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IBM Granite 4.2 3B vs Step-3.5-Flash

Step-3.5-Flash leads the LLM Stats Score 37.3 to 15.6.

IBM · StepFun · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

Step-3.5-Flash leads the overall LLM Stats Score 37.3 to 15.6, ranking #61 overall.

In the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Step-3.5-Flash 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

Choose Step-3.5-Flash

  • overall performance matters — it scores 37.3 and ranks #61 on LLM Stats
  • your work emphasizes reasoning and coding — 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.

IBM Granite 4.2 3B
IBM
Step-3.5-Flash
StepFun
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
15.6
#213
37.3
#61
Reasoning
12.0
#234
37.3
#62
Coding
-6.7
#247
20.4
#88
Agents
2.0
#152
15.3
#74
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
0 of 2
2 of 2
Input price
— / M
$0.10 / M
Output price
— / M
$0.40 / M
Context window
—
65,536

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

2 shared
Index
IBM Granite 4.2 3B
Step-3.5-Flash
Math
13.7#216
33.8#50
Tool use
5.3#144
12.9#93
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

13 reported for IBM Granite 4.2 3B · 7 for Step-3.5-Flash

2 shared

IBM Granite 4.2 3B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Step-3.5-Flash is better at 2 benchmarks (AIME 2025, LiveCodeBench v6).

Step-3.5-Flash 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

193.0B diff

Step-3.5-Flash has 193.0B more parameters than IBM Granite 4.2 3B, making it 6433.3% larger.

IBM
IBM Granite 4.2 3B
3.0Bparameters
StepFun
Step-3.5-Flash
196.0Bparameters
3.0B
IBM Granite 4.2 3B
196.0B
Step-3.5-Flash

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Step-3.5-Flash specifies input context (65,536 tokens). Only Step-3.5-Flash specifies output context (8,192 tokens).

IBM
IBM Granite 4.2 3B
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
StepFun
Step-3.5-Flash
Input65,536 tokens
Output8,192 tokens
Tue Sep 01 2026 • llm-stats.com

License

Usage and distribution terms

Both models are licensed under Apache 2.0.

Both models share the same licensing terms, providing consistent usage rights.

IBM Granite 4.2 3B

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Step-3.5-Flash

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

IBM Granite 4.2 3B was released on 2026-08-25, while Step-3.5-Flash was released on 2026-02-02.

IBM Granite 4.2 3B is 7 months newer than Step-3.5-Flash.

IBM Granite 4.2 3B

Aug 25, 2026

6 days ago

6mo newer
Step-3.5-Flash

Feb 2, 2026

7 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 Step-3.5-Flash side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

IBM Granite 4.2 3B
✓ Preferred
Step-3.5-Flash
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about IBM Granite 4.2 3B vs Step-3.5-Flash.

Which is better, IBM Granite 4.2 3B or Step-3.5-Flash?

Step-3.5-Flash leads the LLM Stats Score 37.3 to 15.6. IBM Granite 4.2 3B is made by IBM and Step-3.5-Flash is made by StepFun. 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 Step-3.5-Flash 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%. Step-3.5-Flash scores AIME 2025: 97.3%, Tau-bench: 88.2%, LiveCodeBench v6: 86.4%, IMO-AnswerBench: 85.4%, SWE-Bench Verified: 74.4%.

What are the context window sizes for IBM Granite 4.2 3B and Step-3.5-Flash?

IBM Granite 4.2 3B supports an unknown number of tokens and Step-3.5-Flash supports 66K 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 Step-3.5-Flash?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (15.6 vs 37.3). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes IBM Granite 4.2 3B and Step-3.5-Flash?

IBM Granite 4.2 3B is developed by IBM and Step-3.5-Flash is developed by StepFun.

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