Model Comparison
Gemma 3n E4B Instructed vs Granite 3.3 8B InstructWhich is better in 2026?
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is 50.0x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Gemma 3n E4B Instructed vs Granite 3.3 8B Instruct — which is better?
Gemma 3n E4B Instructed (by Google) and Granite 3.3 8B Instruct (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.
Gemma 3n E4B Instructed outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is better at 2 benchmarks (HumanEval, MMLU). Granite 3.3 8B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is roughly 50.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct also accepts a larger context window (128,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Gemma 3n E4B Instructed if…
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jun 2025
Choose Granite 3.3 8B Instruct if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
- cost matters — it's about 50.0x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 128,000 token context window
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Gemma 3n E4B Instructed outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is better at 2 benchmarks (HumanEval, MMLU).
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Gemma 3n E4B Instructed ($20.00/1M tokens) is 40.0x more expensive than Granite 3.3 8B Instruct ($0.50/1M tokens).
For output processing, Gemma 3n E4B Instructed ($40.00/1M tokens) is 80.0x more expensive than Granite 3.3 8B Instruct ($0.50/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Gemma 3n E4B Instructed is more expensive than Granite 3.3 8B Instruct.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct has 0.0B more parameters than Gemma 3n E4B Instructed, making it 0.0% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct accepts 128,000 input tokens compared to Gemma 3n E4B Instructed's 32,000 tokens. Gemma 3n E4B Instructed can generate longer responses up to 32,000 tokens, while Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is limited to 8,192 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Both Gemma 3n E4B Instructed and Granite 3.3 8B Instruct support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Gemma 3n E4B Instructed
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
License
Usage and distribution terms
Gemma 3n E4B Instructed is licensed under a proprietary license, while Granite 3.3 8B Instruct 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 E4B Instructed was released on 2025-06-26, while Granite 3.3 8B Instruct was released on 2025-04-16.
Gemma 3n E4B Instructed is 2 months newer than Granite 3.3 8B Instruct.
Jun 26, 2025
11 months ago
2mo newerApr 16, 2025
1.2 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Gemma 3n E4B Instructed has a knowledge cutoff of 2024-06-01, while Granite 3.3 8B Instruct has a cutoff of 2024-04-01.
Gemma 3n E4B Instructed has more recent training data (up to 2024-06-01), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to Granite 3.3 8B Instruct (2024-04-01).
Jun 2024
2 mo newerApr 2024
Provider Availability
Gemma 3n E4B Instructed is available from Together. Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is available from Replicate.
Gemma 3n E4B Instructed
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
No standout differentiators in the data we have for this pair.
Detailed Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|
FAQ
Common questions about Gemma 3n E4B Instructed vs Granite 3.3 8B Instruct.