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Gemini 3 Flash vs IBM Granite 4.2 3B

Gemini 3 Flash leads the LLM Stats Score 37.0 to 15.6.

Google · IBM · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

Gemini 3 Flash leads the overall LLM Stats Score 37.0 to 15.6, ranking #63 overall.

In the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Gemini 3 Flash wins 2; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.

Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.

Choose Gemini 3 Flash

  • overall performance matters — it scores 37.0 and ranks #63 on LLM Stats
  • your work emphasizes reasoning and coding — it leads those capability indexes
  • you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 2 exact shared results

Choose IBM Granite 4.2 3B

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Aug 2026
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

Gemini 3 Flash
Google
IBM Granite 4.2 3B
IBM
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
37.0
#63
15.6
#213
Reasoning
37.9
#57
12.0
#234
Coding
22.2
#73
-6.7
#247
Agents
17.9
#62
2.0
#152
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
2 of 2
0 of 2
Input price
$0.50 / M
— / M
Output price
$3.00 / M
— / M
Context window
1,000,000
—

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

2 shared
Index
Gemini 3 Flash
IBM Granite 4.2 3B
Math
36.9#32
13.7#216
Tool use
16.3#80
5.3#144
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

24 reported for Gemini 3 Flash · 13 for IBM Granite 4.2 3B

2 shared

Gemini 3 Flash outperforms in 2 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA), while IBM Granite 4.2 3B is better at 0 benchmarks.

Gemini 3 Flash significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Mon Aug 31 2026 • llm-stats.com

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Gemini 3 Flash specifies input context (1,000,000 tokens). Only Gemini 3 Flash specifies output context (65,536 tokens).

Google
Gemini 3 Flash
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output65,536 tokens
IBM
IBM Granite 4.2 3B
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Mon Aug 31 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input capabilities

Documented input modalities across available providers

Gemini 3 Flash supports multimodal inputs, whereas IBM Granite 4.2 3B does not.

Gemini 3 Flash can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Gemini 3 Flash

Text
Images
Audio
Video

IBM Granite 4.2 3B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemini 3 Flash is licensed under a proprietary license, while IBM Granite 4.2 3B uses Apache 2.0.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

Gemini 3 Flash

Proprietary

Closed source

IBM Granite 4.2 3B

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemini 3 Flash was released on 2025-12-17, while IBM Granite 4.2 3B was released on 2026-08-25.

IBM Granite 4.2 3B is 8 months newer than Gemini 3 Flash.

Gemini 3 Flash

Dec 17, 2025

8 months ago

IBM Granite 4.2 3B

Aug 25, 2026

6 days ago

8mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemini 3 Flash has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-01-31, while IBM Granite 4.2 3B's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Gemini 3 Flash's training data extends to 2025-01-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without IBM Granite 4.2 3B's cutoff date.

Gemini 3 Flash

Jan 2025

IBM Granite 4.2 3B

—

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Gemini 3 Flash and IBM Granite 4.2 3B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemini 3 Flash
✓ Preferred
IBM Granite 4.2 3B
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about Gemini 3 Flash vs IBM Granite 4.2 3B.

Which is better, Gemini 3 Flash or IBM Granite 4.2 3B?

Gemini 3 Flash leads the LLM Stats Score 37.0 to 15.6. Gemini 3 Flash is made by Google and IBM Granite 4.2 3B is made by IBM. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their capability indexes, individual benchmarks, pricing, and limits above.

How does Gemini 3 Flash compare to IBM Granite 4.2 3B in benchmarks?

Gemini 3 Flash scores Vending-Bench 2: 100.0%, AIME 2025: 99.7%, Global PIQA: 92.8%, MMMLU: 91.8%, GPQA: 90.4%. IBM Granite 4.2 3B scores AIME 2025: 78.3%, IFBench: 74.3%, LiveCodeBench v6: 69.7%, MMLU-Pro: 67.8%, RULER 64k: 67.5%.

What are the context window sizes for Gemini 3 Flash and IBM Granite 4.2 3B?

Gemini 3 Flash supports 1.0M tokens and IBM Granite 4.2 3B supports an unknown number of tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Gemini 3 Flash and IBM Granite 4.2 3B?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (37.0 vs 15.6), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Gemini 3 Flash and IBM Granite 4.2 3B?

Gemini 3 Flash is developed by Google and IBM Granite 4.2 3B is developed by IBM.

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