Granite 3.3 8B Base vs Qwen3 30B A3B
Qwen3 30B A3B leads the LLM Stats Score 17.4 to -0.5.
IBM · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Qwen3 30B A3B leads the overall LLM Stats Score 17.4 to -0.5, ranking #215 overall.
The models split the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models evenly.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Granite 3.3 8B Base
- you are already invested in the IBM ecosystem
Choose Qwen3 30B A3B
- overall performance matters — it scores 17.4 and ranks #215 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Apr 2025
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
20 reported for Granite 3.3 8B Base · 8 for Qwen3 30B A3B
Granite 3.3 8B Base outperforms in 1 benchmarks (AIME 2024), while Qwen3 30B A3B is better at 1 benchmark (Arena Hard).
Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Qwen3 30B A3B has 22.3B more parameters than Granite 3.3 8B Base, making it 273.3% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only Qwen3 30B A3B specifies input context (128,000 tokens). Only Qwen3 30B A3B specifies output context (128,000 tokens).
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Granite 3.3 8B Base supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen3 30B A3B does not.
Granite 3.3 8B Base can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Granite 3.3 8B Base
Qwen3 30B A3B
License
Usage and distribution terms
Both models are licensed under Apache 2.0.
Both models share the same licensing terms, providing consistent usage rights.
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Granite 3.3 8B Base was released on 2025-04-16, while Qwen3 30B A3B was released on 2025-04-29.
Qwen3 30B A3B is 0 month newer than Granite 3.3 8B Base.
Apr 16, 2025
1.4 years ago
Apr 29, 2025
1.4 years ago
1w newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Granite 3.3 8B Base has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-04-01, while Qwen3 30B A3B'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 Qwen3 30B A3B's cutoff date.
Apr 2024
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Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Granite 3.3 8B Base and Qwen3 30B A3B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Granite 3.3 8B Base vs Qwen3 30B A3B.