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IBM Granite 4.2 3B vs Grok-1.5

IBM Granite 4.2 3B leads the LLM Stats Score 15.6 to -2.4.

IBM · xAI · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

IBM Granite 4.2 3B leads the overall LLM Stats Score 15.6 to -2.4, ranking #213 overall.

In the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models, IBM Granite 4.2 3B 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 3B

  • overall performance matters — it scores 15.6 and ranks #213 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
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Choose Grok-1.5

  • you are already invested in the xAI ecosystem

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

IBM Granite 4.2 3B
IBM
Grok-1.5
xAI
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
15.6
#213
-2.4
#323
Reasoning
12.0
#234
-1.9
#314
Coding
-6.7
#247
-0.8
#232
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
2 of 2
0 of 2
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 3B
Grok-1.5
Math
13.7#216
5.4#264
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

13 reported for IBM Granite 4.2 3B · 9 for Grok-1.5

2 shared

IBM Granite 4.2 3B outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU-Pro), while Grok-1.5 is better at 0 benchmarks.

IBM Granite 4.2 3B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Mon Aug 31 2026 • llm-stats.com

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

License

Usage and distribution terms

IBM Granite 4.2 3B is licensed under Apache 2.0, while Grok-1.5 uses a proprietary license.

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

IBM Granite 4.2 3B

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Grok-1.5

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

IBM Granite 4.2 3B was released on 2026-08-25, while Grok-1.5 was released on 2024-03-28.

IBM Granite 4.2 3B is 29 months newer than Grok-1.5.

IBM Granite 4.2 3B

Aug 25, 2026

5 days ago

2.4yr newer
Grok-1.5

Mar 28, 2024

2.4 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 3B and Grok-1.5 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

IBM Granite 4.2 3B
✓ Preferred
Grok-1.5
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about IBM Granite 4.2 3B vs Grok-1.5.

Which is better, IBM Granite 4.2 3B or Grok-1.5?

IBM Granite 4.2 3B leads the LLM Stats Score 15.6 to -2.4. IBM Granite 4.2 3B is made by IBM and Grok-1.5 is made by xAI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their capability indexes, individual benchmarks, pricing, and limits above.

How does IBM Granite 4.2 3B compare to Grok-1.5 in benchmarks?

IBM Granite 4.2 3B scores AIME 2025: 78.3%, IFBench: 74.3%, LiveCodeBench v6: 69.7%, MMLU-Pro: 67.8%, RULER 64k: 67.5%. Grok-1.5 scores GSM8k: 90.0%, DocVQA: 85.6%, MMLU: 81.3%, HumanEval: 74.1%, MMMU: 53.6%.

What are the main differences between IBM Granite 4.2 3B and Grok-1.5?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (15.6 vs -2.4), licensing (Apache 2.0 vs Proprietary). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes IBM Granite 4.2 3B and Grok-1.5?

IBM Granite 4.2 3B is developed by IBM and Grok-1.5 is developed by xAI.

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