GPT-5 Medium vs IBM Granite 4.2 30B
GPT-5 Medium leads the LLM Stats Score 29.6 to 23.8. IBM Granite 4.2 30B is 12.2x cheaper per token.
OpenAI · IBM · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
GPT-5 Medium leads the overall LLM Stats Score 29.6 to 23.8, ranking #134 overall.
The models split the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models evenly.
On price, IBM Granite 4.2 30B is roughly 12.2x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
GPT-5 Medium also accepts a larger context window (400,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose GPT-5 Medium
- overall performance matters — it scores 29.6 and ranks #134 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
- you process long inputs — it offers a 400,000 token context window
Choose IBM Granite 4.2 30B
- cost matters — it's about 12.2x cheaper per token
- 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.
Individual benchmarks
2 reported for GPT-5 Medium · 18 for IBM Granite 4.2 30B
GPT-5 Medium outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while IBM Granite 4.2 30B is better at 1 benchmark (AIME 2025).
Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, GPT-5 Medium ($1.25/1M tokens) is 7.8x more expensive than IBM Granite 4.2 30B ($0.16/1M tokens).
For output processing, GPT-5 Medium ($10.00/1M tokens) is 15.4x more expensive than IBM Granite 4.2 30B ($0.65/1M tokens).
In conclusion, GPT-5 Medium is more expensive than IBM Granite 4.2 30B.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
GPT-5 Medium accepts 400,000 input tokens compared to IBM Granite 4.2 30B's 131,072 tokens. IBM Granite 4.2 30B can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while GPT-5 Medium is limited to 128,000 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
GPT-5 Medium supports multimodal inputs, whereas IBM Granite 4.2 30B does not.
GPT-5 Medium can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
GPT-5 Medium
IBM Granite 4.2 30B
License
Usage and distribution terms
GPT-5 Medium 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
GPT-5 Medium was released on 2025-08-07, while IBM Granite 4.2 30B was released on 2026-08-25.
IBM Granite 4.2 30B is 13 months newer than GPT-5 Medium.
Aug 7, 2025
1.2 years ago
Aug 25, 2026
1 months ago
1.0yr newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
GPT-5 Medium has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-09-30, while IBM Granite 4.2 30B's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm GPT-5 Medium's training data extends to 2024-09-30, but cannot make a direct comparison without IBM Granite 4.2 30B's cutoff date.
Sep 2024
—
Provider Availability
GPT-5 Medium is available from OpenAI. IBM Granite 4.2 30B is available from DeepInfra.
GPT-5 Medium
IBM Granite 4.2 30B
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against GPT-5 Medium and IBM Granite 4.2 30B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about GPT-5 Medium vs IBM Granite 4.2 30B.