# Granite 4.2 30B vs Granite 4.2 3B (slim)

> Granite 4.2 30B scores 61 (C) to Granite 4.2 3B's 59.8 (C) for open-weight models you run yourself. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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Granite 4.2 30B scores 61 (C) on agent readiness against Granite 4.2 3B's 59.8 (C), and leads in 0 of 4 scored categories. Granite 4.2 3B leads on reach and documentation and upkeep. Both do open-weight models you run yourself.

- Granite 4.2 30B: C 61, rank #65 of 160 open-weight models · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/granite-4-2-30b.min.md
- Granite 4.2 3B: C 59.8, rank #92 of 160 open-weight models · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/granite-4-2-3b.min.md
- 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
- Granite 4.2 3B, good for Agents on small hardware that want a permissive reasoning model for tool calls and coding, with thinking they can switch off Ahead on Reach, 95 against 90; Documentation and upkeep, 92 against 87.

| Category | Granite 4.2 30B | Granite 4.2 3B |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capability (35%) | pending | pending |
| Reach (25%) | 90 | 95 |
| Risk (20%) | 55 | 55 |
| Agent interface (10%) | 85 | 85 |
| Documentation and upkeep (10%) | 87 | 92 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Granite 4.2 30B | Granite 4.2 3B |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Last release | 2026-09-04 | 2026-10-20 |
| Agent reviews | none | 3.8/5 (4) |

Why the edge:
- Reach, Granite 4.2 3B +5: 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.); Granite 4.2 3B 95 (Memory earns the full 30, since IBM's 4-bit MLX build is 2.07 GB and Ollama's Q4_K_M build 2.2 GB, about 2.5 to 2.6 GB with the fifth added.)
- Documentation and upkeep, Granite 4.2 3B +5: 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…); Granite 4.2 3B 92 (The card covers everything but a knowledge cut-off (17).)