Gemma 3n E2B Instructed vs IBM Granite 4.2 30B
IBM Granite 4.2 30B leads the LLM Stats Score 24.0 to -10.3.
Google · IBM · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
IBM Granite 4.2 30B leads the overall LLM Stats Score 24.0 to -10.3, ranking #156 overall.
In the 3 individual benchmarks reported for both models, IBM Granite 4.2 30B wins 3; 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 Gemma 3n E2B Instructed
- you are already invested in the Google ecosystem
Choose IBM Granite 4.2 30B
- overall performance matters — it scores 24.0 and ranks #156 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning and coding — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 3 of 3 exact shared results
- 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.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
18 reported for Gemma 3n E2B Instructed · 18 for IBM Granite 4.2 30B
Gemma 3n E2B Instructed outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while IBM Granite 4.2 30B is better at 3 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA, MMLU-Pro).
IBM Granite 4.2 30B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
IBM Granite 4.2 30B has 22.0B more parameters than Gemma 3n E2B Instructed, making it 275.0% larger.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Gemma 3n E2B Instructed supports multimodal inputs, whereas IBM Granite 4.2 30B does not.
Gemma 3n E2B Instructed can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Gemma 3n E2B Instructed
IBM Granite 4.2 30B
License
Usage and distribution terms
Gemma 3n E2B Instructed is licensed under a proprietary license, while IBM Granite 4.2 30B uses Apache 2.0.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Gemma 3n E2B Instructed was released on 2025-06-26, while IBM Granite 4.2 30B was released on 2026-08-25.
IBM Granite 4.2 30B is 14 months newer than Gemma 3n E2B Instructed.
Jun 26, 2025
1.2 years ago
Aug 25, 2026
6 days ago
1.2yr newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Gemma 3n E2B Instructed has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-06-01, while IBM Granite 4.2 30B's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Gemma 3n E2B Instructed's training data extends to 2024-06-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without IBM Granite 4.2 30B's cutoff date.
Jun 2024
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Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Gemma 3n E2B Instructed and IBM Granite 4.2 30B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Gemma 3n E2B Instructed vs IBM Granite 4.2 30B.