Model Comparison

Granite 3.3 8B Base vs Nova LiteWhich is better in 2026?

Nova Lite significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: Granite 3.3 8B Base vs Nova Lite — which is better?

Granite 3.3 8B Base (by IBM) and Nova Lite (by Amazon) 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.

Granite 3.3 8B Base outperforms in 1 benchmarks (HumanEval), while Nova Lite is better at 5 benchmarks (ARC-C, DROP, GSM8k, IFEval, MMLU). Nova Lite significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose Granite 3.3 8B Base if…

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Apr 2025
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Choose Nova Lite if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 5 of 6 shared benchmarks
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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

6 benchmarks

Granite 3.3 8B Base outperforms in 1 benchmarks (HumanEval), while Nova Lite is better at 5 benchmarks (ARC-C, DROP, GSM8k, IFEval, MMLU).

Nova Lite significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Wed Jun 24 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Nova Lite specifies input context (300,000 tokens). Only Nova Lite specifies output context (2,048 tokens).

IBM
Granite 3.3 8B Base
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Amazon
Nova Lite
Input300,000 tokens
Output2,048 tokens
Wed Jun 24 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Granite 3.3 8B Base and Nova Lite support multimodal inputs.

They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.

Granite 3.3 8B Base

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Nova Lite

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Granite 3.3 8B Base is licensed under Apache 2.0, while Nova Lite uses a proprietary license.

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

Granite 3.3 8B Base

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Nova Lite

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Granite 3.3 8B Base was released on 2025-04-16, while Nova Lite was released on 2024-11-20.

Granite 3.3 8B Base is 5 months newer than Nova Lite.

Granite 3.3 8B Base

Apr 16, 2025

1.2 years ago

4mo newer
Nova Lite

Nov 20, 2024

1.6 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Granite 3.3 8B Base has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-04-01, while Nova Lite'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 Nova Lite's cutoff date.

Granite 3.3 8B Base

Apr 2024

Nova Lite

—

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

IBM
Has open weights
Higher HumanEval score (89.7% vs 85.4%)
Amazon
Larger context window (300,000 tokens)
Higher ARC-C score (92.4% vs 50.8%)
Higher DROP score (80.2% vs 36.1%)
Higher GSM8k score (94.5% vs 59.0%)
Higher IFEval score (89.7% vs 74.8%)
Higher MMLU score (80.5% vs 63.9%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
IBM
Granite 3.3 8B Base
Amazon
Nova Lite

FAQ

Common questions about Granite 3.3 8B Base vs Nova Lite.

Which is better, Granite 3.3 8B Base or Nova Lite?

Nova Lite significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Granite 3.3 8B Base is made by IBM and Nova Lite is made by Amazon. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Granite 3.3 8B Base compare to Nova Lite in benchmarks?

Granite 3.3 8B Base scores HumanEval: 89.7%, AttaQ: 88.5%, HumanEval+: 86.1%, AIME 2024: 81.2%, HellaSwag: 80.1%. Nova Lite scores GSM8k: 94.5%, ARC-C: 92.4%, DocVQA: 92.4%, IFEval: 89.7%, Translation en→Set1 COMET22: 88.8%.

What are the context window sizes for Granite 3.3 8B Base and Nova Lite?

Granite 3.3 8B Base supports an unknown number of tokens and Nova Lite supports 300K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Granite 3.3 8B Base and Nova Lite?

Key differences include licensing (Apache 2.0 vs Proprietary). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Granite 3.3 8B Base and Nova Lite?

Granite 3.3 8B Base is developed by IBM and Nova Lite is developed by Amazon.

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