama 4 Maverick?

Granite 4.2 8B is cheaper on output tokens: $0.25/1M against $0.652/1M. Input tokens are $0.06/1M for Granite 4.2 8B and $0.188/1M for Llama 4 Maverick. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens. For 1,000 requests with 2,000 input and 500 output tokens each (2M input + 0.5M output), the listed-rate estimate is $0.24 for Granite 4.2 8B versus $0.70 for Llama 4 Maverick. Granite 4.2 8B costs 65.1% less in this scenario. This excludes caching, batch discounts, prompt-length tiers, tool charges and retries; verify the selected endpoint before budgeting.

Which has the bigger context window, Granite 4.2 8B or Llama 4 Maverick?

Llama 4 Maverick has the larger context window: 1M tokens against 131K.

Which is better for coding, Granite 4.2 8B or Llama 4 Maverick?

Arena coding: Granite 4.2 8B 1362, Llama 4 Maverick 1373 — Llama 4 Maverick leads.

Are Granite 4.2 8B and Llama 4 Maverick open-weight models?

Granite 4.2 8B: Open weights. Llama 4 Maverick: 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 4 Maverick?

ModelCap currently lists 2 API providers for Granite 4.2 8B and 5 for Llama 4 Maverick, 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 4 Maverick comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 19 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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