Model Comparison

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct vs Phi-3.5-mini-instructWhich is better in 2026?

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is 5.0x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Granite 3.3 8B Instruct vs Phi-3.5-mini-instruct — which is better?

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct (by IBM) and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct (by Microsoft) 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 4 benchmarks (Arena Hard, BIG-Bench Hard, HumanEval, TruthfulQA), while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is better at 2 benchmarks (GSM8k, MMLU). Granite 3.3 8B Instruct shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

On price, Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is roughly 5.0x 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 strongest raw capability — it leads on 4 of 6 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Apr 2025

Choose Phi-3.5-mini-instruct if…

  • cost matters — it's about 5.0x cheaper per token

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

6 benchmarks

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct outperforms in 4 benchmarks (Arena Hard, BIG-Bench Hard, HumanEval, TruthfulQA), while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is better at 2 benchmarks (GSM8k, MMLU).

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Sat Jun 27 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct costs less

For input processing, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct ($0.50/1M tokens) is 5.0x more expensive than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

For output processing, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct ($0.50/1M tokens) is 5.0x more expensive than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is more expensive than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Sat Jun 27 2026 • llm-stats.com
IBM
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
Input tokens$0.50
Output tokens$0.50
Best providerReplicate
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
Input tokens$0.10
Output tokens$0.10
Best providerAzure
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

4.2B diff

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct has 4.2B more parameters than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct, making it 110.5% larger.

IBM
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
8.0Bparameters
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
3.8Bparameters
8.0B
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
3.8B
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Both models have the same input context window of 128,000 tokens. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct 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
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Sat Jun 27 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct supports multimodal inputs, whereas Phi-3.5-mini-instruct 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

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is licensed under Apache 2.0, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct uses MIT.

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

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct was released on 2025-04-16, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct was released on 2024-08-23.

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is 8 months newer than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct.

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct

Apr 16, 2025

1.2 years ago

7mo newer
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Aug 23, 2024

1.8 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-04-01, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct'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 Phi-3.5-mini-instruct's cutoff date.

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct

Apr 2024

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

—

Provider Availability

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is available from Replicate. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is available from Azure.

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct

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

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

azure logo
Azure
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.10/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

IBM
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher Arena Hard score (57.6% vs 37.0%)
Higher BIG-Bench Hard score (69.1% vs 69.0%)
Higher HumanEval score (89.7% vs 62.8%)
Higher TruthfulQA score (66.9% vs 64.0%)
Microsoft
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Higher GSM8k score (86.2% vs 80.9%)
Higher MMLU score (69.0% vs 65.5%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Granite 3.3 8B Instruct and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
✓ Preferred
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
IBM
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Granite 3.3 8B Instruct vs Phi-3.5-mini-instruct.

Which is better, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct or Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is made by IBM and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is made by Microsoft. 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 Phi-3.5-mini-instruct in benchmarks?

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct scores HumanEval: 89.7%, AttaQ: 88.5%, HumanEval+: 86.1%, AIME 2024: 81.2%, GSM8k: 80.9%. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct scores GSM8k: 86.2%, ARC-C: 84.6%, RULER: 84.1%, PIQA: 81.0%, OpenBookQA: 79.2%.

Is Granite 3.3 8B Instruct cheaper than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is 5.0x cheaper for input tokens. Granite 3.3 8B Instruct costs $0.50/M input and $0.50/M output via replicate. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct costs $0.10/M input and $0.10/M output via azure.

What are the context window sizes for Granite 3.3 8B Instruct and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct supports 128K tokens and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct 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 Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Key differences include input pricing ($0.50 vs $0.10/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Apache 2.0 vs MIT). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Granite 3.3 8B Instruct and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is developed by IBM and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is developed by Microsoft.

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