IBM Granite 4.2 30B vs Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1
IBM Granite 4.2 30B leads the LLM Stats Score 24.0 to 5.1.
IBM · NVIDIA · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
IBM Granite 4.2 30B leads the overall LLM Stats Score 24.0 to 5.1, ranking #156 overall.
In the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models, IBM Granite 4.2 30B wins 2; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose IBM Granite 4.2 30B
- overall performance matters — it scores 24.0 and ranks #156 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 2 exact shared results
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Aug 2026
Choose Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1
- you are already invested in the NVIDIA ecosystem
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
18 reported for IBM Granite 4.2 30B · 7 for Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1
IBM Granite 4.2 30B outperforms in 2 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA), while Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1 is better at 0 benchmarks.
IBM Granite 4.2 30B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
IBM Granite 4.2 30B has 22.0B more parameters than Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1, making it 275.0% larger.
License
Usage and distribution terms
IBM Granite 4.2 30B is licensed under Apache 2.0, while Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1 uses Llama 3.1 Community License.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Llama 3.1 Community License
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
IBM Granite 4.2 30B was released on 2026-08-25, while Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1 was released on 2025-03-18.
IBM Granite 4.2 30B is 18 months newer than Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1.
Aug 25, 2026
6 days ago
1.4yr newerMar 18, 2025
1.5 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2023-12-31, while IBM Granite 4.2 30B's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1's training data extends to 2023-12-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without IBM Granite 4.2 30B's cutoff date.
—
Dec 2023
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against IBM Granite 4.2 30B and Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about IBM Granite 4.2 30B vs Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano 8B V1.