IBM Granite 4.2 8B vs Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
IBM Granite 4.2 8B and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct are closely matched at 19.7 and 14.7 on the LLM Stats Score. IBM Granite 4.2 8B is 8.3x cheaper per token.
IBM · Meta · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
IBM Granite 4.2 8B and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 19.7 and 14.7.
In the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models, IBM Granite 4.2 8B wins 2; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, IBM Granite 4.2 8B is roughly 8.3x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
IBM Granite 4.2 8B also accepts a larger context window (131,072 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose IBM Granite 4.2 8B
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 2 exact shared results
- cost matters — it's about 8.3x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 131,072 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Aug 2026
Choose Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
- your work emphasizes coding — it leads those capability indexes
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
18 reported for IBM Granite 4.2 8B · 18 for Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
IBM Granite 4.2 8B outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU-Pro), while Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.
IBM Granite 4.2 8B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, IBM Granite 4.2 8B ($0.06/1M tokens) is 14.8x cheaper than Llama 3.1 405B Instruct ($0.89/1M tokens).
For output processing, IBM Granite 4.2 8B ($0.25/1M tokens) is 3.6x cheaper than Llama 3.1 405B Instruct ($0.89/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is more expensive than IBM Granite 4.2 8B.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct has 397.0B more parameters than IBM Granite 4.2 8B, making it 4962.5% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
IBM Granite 4.2 8B accepts 131,072 input tokens compared to Llama 3.1 405B Instruct's 128,000 tokens. IBM Granite 4.2 8B can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is limited to 128,000 tokens.
License
Usage and distribution terms
IBM Granite 4.2 8B 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 8B was released on 2026-08-25, while Llama 3.1 405B Instruct was released on 2024-07-23.
IBM Granite 4.2 8B is 25 months newer than Llama 3.1 405B Instruct.
Aug 25, 2026
1 months ago
2.1yr newerJul 23, 2024
2.2 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
IBM Granite 4.2 8B is available from DeepInfra. Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is available from Lambda, DeepInfra, Fireworks, Bedrock, Together, Hyperbolic, Google, Replicate.
IBM Granite 4.2 8B
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against IBM Granite 4.2 8B and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about IBM Granite 4.2 8B vs Llama 3.1 405B Instruct.