IBM Granite 4.2 3B vs o4-mini
o4-mini leads the LLM Stats Score 27.9 to 15.6.
IBM · OpenAI · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
o4-mini leads the overall LLM Stats Score 27.9 to 15.6, ranking #126 overall.
In the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models, o4-mini 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
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Aug 2026
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Choose o4-mini
- overall performance matters — it scores 27.9 and ranks #126 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
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 · 14 for o4-mini
IBM Granite 4.2 3B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while o4-mini is better at 2 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA).
o4-mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only o4-mini specifies input context (200,000 tokens). Only o4-mini specifies output context (100,000 tokens).
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
o4-mini supports multimodal inputs, whereas IBM Granite 4.2 3B does not.
o4-mini can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
IBM Granite 4.2 3B
o4-mini
License
Usage and distribution terms
IBM Granite 4.2 3B is licensed under Apache 2.0, while o4-mini uses a proprietary license.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Proprietary
Closed source
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
IBM Granite 4.2 3B was released on 2026-08-25, while o4-mini was released on 2025-04-16.
IBM Granite 4.2 3B is 17 months newer than o4-mini.
Aug 25, 2026
6 days ago
1.4yr newerApr 16, 2025
1.4 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
o4-mini has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-05-31, while IBM Granite 4.2 3B's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm o4-mini's training data extends to 2024-05-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without IBM Granite 4.2 3B's cutoff date.
—
May 2024
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against IBM Granite 4.2 3B and o4-mini side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about IBM Granite 4.2 3B vs o4-mini.