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IBM Granite 4.2 3B vs MiniMax M2.1

MiniMax M2.1 leads the LLM Stats Score 32.2 to 15.6.

IBM · MiniMax · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

MiniMax M2.1 leads the overall LLM Stats Score 32.2 to 15.6, ranking #96 overall.

In the 5 individual benchmarks reported for both models, MiniMax M2.1 wins 4; 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 MiniMax M2.1

  • overall performance matters — it scores 32.2 and ranks #96 on LLM Stats
  • your work emphasizes reasoning and coding — it leads those capability indexes
  • you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 4 of 5 exact shared results

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

IBM Granite 4.2 3B
IBM
MiniMax M2.1
MiniMax
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
15.6
#213
32.2
#96
Reasoning
12.0
#234
32.5
#92
Coding
-6.7
#247
22.2
#72
Agents
2.0
#152
18.4
#58
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
1 of 5
4 of 5
Input price
— / M
$0.30 / M
Output price
— / M
$1.20 / M
Context window
—
1,000,000

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

2 shared
Index
IBM Granite 4.2 3B
MiniMax M2.1
Math
13.7#216
27.4#91
Tool use
5.3#144
14.3#86
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

13 reported for IBM Granite 4.2 3B · 25 for MiniMax M2.1

5 shared

IBM Granite 4.2 3B outperforms in 1 benchmarks (IFBench), while MiniMax M2.1 is better at 4 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA, MMLU-Pro, SciCode).

MiniMax M2.1 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Tue Sep 01 2026 • llm-stats.com

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

227.0B diff

MiniMax M2.1 has 227.0B more parameters than IBM Granite 4.2 3B, making it 7566.7% larger.

IBM
IBM Granite 4.2 3B
3.0Bparameters
MiniMax
MiniMax M2.1
230.0Bparameters
3.0B
IBM Granite 4.2 3B
230.0B
MiniMax M2.1

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only MiniMax M2.1 specifies input context (1,000,000 tokens). Only MiniMax M2.1 specifies output context (1,000,000 tokens).

IBM
IBM Granite 4.2 3B
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
MiniMax
MiniMax M2.1
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output1,000,000 tokens
Tue Sep 01 2026 • llm-stats.com

License

Usage and distribution terms

IBM Granite 4.2 3B is licensed under Apache 2.0, while MiniMax M2.1 uses MIT.

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

MiniMax M2.1

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

IBM Granite 4.2 3B was released on 2026-08-25, while MiniMax M2.1 was released on 2025-12-23.

IBM Granite 4.2 3B is 8 months newer than MiniMax M2.1.

IBM Granite 4.2 3B

Aug 25, 2026

6 days ago

8mo newer
MiniMax M2.1

Dec 23, 2025

8 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 MiniMax M2.1 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

IBM Granite 4.2 3B
✓ Preferred
MiniMax M2.1
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about IBM Granite 4.2 3B vs MiniMax M2.1.

Which is better, IBM Granite 4.2 3B or MiniMax M2.1?

MiniMax M2.1 leads the LLM Stats Score 32.2 to 15.6. IBM Granite 4.2 3B is made by IBM and MiniMax M2.1 is made by MiniMax. 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 MiniMax M2.1 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%. MiniMax M2.1 scores VIBE Web: 91.5%, VIBE Android: 89.7%, VIBE: 88.6%, MMLU-Pro: 88.0%, VIBE iOS: 88.0%.

What are the context window sizes for IBM Granite 4.2 3B and MiniMax M2.1?

IBM Granite 4.2 3B supports an unknown number of tokens and MiniMax M2.1 supports 1.0M 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 MiniMax M2.1?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (15.6 vs 32.2), licensing (Apache 2.0 vs MIT). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes IBM Granite 4.2 3B and MiniMax M2.1?

IBM Granite 4.2 3B is developed by IBM and MiniMax M2.1 is developed by MiniMax.

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