IBM Granite 4.2 3B vs Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
IBM Granite 4.2 3B and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct are closely matched at 15.6 and 14.9 on the LLM Stats Score.
IBM · Meta · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
IBM Granite 4.2 3B and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 15.6 and 14.9.
The models split the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models evenly.
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 Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
- you want predictable pricing at $0.89/M input and $0.89/M output
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
13 reported for IBM Granite 4.2 3B · 18 for Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
IBM Granite 4.2 3B outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is better at 1 benchmark (MMLU-Pro).
Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct has 402.0B more parameters than IBM Granite 4.2 3B, making it 13400.0% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only Llama 3.1 405B Instruct specifies input context (128,000 tokens). Only Llama 3.1 405B Instruct specifies output context (128,000 tokens).
License
Usage and distribution terms
IBM Granite 4.2 3B is licensed under Apache 2.0, while Llama 3.1 405B Instruct 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 3B was released on 2026-08-25, while Llama 3.1 405B Instruct was released on 2024-07-23.
IBM Granite 4.2 3B is 25 months newer than Llama 3.1 405B Instruct.
Aug 25, 2026
5 days ago
2.1yr newerJul 23, 2024
2.1 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against IBM Granite 4.2 3B and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about IBM Granite 4.2 3B vs Llama 3.1 405B Instruct.