IBM Granite 4.2 30B vs Phi 4 Mini
IBM Granite 4.2 30B leads the LLM Stats Score 24.0 to -4.0.
IBM · Microsoft · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
IBM Granite 4.2 30B leads the overall LLM Stats Score 24.0 to -4.0, 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 Phi 4 Mini
- you are already invested in the Microsoft 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 · 17 for Phi 4 Mini
IBM Granite 4.2 30B outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU-Pro), while Phi 4 Mini 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 26.2B more parameters than Phi 4 Mini, making it 681.3% larger.
License
Usage and distribution terms
IBM Granite 4.2 30B is licensed under Apache 2.0, while Phi 4 Mini uses MIT.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Apache 2.0
Open weights
MIT
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
IBM Granite 4.2 30B was released on 2026-08-25, while Phi 4 Mini was released on 2025-02-01.
IBM Granite 4.2 30B is 19 months newer than Phi 4 Mini.
Aug 25, 2026
5 days ago
1.6yr newerFeb 1, 2025
1.6 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Phi 4 Mini has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-06-01, while IBM Granite 4.2 30B's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Phi 4 Mini's training data extends to 2024-06-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without IBM Granite 4.2 30B's cutoff date.
—
Jun 2024
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against IBM Granite 4.2 30B and Phi 4 Mini side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about IBM Granite 4.2 30B vs Phi 4 Mini.