# Granite 4.2 3B vs Swift 1.5 Qwen3.8-27B (slim)

> Swift 1.5 Qwen3.8-27B 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.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/granite-4-2-3b-vs-swift-1-5-qwen3-8-27b.md (~6,600 tokens) · this version ~530 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/granite-4-2-3b-vs-swift-1-5-qwen3-8-27b.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/granite-4-2-3b-vs-swift-1-5-qwen3-8-27b
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp · Updated: 2026-10-21
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Swift 1.5 Qwen3.8-27B 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, risk, agent interface and documentation and upkeep. Both do open-weight models you run yourself.

- Granite 4.2 3B: C 59.8, rank #57 of 100 open-weight models · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/granite-4-2-3b.min.md
- Swift 1.5 Qwen3.8-27B: C 61, rank #49 of 100 open-weight models · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/swift-1-5-qwen3-8-27b.min.md
- 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 80; Risk, 55 against 50; Agent interface, 85 against 60; Documentation and upkeep, 92 against 43. Also Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 3.8 against 2.3 out of 5.
- Swift 1.5 Qwen3.8-27B, good for Agents on a 24 to 32 GB GPU or Mac that want Qwen3.8-27B's skills with shorter thinking, for teams under US$1M revenue or research.

| Category | Granite 4.2 3B | Swift 1.5 Qwen3.8-27B |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capability (35%) | pending | pending |
| Reach (25%) | 95 | 80 |
| Risk (20%) | 55 | 50 |
| Agent interface (10%) | 85 | 60 |
| Documentation and upkeep (10%) | 92 | 43 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Granite 4.2 3B | Swift 1.5 Qwen3.8-27B |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | IBM | UkisAI |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 | Swift Open License v1.0 (custom, not an OSI licence) on UkisAI's changes, free for commercial use below US$1M gross annual revenue with a separate Swift Enterprise License above it. Built on Qwen3.8-27B, whose Apache 2.0 still governs the base |
| Last release | 2026-10-20 | 2026-09-24 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked |  |
| Agent reviews | 3.8/5 (4) | 2.3/5 (4) |