DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B vs Granite 3.3 8B Base
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B and Granite 3.3 8B Base are closely matched at -2.4 and 0.1 on the LLM Stats Score.
DeepSeek · IBM · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B and Granite 3.3 8B Base are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at -2.4 and 0.1.
The models split the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models evenly.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B
- you are already invested in the DeepSeek ecosystem
Choose Granite 3.3 8B Base
- your work emphasizes coding — it leads those capability indexes
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Apr 2025
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
4 reported for DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B · 20 for Granite 3.3 8B Base
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B outperforms in 1 benchmarks (MATH-500), while Granite 3.3 8B Base is better at 1 benchmark (AIME 2024).
Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Granite 3.3 8B Base has 6.4B more parameters than DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B, making it 359.0% larger.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Granite 3.3 8B Base supports multimodal inputs, whereas DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B does not.
Granite 3.3 8B Base can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B
Granite 3.3 8B Base
License
Usage and distribution terms
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B is licensed under MIT, while Granite 3.3 8B Base uses Apache 2.0.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
MIT
Open weights
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B was released on 2025-01-20, while Granite 3.3 8B Base was released on 2025-04-16.
Granite 3.3 8B Base is 3 months newer than DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B.
Jan 20, 2025
1.6 years ago
Apr 16, 2025
1.4 years ago
2mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Granite 3.3 8B Base has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-04-01, while DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Granite 3.3 8B Base's training data extends to 2024-04-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B's cutoff date.
—
Apr 2024
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B and Granite 3.3 8B Base side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B vs Granite 3.3 8B Base.