Model Comparison

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct vs Nova Lite

Nova Lite significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Nova Lite is 4.8x cheaper per token.

Want to compare interactively?Try the playground

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

5 benchmarks

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct outperforms in 1 benchmarks (HumanEval), while Nova Lite is better at 4 benchmarks (DROP, GSM8k, IFEval, MMLU).

Nova Lite significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Wed May 13 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Nova Lite costs less

For input processing, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct ($0.50/1M tokens) is 8.3x more expensive than Nova Lite ($0.06/1M tokens).

For output processing, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct ($0.50/1M tokens) is 2.1x more expensive than Nova Lite ($0.24/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is more expensive than Nova Lite.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Wed May 13 2026 • llm-stats.com
IBM
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
Input tokens$0.50
Output tokens$0.50
Best providerReplicate
Amazon
Nova Lite
Input tokens$0.06
Output tokens$0.24
Best providerAWS Bedrock
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Nova Lite accepts 300,000 input tokens compared to Granite 3.3 8B Instruct's 128,000 tokens. Granite 3.3 8B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 8,192 tokens, while Nova Lite is limited to 2,048 tokens.

IBM
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output8,192 tokens
Amazon
Nova Lite
Input300,000 tokens
Output2,048 tokens
Wed May 13 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Granite 3.3 8B Instruct and Nova Lite 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

Nova Lite

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct 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 Instruct

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Nova Lite

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

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

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

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct

Apr 16, 2025

1.1 years ago

4mo newer
Nova Lite

Nov 20, 2024

1.5 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct 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 Instruct's training data extends to 2024-04-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Nova Lite's cutoff date.

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct

Apr 2024

Nova Lite

—

Provider Availability

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is available from Replicate. Nova Lite is available from Bedrock.

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct

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

Nova Lite

bedrock logo
AWS Bedrock
Input Price:Input: $0.06/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.24/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

IBM
Has open weights
Higher HumanEval score (89.7% vs 85.4%)
Amazon
Larger context window (300,000 tokens)
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Higher DROP score (80.2% vs 59.4%)
Higher GSM8k score (94.5% vs 80.9%)
Higher IFEval score (89.7% vs 74.8%)
Higher MMLU score (80.5% vs 65.5%)

Detailed Comparison

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

FAQ

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

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

Nova Lite significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Granite 3.3 8B Instruct 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 Instruct compare to Nova Lite in benchmarks?

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct scores HumanEval: 89.7%, AttaQ: 88.5%, HumanEval+: 86.1%, AIME 2024: 81.2%, GSM8k: 80.9%. Nova Lite scores GSM8k: 94.5%, ARC-C: 92.4%, DocVQA: 92.4%, IFEval: 89.7%, Translation en→Set1 COMET22: 88.8%.

Is Granite 3.3 8B Instruct cheaper than Nova Lite?

Nova Lite is 8.3x cheaper for input tokens. Granite 3.3 8B Instruct costs $0.50/M input and $0.50/M output via replicate. Nova Lite costs $0.06/M input and $0.24/M output via bedrock.

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

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct supports 128K 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 Instruct and Nova Lite?

Key differences include context window (128K vs 300K), input pricing ($0.50 vs $0.06/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 Nova Lite?

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