Model Comparison

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B vs Granite 3.3 8B BaseWhich is better in 2026?

Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks.

Verdict: DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B vs Granite 3.3 8B Base — which is better?

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B (by DeepSeek) and Granite 3.3 8B Base (by IBM) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B 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.

Choose DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B if…

  • you are already invested in the DeepSeek ecosystem

Choose Granite 3.3 8B Base if…

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Apr 2025

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

2 benchmarks

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B 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.

Sun Jun 14 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

6.6B diff

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B has 6.6B more parameters than Granite 3.3 8B Base, making it 81.2% larger.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B
14.8Bparameters
IBM
Granite 3.3 8B Base
8.2Bparameters
14.8B
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B
8.2B
Granite 3.3 8B Base

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Granite 3.3 8B Base supports multimodal inputs, whereas DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B 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 14B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Granite 3.3 8B Base

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B 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.

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B

MIT

Open weights

Granite 3.3 8B Base

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B 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 14B.

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B

Jan 20, 2025

1.4 years ago

Granite 3.3 8B Base

Apr 16, 2025

1.2 years ago

2mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Granite 3.3 8B Base has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-04-01, while DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B'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 14B's cutoff date.

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B

Granite 3.3 8B Base

Apr 2024

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

Higher MATH-500 score (93.9% vs 69.0%)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher AIME 2024 score (81.2% vs 80.0%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
DeepSeek
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B
IBM
Granite 3.3 8B Base

FAQ

Common questions about DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B vs Granite 3.3 8B Base.

Which is better, DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B or Granite 3.3 8B Base?

Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks. DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B is made by DeepSeek and Granite 3.3 8B Base is made by IBM. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B compare to Granite 3.3 8B Base in benchmarks?

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B scores MATH-500: 93.9%, AIME 2024: 80.0%, GPQA: 59.1%, LiveCodeBench: 53.1%. Granite 3.3 8B Base scores HumanEval: 89.7%, AttaQ: 88.5%, HumanEval+: 86.1%, AIME 2024: 81.2%, HellaSwag: 80.1%.

What are the main differences between DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B and Granite 3.3 8B Base?

Key differences include multimodal support (no vs yes), licensing (MIT vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B and Granite 3.3 8B Base?

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B is developed by DeepSeek and Granite 3.3 8B Base is developed by IBM.