Model Comparison

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct vs Nova MicroWhich is better in 2026?

Nova Micro significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Nova Micro is 8.7x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Granite 3.3 8B Instruct vs Nova Micro — which is better?

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct (by IBM) and Nova Micro (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 Instruct outperforms in 1 benchmarks (HumanEval), while Nova Micro is better at 4 benchmarks (DROP, GSM8k, IFEval, MMLU). Nova Micro significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Nova Micro is roughly 8.7x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Choose Granite 3.3 8B Instruct 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 Micro if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 4 of 5 shared benchmarks
  • cost matters — it's about 8.7x cheaper per token
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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

5 benchmarks

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

Nova Micro significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sun Jun 14 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Nova Micro costs less

For input processing, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct ($0.50/1M tokens) is 16.7x more expensive than Nova Micro ($0.03/1M tokens).

For output processing, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct ($0.50/1M tokens) is 3.6x more expensive than Nova Micro ($0.14/1M tokens).

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

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Sun Jun 14 2026 • llm-stats.com
IBM
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
Input tokens$0.50
Output tokens$0.50
Best providerReplicate
Amazon
Nova Micro
Input tokens$0.03
Output tokens$0.14
Best providerAWS Bedrock
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Both models have the same input context window of 128,000 tokens. Nova Micro can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is limited to 8,192 tokens.

IBM
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output8,192 tokens
Amazon
Nova Micro
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Sun Jun 14 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct supports multimodal inputs, whereas Nova Micro does not.

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Nova Micro

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is licensed under Apache 2.0, while Nova Micro 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 Micro

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

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

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

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct

Apr 16, 2025

1.2 years ago

4mo newer
Nova Micro

Nov 20, 2024

1.6 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

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

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct

Apr 2024

Nova Micro

—

Provider Availability

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

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct

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

Nova Micro

bedrock logo
AWS Bedrock
Input Price:Input: $0.03/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.14/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

IBM
Supports multimodal inputs
Has open weights
Higher HumanEval score (89.7% vs 81.1%)
Amazon
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Higher DROP score (79.3% vs 59.4%)
Higher GSM8k score (92.3% vs 80.9%)
Higher IFEval score (87.2% vs 74.8%)
Higher MMLU score (77.6% vs 65.5%)

Detailed Comparison

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

FAQ

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

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

Nova Micro significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is made by IBM and Nova Micro 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 Micro 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 Micro scores GSM8k: 92.3%, ARC-C: 90.2%, Translation Set1→en COMET22: 88.7%, Translation en→Set1 COMET22: 88.5%, IFEval: 87.2%.

Is Granite 3.3 8B Instruct cheaper than Nova Micro?

Nova Micro is 16.7x cheaper for input tokens. Granite 3.3 8B Instruct costs $0.50/M input and $0.50/M output via replicate. Nova Micro costs $0.03/M input and $0.14/M output via bedrock.

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

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct supports 128K tokens and Nova Micro supports 128K 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 Micro?

Key differences include input pricing ($0.50 vs $0.03/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), 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 Micro?

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

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