Model Comparison

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

Nova Pro significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

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

Granite 3.3 8B Base (by IBM) and Nova Pro (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 Pro is better at 5 benchmarks (ARC-C, DROP, GSM8k, IFEval, MMLU). Nova Pro 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 Pro if…

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

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

6 benchmarks

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

Nova Pro significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Mon Jul 27 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Nova Pro specifies input context (300,000 tokens). Only Nova Pro specifies output context (300,000 tokens).

IBM
Granite 3.3 8B Base
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Amazon
Nova Pro
Input300,000 tokens
Output300,000 tokens
Mon Jul 27 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Granite 3.3 8B Base and Nova Pro 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 Pro

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Granite 3.3 8B Base is licensed under Apache 2.0, while Nova Pro 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 Pro

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

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

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

Granite 3.3 8B Base

Apr 16, 2025

1.3 years ago

4mo newer
Nova Pro

Nov 20, 2024

1.7 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

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

Granite 3.3 8B Base

Apr 2024

Nova Pro

—

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

IBM
Has open weights
Higher HumanEval score (89.7% vs 89.0%)
Amazon
Larger context window (300,000 tokens)
Higher ARC-C score (94.8% vs 50.8%)
Higher DROP score (85.4% vs 36.1%)
Higher GSM8k score (94.8% vs 59.0%)
Higher IFEval score (92.1% vs 74.8%)
Higher MMLU score (85.9% vs 63.9%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Granite 3.3 8B Base and Nova Pro side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Granite 3.3 8B Base
✓ Preferred
Nova Pro
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
IBM
Granite 3.3 8B Base
Amazon
Nova Pro

FAQ

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

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

Nova Pro significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Granite 3.3 8B Base is made by IBM and Nova Pro 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 Pro 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 Pro scores ARC-C: 94.8%, GSM8k: 94.8%, DocVQA: 93.5%, IFEval: 92.1%, ChartQA: 89.2%.

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

Granite 3.3 8B Base supports an unknown number of tokens and Nova Pro 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 Pro?

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 Pro?

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

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