Model Comparison

IBM Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview vs Grok-2 miniWhich is better in 2026?

Grok-2 mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: IBM Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview vs Grok-2 mini — which is better?

IBM Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview (by IBM) and Grok-2 mini (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.

IBM Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Grok-2 mini is better at 2 benchmarks (HumanEval, MMLU). Grok-2 mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose IBM Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview if…

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped May 2025
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Choose Grok-2 mini if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

2 benchmarks

IBM Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Grok-2 mini is better at 2 benchmarks (HumanEval, MMLU).

Grok-2 mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sun Jun 14 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Grok-2 mini supports multimodal inputs, whereas IBM Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview does not.

Grok-2 mini can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

IBM Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Grok-2 mini

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

IBM Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview is licensed under Apache 2.0, while Grok-2 mini uses a proprietary license.

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

IBM Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Grok-2 mini

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

IBM Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview was released on 2025-05-02, while Grok-2 mini was released on 2024-08-13.

IBM Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview is 9 months newer than Grok-2 mini.

IBM Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview

May 2, 2025

1.1 years ago

8mo newer
Grok-2 mini

Aug 13, 2024

1.8 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

IBM
Has open weights
xAI
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher HumanEval score (85.7% vs 82.4%)
Higher MMLU score (86.2% vs 60.4%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
IBM
IBM Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview
xAI
Grok-2 mini

FAQ

Common questions about IBM Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview vs Grok-2 mini.

Which is better, IBM Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview or Grok-2 mini?

Grok-2 mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. IBM Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview is made by IBM and Grok-2 mini is made by xAI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does IBM Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview compare to Grok-2 mini in benchmarks?

IBM Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview scores AttaQ: 86.1%, HumanEval: 82.4%, HumanEval+: 78.3%, GSM8k: 70.1%, IFEval: 63.0%. Grok-2 mini scores DocVQA: 93.2%, MMLU: 86.2%, HumanEval: 85.7%, MATH: 73.0%, MMLU-Pro: 72.0%.

What are the main differences between IBM Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview and Grok-2 mini?

Key differences include multimodal support (no vs yes), licensing (Apache 2.0 vs Proprietary). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes IBM Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview and Grok-2 mini?

IBM Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview is developed by IBM and Grok-2 mini is developed by xAI.

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