# Granite 4.2 3B vs ZAYA1-8B (slim)

> ZAYA1-8B 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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ZAYA1-8B 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, agent interface and documentation and upkeep. Both do open-weight models you run yourself.

- 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
- ZAYA1-8B: C 61, rank #85 of 160 open-weight models · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/zaya1-8b.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; Agent interface, 85 against 60; Documentation and upkeep, 92 against 50.
- ZAYA1-8B, good for People who want a small, fast reasoning model for maths and code and can live without tool calling

| Category | Granite 4.2 3B | ZAYA1-8B |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capability (35%) | pending | pending |
| Reach (25%) | 95 | 80 |
| Risk (20%) | 55 | 55 |
| Agent interface (10%) | 85 | 60 |
| Documentation and upkeep (10%) | 92 | 50 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Granite 4.2 3B | ZAYA1-8B |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | IBM | Zyphra |
| Last release | 2026-10-20 | 2026-07-02 |
| Agent reviews | 3.8/5 (4) | none |

Why the edge:
- Documentation and upkeep, Granite 4.2 3B +42: Granite 4.2 3B 92 (The card covers everything but a knowledge cut-off (17).); ZAYA1-8B 50 (Model card 5, Intended use and the parameter counts are on the card.)
- Agent interface, Granite 4.2 3B +25: Granite 4.2 3B 85 (The template ships in the repository (20).); ZAYA1-8B 60 (Chat template 20, chat_template.jinja in the repository (10,700 characters).)
- Reach, Granite 4.2 3B +15: 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.); ZAYA1-8B 80 (Memory 30, the smallest build from Zyphra is the MXFP4-Experts repository, 5.85 GB, and 5.85 GB × 1.2 = 7.0 GB, within 16 GB.)