AI model comparison
Granite 4.2 8B vs Muse Glimmer 30B
Side by side comparison of Granite 4.2 8B and Muse Glimmer 30B on pricing, benchmark scores, context window, and more.
Granite 4.2 8B is a dense reasoning model from IBM. It is suited for mathematics, code generation, multilingual dialogue, and agentic workflows that need multi-step reasoning.
- Input / 1M
- $0.06
- Output / 1M
- $0.15
- Context
- 131K
Muse Glimmer 30B is a dense, open-weight multimodal model from Meta Superintelligence Labs, distilled from Muse Spark and optimized for autonomous agents on consumer hardware.
- Input / 1M
- $0.30
- Output / 1M
- $1.20
- Context
- 131K
Comparing image generators? Compare image models
At a glance
Quick verdict
How the two models stack up on the things people ask about most.
Lower price
Granite 4.2 8B
6.2x cheaper for a typical chat
Higher intelligence score
Muse Glimmer 30B
6.3 vs 5.1 on Artificial Analysis
Larger context window
Tie
131K vs 131K tokens
Newer release
Granite 4.2 8B
Released August 31, 2026
Benchmarks
Benchmark scores
Independent scores from Artificial Analysis. Higher is better.
Intelligence index
Granite 4.2 8B5.1Coding index
Granite 4.2 8B22.4Agentic index
Granite 4.2 8B1.3Pricing
Granite 4.2 8B vs Muse Glimmer 30B API pricing
Per-token API rates. Cheaper option highlighted.
| Metric | Granite 4.2 8B | |
|---|---|---|
| Input tokensPer 1M tokens | $0.06 | $0.30 |
| Output tokensPer 1M tokens | $0.15 | $1.20 |
| Cached input (read)Per 1M tokens | $0.02 | $0.04 |
| Cache writePer 1M tokens | Not available | Not available |
What it costs in practice
Estimated cost per 1,000 requests at standard rates. Coding and long-document figures also show the cost when the input is already cached.
Chat message
2K in, 500 out
Granite 4.2 8B$0.19Coding task
30K in, 4K out
Granite 4.2 8B$2.40$1.05 cachedLong document summary
150K in, 2K out
Granite 4.2 8B$9.30$2.55 cachedSpecs
Context window and capabilities
How much each model can read, how much it can write, and what it accepts as input.
| Metric | Granite 4.2 8B | |
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 131K tokens | 131K tokens |
| Max output | 118K tokens | 16K tokens |
| Input types | Text | Image, Text |
| Output types | Text | Text |
| Reasoning effort levels | High, Low, None | Extra high, High, Medium, Low |
| Default reasoning effort | High | Medium |
| Release date | August 31, 2026 | August 9, 2026 |
Features
Supported features
API features available for each model.
| Metric | Granite 4.2 8B | |
|---|---|---|
| Tool calling | Supported | Supported |
| Structured outputs | Supported | Supported |
| JSON mode | Supported | Supported |
| Reasoning | Supported | Supported |
| Temperature | Supported | Supported |
| Stop sequences | Supported | Supported |
| Deterministic seed | Supported | Supported |
| Verbosity control | Not supported | Not supported |
Keep exploring
More on these models
Other head-to-heads, the full model page, and the alternatives list for each model.
Granite 4.2 8BView full model details- Granite 4.2 8B vs Command A+
- Granite 4.2 8B vs Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
- Granite 4.2 8B vs Mistral Small 4
- Granite 4.2 8B vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
- Granite 4.2 8B vs DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731
- Granite 4.2 8B vs Muse Spark 1.3 Contributor
- Granite 4.2 8B vs DeepSeek V4 Flash 0423
- Granite 4.2 8B vs Solar Mini 4
- Granite 4.2 8B vs Qwen3.7 Flash
- Muse Glimmer 30B vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL
- Muse Glimmer 30B vs Inkling Small
- Muse Glimmer 30B vs Nemotron 3 Ultra
- Muse Glimmer 30B vs Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite
- Muse Glimmer 30B vs Command A+
- Muse Glimmer 30B vs Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
- Muse Glimmer 30B vs Mistral Small 4
- Muse Glimmer 30B vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
- Muse Glimmer 30B vs Hy4 preview
- Muse Glimmer 30B vs GPT-5.6 Luna
Our take
Granite 4.2 8B is 6.2x cheaper for a typical chat. Muse Glimmer 30B scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (6.3 vs 5.1). The right pick depends on your workload, so the quickest way to settle it is to send the same prompt to both and compare.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is Granite 4.2 8B or Muse Glimmer 30B cheaper?
Granite 4.2 8B is cheaper for a typical chat (2K input tokens and 500 output tokens). Granite 4.2 8B costs $0.06 per 1M input tokens and $0.15 per 1M output tokens, while Muse Glimmer 30B costs $0.30 per 1M input tokens and $1.20 per 1M output tokens.
Which has a bigger context window, Granite 4.2 8B or Muse Glimmer 30B?
Granite 4.2 8B supports up to 131K tokens of context, compared with 131K for Muse Glimmer 30B.
Is Granite 4.2 8B smarter than Muse Glimmer 30B?
On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, Granite 4.2 8B scores 5.1 and Muse Glimmer 30B scores 6.3, putting Muse Glimmer 30B ahead. Benchmarks don't capture everything, so the best test is running your own prompts through both.
Can I use Granite 4.2 8B and Muse Glimmer 30B at the same time?
Yes. Shortcut Chat sends one prompt to multiple models at once, so you can see Granite 4.2 8B and Muse Glimmer 30B answer side by side and keep the better response.
Why choose? Ask both.
Send one prompt to Granite 4.2 8B and Muse Glimmer 30B at the same time. Compare the answers side by side and keep the best one.