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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Granite 4.2 8B vs Qwen3.8 Flash

Qwen3.8 Flash comes out ahead, 74 to 64 on our weighted score, though Granite 4.2 8B is 2.8× cheaper per token.

  1. IBM

    Granite 4.2 8B

    Released Aug 25, 2026

    64/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.06 / $0.15
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove Granite 4.2 8B
  2. Our pick

    Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3.8 Flash

    Released Aug 26, 2026

    74/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.15 / $0.47
    • Context1M
    Full specs Remove Qwen3.8 Flash

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Qwen3.8 Flash is our pick

Qwen3.8 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 74/100 against Granite 4.2 8B (64). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Granite 4.2 8B wins on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

  • CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
  • Lowest priceGranite 4.2 8BGranite 4.2 8B $0.083 · Qwen3.8 Flash $0.23 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextQwen3.8 FlashQwen3.8 Flash 1,000,000 · Granite 4.2 8B 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsQwen3.8 FlashGranite 4.2 8B: Text · Qwen3.8 Flash: Text, Images, Video
  • Self-hostingGranite 4.2 8BPublishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGranite 4.2 8BQwen3.8 Flash
Price50%9777
Inputs & features30%3580
Context window20%2560
Overall100%64/10074/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Granite 4.2 8B vs Qwen3.8 Flash specifications side by side
SpecificationGranite 4.2 8BIBMQwen3.8 FlashAlibaba (Qwen)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.06 (best)$0.15
Output$0.15 (best)$0.47
Cached input—$0.016
Blended (3:1)$0.083 (best)$0.23
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 7 providersOfficial Alibaba API
Limits
Context window131,072 tokens1,000,000 tokens (best)
Max output117,964 tokens131,072 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoYes
ReasoningYesYeslow · medium · xhigh
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoYes
Availability
WeightsOpenProprietary
API model ID—qwen3.8-flash
API providers728 (best)
ReleasedAug 25, 2026Aug 26, 2026
Knowledge cutoff——
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • Granite 4.2 8B$0.90
  • Qwen3.8 Flash$2.44
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Granite 4.2 8B or Qwen3.8 Flash?

Qwen3.8 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 74/100 against Granite 4.2 8B (64). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Granite 4.2 8B wins on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

Which is cheaper, Granite 4.2 8B or Qwen3.8 Flash?

Granite 4.2 8B is cheaper at $0.06 input / $0.15 output per million tokens (median across 7 API providers). Qwen3.8 Flash costs $0.15 input / $0.47 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.083 per million tokens for Granite 4.2 8B versus $0.23 for Qwen3.8 Flash (2.8× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Granite 4.2 8B has not been scored yet and Qwen3.8 Flash has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Granite 4.2 8B and Qwen3.8 Flash yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Qwen3.8 Flash has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 131,072 for Granite 4.2 8B. Maximum output per response: Granite 4.2 8B up to 117,964, Qwen3.8 Flash up to 131,072 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Granite 4.2 8B accepts text; Qwen3.8 Flash accepts text, images and video. Qwen3.8 Flash handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Granite 4.2 8B publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Qwen3.8 Flash is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Qwen3.8 Flash is the newest, released Aug 26, 2026. Granite 4.2 8B came out Aug 25, 2026.

How do you decide the winner?

Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Nov 2, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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