IBM Granite 4.2 3B vs Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
IBM Granite 4.2 3B leads the LLM Stats Score 15.6 to -3.7.
IBM · Microsoft · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
IBM Granite 4.2 3B leads the overall LLM Stats Score 15.6 to -3.7, 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
Choose Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
- you want predictable pricing at $0.10/M input and $0.10/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 · 31 for Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
IBM Granite 4.2 3B outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU-Pro), while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.
IBM Granite 4.2 3B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct has 0.8B more parameters than IBM Granite 4.2 3B, making it 26.7% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only Phi-3.5-mini-instruct specifies input context (128,000 tokens). Only Phi-3.5-mini-instruct specifies output context (128,000 tokens).
License
Usage and distribution terms
IBM Granite 4.2 3B is licensed under Apache 2.0, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct uses MIT.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Apache 2.0
Open weights
MIT
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
IBM Granite 4.2 3B was released on 2026-08-25, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct was released on 2024-08-23.
IBM Granite 4.2 3B is 24 months newer than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct.
Aug 25, 2026
6 days ago
2.0yr newerAug 23, 2024
2.0 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 Phi-3.5-mini-instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about IBM Granite 4.2 3B vs Phi-3.5-mini-instruct.