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IBM Granite 4.2 3B vs Kimi K2.6

Kimi K2.6 leads the LLM Stats Score 44.0 to 15.6.

IBM · Moonshot AI · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

Kimi K2.6 leads the overall LLM Stats Score 44.0 to 15.6, ranking #31 overall.

In the 3 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Kimi K2.6 wins 3; 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

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Aug 2026

Choose Kimi K2.6

  • overall performance matters — it scores 44.0 and ranks #31 on LLM Stats
  • your work emphasizes reasoning and coding — it leads those capability indexes
  • you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 3 of 3 exact shared results

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

IBM Granite 4.2 3B
IBM
Kimi K2.6
Moonshot AI
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
15.6
#213
44.0
#31
Reasoning
12.0
#234
44.2
#32
Coding
-6.7
#247
33.8
#28
Agents
2.0
#152
26.8
#38
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
0 of 3
3 of 3
Input price
— / M
$0.75 / M
Output price
— / M
$3.50 / M
Context window
—
262,144

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

2 shared
Index
IBM Granite 4.2 3B
Kimi K2.6
Math
13.7#216
36.8#33
Tool use
5.3#144
21.8#47
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

13 reported for IBM Granite 4.2 3B · 28 for Kimi K2.6

3 shared

IBM Granite 4.2 3B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Kimi K2.6 is better at 3 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench v6, SciCode).

Kimi K2.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Mon Aug 31 2026 • llm-stats.com

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

997.0B diff

Kimi K2.6 has 997.0B more parameters than IBM Granite 4.2 3B, making it 33233.3% larger.

IBM
IBM Granite 4.2 3B
3.0Bparameters
Moonshot AI
Kimi K2.6
1.0Tparameters
3.0B
IBM Granite 4.2 3B
1000.0B
Kimi K2.6

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Kimi K2.6 specifies input context (262,144 tokens). Only Kimi K2.6 specifies output context (131,072 tokens).

IBM
IBM Granite 4.2 3B
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Moonshot AI
Kimi K2.6
Input262,144 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Mon Aug 31 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input capabilities

Documented input modalities across available providers

Kimi K2.6 supports multimodal inputs, whereas IBM Granite 4.2 3B does not.

Kimi K2.6 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

IBM Granite 4.2 3B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Kimi K2.6

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

IBM Granite 4.2 3B is licensed under Apache 2.0, while Kimi K2.6 uses Modified MIT 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

Kimi K2.6

Modified MIT License

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

IBM Granite 4.2 3B was released on 2026-08-25, while Kimi K2.6 was released on 2026-04-20.

IBM Granite 4.2 3B is 4 months newer than Kimi K2.6.

IBM Granite 4.2 3B

Aug 25, 2026

5 days ago

4mo newer
Kimi K2.6

Apr 20, 2026

4 months 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 Kimi K2.6 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

IBM Granite 4.2 3B
✓ Preferred
Kimi K2.6
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about IBM Granite 4.2 3B vs Kimi K2.6.

Which is better, IBM Granite 4.2 3B or Kimi K2.6?

Kimi K2.6 leads the LLM Stats Score 44.0 to 15.6. IBM Granite 4.2 3B is made by IBM and Kimi K2.6 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 3B compare to Kimi K2.6 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%. Kimi K2.6 scores V*: 96.9%, AIME 2026: 96.4%, MathVision: 93.2%, HMMT Feb 26: 92.7%, GPQA: 90.5%.

What are the context window sizes for IBM Granite 4.2 3B and Kimi K2.6?

IBM Granite 4.2 3B supports an unknown number of tokens and Kimi K2.6 supports 262K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between IBM Granite 4.2 3B and Kimi K2.6?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (15.6 vs 44.0), multimodal support (no vs yes), licensing (Apache 2.0 vs Modified MIT License). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes IBM Granite 4.2 3B and Kimi K2.6?

IBM Granite 4.2 3B is developed by IBM and Kimi K2.6 is developed by Moonshot AI.

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