# gpt-oss-120b vs Granite 4.2 30B (slim)

> gpt-oss-120b scores 70.2 (BB) to Granite 4.2 30B's 61 (C) for open-weight models you run yourself. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt-oss-120b-vs-granite-4-2-30b.md (~9,550 tokens) · this version ~730 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt-oss-120b-vs-granite-4-2-30b.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gpt-oss-120b-vs-granite-4-2-30b
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp · Updated: 2026-11-10
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)

gpt-oss-120b scores 70.2 (BB) on agent readiness against Granite 4.2 30B's 61 (C), and leads in 2 of 4 scored categories. Granite 4.2 30B leads on reach and documentation and upkeep. Both do open-weight models you run yourself.

- gpt-oss-120b: BB 70.2, rank #6 of 160 open-weight models · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/gpt-oss-120b.min.md
- Granite 4.2 30B: C 61, rank #65 of 160 open-weight models · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/granite-4-2-30b.min.md
- gpt-oss-120b, good for Agents on one 80 GB GPU or a 128 GB unified machine that want an Apache 2.0 reasoning model with wide runtime support Ahead on Risk, 95 against 55; Agent interface, 90 against 85. Also Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better.
- Granite 4.2 30B, good for Agents that want a documented, signed, Apache 2.0 reasoning model with tool calling on a 24 GB card Ahead on Reach, 90 against 75; Documentation and upkeep, 87 against 45.

| Category | gpt-oss-120b | Granite 4.2 30B |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capability (35%) | pending | pending |
| Reach (25%) | 75 | 90 |
| Risk (20%) | 95 | 55 |
| Agent interface (10%) | 90 | 85 |
| Documentation and upkeep (10%) | 45 | 87 |

| Fact (where they differ) | gpt-oss-120b | Granite 4.2 30B |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | OpenAI | IBM |
| Last release | 2025-08-26 | 2026-09-04 |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (4) | none |

Why the edge:
- Documentation and upkeep, Granite 4.2 30B +42: gpt-oss-120b 45 (The model card earns 20, with all seven items in OpenAI's arXiv card.); Granite 4.2 30B 87 (Model card 17, Intended use (best for), limitations (ethical considerations and limitations), architecture, parameters (30B), context length (128K native) and 1…)
- Risk, gpt-oss-120b +40: gpt-oss-120b 95 (File safety earns 25, safetensors only, with metal/model.bin a raw format and not pickle, and nothing from the repository runs on load.); Granite 4.2 30B 55 (File safety 15, safetensors only, no .bin, .pt or .pth files (25).)
- Reach, Granite 4.2 30B +15: gpt-oss-120b 75 (Memory earns 10, because the smallest 4-bit build, Ollama's 65 GB gpt-oss:120b, needs about 78 GB with the fifth added, which fits the reference machine but not…); Granite 4.2 30B 90 (Memory 25, IBM's own 4-bit MLX build granite-4.2-30b-q4-mlx is 16.47 GB, and 16.47 GB × 1.2 = 19.8 GB, which fits 24 GB but not 16 GB.)
- Agent interface, gpt-oss-120b +5: gpt-oss-120b 90 (The chat template earns 20, a Jinja file in the repository.); Granite 4.2 30B 85 (Chat template 20, chat_template.jinja in the repository, with roles, tools, tool responses, the thinking switch and low effort.)