Model Comparison
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct vs Nova ProWhich is better in 2026?
Nova Pro significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is 2.8x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Granite 3.3 8B Instruct vs Nova Pro — which is better?
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct (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 Instruct outperforms in 1 benchmarks (HumanEval), while Nova Pro is better at 4 benchmarks (DROP, GSM8k, IFEval, MMLU). Nova Pro significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is roughly 2.8x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Nova Pro also accepts a larger context window (300,000 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 2.8x cheaper per token
- 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 4 of 5 shared benchmarks
- you process long inputs — it offers a 300,000 token context window
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct outperforms in 1 benchmarks (HumanEval), while Nova Pro is better at 4 benchmarks (DROP, GSM8k, IFEval, MMLU).
Nova Pro significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct ($0.50/1M tokens) is 1.6x cheaper than Nova Pro ($0.80/1M tokens).
For output processing, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct ($0.50/1M tokens) is 6.4x cheaper than Nova Pro ($3.20/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Nova Pro is more expensive than Granite 3.3 8B Instruct.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Nova Pro accepts 300,000 input tokens compared to Granite 3.3 8B Instruct's 128,000 tokens. Nova Pro can generate longer responses up to 300,000 tokens, while Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is limited to 8,192 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Both Granite 3.3 8B Instruct and Nova Pro support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
Nova Pro
License
Usage and distribution terms
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct 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.
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Proprietary
Closed source
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct was released on 2025-04-16, while Nova Pro was released on 2024-11-20.
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is 5 months newer than Nova Pro.
Apr 16, 2025
1.3 years ago
4mo newerNov 20, 2024
1.7 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct 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 Instruct's training data extends to 2024-04-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Nova Pro's cutoff date.
Apr 2024
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Provider Availability
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is available from Replicate. Nova Pro is available from Bedrock.
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
Nova Pro
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Nova Pro
View detailsAmazon
Detailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Granite 3.3 8B Instruct and Nova Pro side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
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FAQ
Common questions about Granite 3.3 8B Instruct vs Nova Pro.