Model Comparison

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct vs Grok 4.5Which is better in 2026?

Comparing Granite 3.3 8B Instruct and Grok 4.5 across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

Verdict: Granite 3.3 8B Instruct vs Grok 4.5 — which is better?

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct (by IBM) and Grok 4.5 (by xAI) 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.

On price, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is roughly 6.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Grok 4.5 also accepts a larger context window (500,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Granite 3.3 8B Instruct if…

  • cost matters — it's about 6.0x cheaper per token
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Choose Grok 4.5 if…

  • you process long inputs — it offers a 500,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

No common benchmarks found

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct and Grok 4.5don't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct costs less

For input processing, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct ($0.50/1M tokens) is 4.0x cheaper than Grok 4.5 ($2.00/1M tokens).

For output processing, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct ($0.50/1M tokens) is 12.0x cheaper than Grok 4.5 ($6.00/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Grok 4.5 is more expensive than Granite 3.3 8B Instruct.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Sat Jul 18 2026 • llm-stats.com
IBM
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
Input tokens$0.50
Output tokens$0.50
Best providerReplicate
xAI
Grok 4.5
Input tokens$2.00
Output tokens$6.00
Best providerxAI
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Grok 4.5 accepts 500,000 input tokens compared to Granite 3.3 8B Instruct's 128,000 tokens. Only Granite 3.3 8B Instruct specifies output context (8,192 tokens).

IBM
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output8,192 tokens
xAI
Grok 4.5
Input500,000 tokens
Output- tokens
Sat Jul 18 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Granite 3.3 8B Instruct and Grok 4.5 support multimodal inputs.

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

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Grok 4.5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is licensed under Apache 2.0, while Grok 4.5 uses a proprietary license.

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

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Grok 4.5

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct was released on 2025-04-16, while Grok 4.5 was released on 2026-07-16.

Grok 4.5 is 15 months newer than Granite 3.3 8B Instruct.

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct

Apr 16, 2025

1.3 years ago

Grok 4.5

Jul 16, 2026

2 days ago

1.2yr newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct has a knowledge cutoff of 2024-04-01, while Grok 4.5 has a cutoff of 2026-02-01.

Grok 4.5 has more recent training data (up to 2026-02-01), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to Granite 3.3 8B Instruct (2024-04-01).

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct

Apr 2024

Grok 4.5

Feb 2026

1.8 yr newer

Provider Availability

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is available from Replicate. Grok 4.5 is available from xAI.

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct

replicate logo
Replicate
Input Price:Input: $0.50/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.50/1M

Grok 4.5

xai logo
xAI
Input Price:Input: $2.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $6.00/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

IBM
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights
xAI
Larger context window (500,000 tokens)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Granite 3.3 8B Instruct and Grok 4.5 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
✓ Preferred
Grok 4.5
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
IBM
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
xAI
Grok 4.5

FAQ

Common questions about Granite 3.3 8B Instruct vs Grok 4.5.

Which is better, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct or Grok 4.5?

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct (IBM) and Grok 4.5 (xAI) each have strengths in different areas. Compare their benchmark scores, pricing, context windows, and capabilities above to determine which fits your needs.

How does Granite 3.3 8B Instruct compare to Grok 4.5 in benchmarks?

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct scores HumanEval: 89.7%, AttaQ: 88.5%, HumanEval+: 86.1%, AIME 2024: 81.2%, GSM8k: 80.9%. Grok 4.5 scores GPQA: 93.0%, Terminal-Bench 2.1: 83.3%, Artificial Analysis Coding Agent Index v1.1: 76.0%, SWE-Bench Pro: 64.7%, AA-Omniscience Index: 63.0%.

Is Granite 3.3 8B Instruct cheaper than Grok 4.5?

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is 4.0x cheaper for input tokens. Granite 3.3 8B Instruct costs $0.50/M input and $0.50/M output via replicate. Grok 4.5 costs $2.00/M input and $6.00/M output via xai.

What are the context window sizes for Granite 3.3 8B Instruct and Grok 4.5?

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct supports 128K tokens and Grok 4.5 supports 500K 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 Instruct and Grok 4.5?

Key differences include context window (128K vs 500K), input pricing ($0.50 vs $2.00/M), licensing (Apache 2.0 vs Proprietary). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Granite 3.3 8B Instruct and Grok 4.5?

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is developed by IBM and Grok 4.5 is developed by xAI.

Related comparisons