Granite 4.2 8B vs Qwen3 30B-A3B
| Spec | Granite 4.2 8B | Qwen3 30B-A3B |
|---|---|---|
| Respan Index | 15.2 (#149) | 14.8 (#151) |
| Blended price per 1M | $0.082 | $0.215 |
| Context window | 131K | 131K |
| Input / output per 1M | $0.06 / $0.15 | $0.12 / $0.5 |
| Max output | - | - |
| Input | text | text |
| Released | 2026-08-25 | 2025-04-29 |
Respan Index by category
Each category is scored 0 to 100, and how far ahead the winner is. Leads under a point are close to even.
| Category | Granite 4.2 8B | Qwen3 30B-A3B |
|---|---|---|
| Coding | 3.3 Granite 4.2 8B | 3.0 Qwen3 30B-A3B |
| Agents | 14.4* Granite 4.2 8B | 11.1* Qwen3 30B-A3B |
| Reasoning | 22.1 Granite 4.2 8B | 19.8 Qwen3 30B-A3B |
| Knowledge & language | 5.4 Granite 4.2 8B | 9.9* Qwen3 30B-A3B |
| Human preference | 31.3 Granite 4.2 8B | 35.5 Qwen3 30B-A3B |
* Estimated: no published scores in that category. How the Respan Index works
Benchmarks both report
They split the 2 benchmarks both report evenly. Higher is better. Each score links to where it was published.
| Benchmark | Granite 4.2 8B | Qwen3 30B-A3B |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Elo | 1290 | 1327 |
| AIME 2025 | 86.7% | 70.9% |
FAQ
Is Granite 4.2 8B better than Qwen3 30B-A3B?
Granite 4.2 8B scores 15.2 on the Respan Index (#149), ahead of Qwen3 30B-A3B at 14.8 (#151). They split the 2 benchmarks both report evenly.
Which is cheaper, Granite 4.2 8B or Qwen3 30B-A3B?
Granite 4.2 8B lists at $0.06 input and $0.15 output per 1M tokens; Qwen3 30B-A3B at $0.12 and $0.5. Granite 4.2 8B is 2.6x cheaper per token at list price.
Which has the larger context window?
Both accept 131K tokens of context.