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IBM Granite 4.2 30B vs Kimi-k1.5

IBM Granite 4.2 30B and Kimi-k1.5 are closely matched at 24.0 and 17.4 on the LLM Stats Score.

IBM · Moonshot AI · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

IBM Granite 4.2 30B and Kimi-k1.5 are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 24.0 and 17.4.

Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.

Choose IBM Granite 4.2 30B

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Aug 2026
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Choose Kimi-k1.5

  • you are already invested in the Moonshot AI ecosystem

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

Core performance indexes
24.0
#156
17.4
#200
21.8
#165
16.6
#199
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
Input price
— / M
— / M
Output price
— / M
— / M
Context window

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

1 shared
Index
IBM Granite 4.2 30B
Kimi-k1.5
25.6#103
20.5#148
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

18 reported for IBM Granite 4.2 30B · 9 for Kimi-k1.5

No common benchmarks found

IBM Granite 4.2 30B and Kimi-k1.5don't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Input capabilities

Documented input modalities across available providers

Kimi-k1.5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas IBM Granite 4.2 30B does not.

Kimi-k1.5 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

IBM Granite 4.2 30B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Kimi-k1.5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

IBM Granite 4.2 30B is licensed under Apache 2.0, while Kimi-k1.5 uses a proprietary license.

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

IBM Granite 4.2 30B

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Kimi-k1.5

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

IBM Granite 4.2 30B was released on 2026-08-25, while Kimi-k1.5 was released on 2025-01-20.

IBM Granite 4.2 30B is 19 months newer than Kimi-k1.5.

IBM Granite 4.2 30B

Aug 25, 2026

6 days ago

1.6yr newer
Kimi-k1.5

Jan 20, 2025

1.6 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

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against IBM Granite 4.2 30B and Kimi-k1.5 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

IBM Granite 4.2 30B
✓ Preferred
Kimi-k1.5
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about IBM Granite 4.2 30B vs Kimi-k1.5.

Which is better, IBM Granite 4.2 30B or Kimi-k1.5?

IBM Granite 4.2 30B and Kimi-k1.5 are closely matched on the LLM Stats Score at 24.0 and 17.4. IBM Granite 4.2 30B is made by IBM and Kimi-k1.5 is made by Moonshot AI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their capability indexes, individual benchmarks, pricing, and limits above.

How does IBM Granite 4.2 30B compare to Kimi-k1.5 in benchmarks?

IBM Granite 4.2 30B scores RULER 64k: 90.0%, AIME 2025: 89.2%, HMMT25: 89.2%, RULER 128k: 81.4%, MMLU-Pro: 77.6%. Kimi-k1.5 scores MATH-500: 96.2%, CLUEWSC: 91.4%, C-Eval: 88.3%, MMLU: 87.4%, IFEval: 87.2%.

What are the main differences between IBM Granite 4.2 30B and Kimi-k1.5?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (24.0 vs 17.4), 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 4.2 30B and Kimi-k1.5?

IBM Granite 4.2 30B is developed by IBM and Kimi-k1.5 is developed by Moonshot AI.