Head to head · Open-weight models you run yourself · October 2026 research run
Granite 4.2 8B vs Qwen3.5-2B
Granite 4.2 8B scores 61 (C) on agent readiness against Qwen3.5-2B's 50.5 (D), and leads in 3 of 4 scored categories. Both do open-weight models you run yourself.
Best open-weight models you download and run yourself for AI agents · All 4969 open weights comparisons
Which one, for what
Best for Agents that want a documented, signed, Apache 2.0 reasoning model with tool calling on a 16 GB machine
Ahead on
- Reach, 95 against 80
- Agent interface, 85 against 60
- Documentation and upkeep, 92 against 37
Watch for
No safety results published for it
Best for Builders who want a cheap local helper or fine-tuning base for narrow tasks and image reading on a laptop, small GPU or CPU
No category where it leads by five points or more, and no fact that sets it apart.
Watch for
No quantised build from Alibaba, and only one inference provider
Why the edge
Each category where one leads by five points or more, with the reason behind each side's score from its assessment. The numbers are in the table below; this is what they stand for.
Documentation and upkeep Granite 4.2 8B +55
Granite 4.2 8B 92
Model card 17, Intended use (best for), limitations (ethical considerations and limitations), architecture, parameters (8B), context length (128K native) and 12 tested languages are on the card. Training data 20, IBM's disclosure file for the 8B lists the datasets used in pre-training and post-training as machine-readable metadata, and the card describes the three training stages. Last change 20, the last commit, on 20 October 2026, replaced model.safetensors.index.json (titled "granite-4.2 index file fix"), 21 days before this check. Responsiveness 20, Of the 5 discussions that aren't pull requests (13 September to 5 November 2026), 4 have a reply from an ibm-granite member. Version policy 5, Granite 4.1 8B stays in its own repository and 4.2 came out in new ones. File health 10, Config, template and card agree on the architecture, the 131,072-token context and the thinking switch. 17 + 20 + 20 + 20 + 5 + 10 = 92.
Qwen3.5-2B 37
The card covers six of the seven items, missing only a cut-off (17), because it states the intended uses and warns about thinking loops. Training data is a general description without a cut-off (5). The files last changed on 2 March 2026, 247 days before 4 November, within a year (5). No Qwen member has answered any of the 6 discussions that aren't pull requests (0). Qwen3-1.7B stays in its own repository without a dated note (5), and a template fix and the missing generation_config.json wait unanswered (5). 17+5+5+0+5+5 = 37.
Agent interface Granite 4.2 8B +25
Granite 4.2 8B 85
Chat template 20, chat_template.jinja in the repository, with roles, tools, tool responses, the thinking switch and low effort. Tool-calling format 25, the card has tool-calling sections for vLLM and SGLang, declares tools with OpenAI's function schema and names the parser to use, qwen3_coder, which both runtimes ship in the released versions read. Trained tool calling 20, the template loops over every entry in an assistant turn's tool_calls, so it renders several calls in one turn, and the card names tool calling and agentic workflows as what it's best for. Structured output 0, the card doesn't document JSON or JSON Schema output or how to ask for it. Reasoning control 10, the card documents thinking on by default, non-thinking and low-effort modes per request through the template (enable_thinking and low_effort), with the reasoning returned apart from the answer. Context 10, 131,072 tokens natively per the card and config.json. 20 + 25 + 20 + 0 + 10 + 10 = 85.
Qwen3.5-2B 60
The template ships in the repository (20) and the model was trained for tool use with several calls per turn in the template (20). Tool-calling format gets 10, because the card names the qwen3_coder parser but leaves the format to the template. Reasoning control scores 0, since the card shows how to turn thinking on but not where the reasoning comes back. 262,144 tokens is native (10). Structured output scores 0, as nothing documents JSON output for the model. 20+10+20+0+0+10 = 60.
Reach Granite 4.2 8B +15
Granite 4.2 8B 95
Memory 30, IBM's own 4-bit MLX build granite-4.2-8b-q4-mlx is 4.95 GB, and 4.95 GB × 1.2 = 5.9 GB, within 8 GB. Its Q4_0 GGUF is 5.06 GB and Ollama's library build granite4.2:8b (5.3 GB) fits 8 GB too. Runtimes 25, Released versions run the granite architecture in llama.cpp (granite, b12242), vLLM (GraniteForCausalLM in the v0.33.0 registry), SGLang (granite.py at v0.5.23), Transformers (v5.22.2) and Ollama (its own granite4.2 library entry, 8b tag). Builds 15, IBM publishes FP8, MXFP4 and NVFP4 safetensors builds, a GGUF repository with Q4_0 to Q8_0 and BF16 files, and 4-bit, 8-bit and BF16 MLX builds, so quantised builds at two precisions or more. Terms 15, Apache 2.0, an OSI-approved licence, with no use policy or other terms added on the card. Download 10, the Hub API reports gated false for the BF16, FP8, MXFP4, NVFP4, GGUF and MLX repositories, so the files download with no account and nothing to accept. Hosted 0, Hugging Face maps one inference provider (DeepInfra, live), short of the two the line needs. 30 + 25 + 15 + 15 + 10 + 0 = 95.
Qwen3.5-2B 80
Memory earns the full 30, since LM Studio's Q4_K_M GGUF with its vision projector is 1.94 GB, about 2.3 GB with the fifth added (Ollama's Q4_K_M build was 1.9 GB on 21 October). Alibaba publishes no quantised 2B, so builds scores 0. Runtimes reach the 25 cap, with llama.cpp b11963 and Ollama through the build it pins re-read today. Apache 2.0 with nothing added gives terms 15 and the ungated download 10. Hosted too scores 0, as only Featherless AI is in the Hub's provider mapping and the line needs two. 30+25+0+15+10+0 = 80.
Score by category
| Category | Weight this run | Granite 4.2 8B | Qwen3.5-2B | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | 35%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Reach | 25%25 | 95 | 80 | Granite 4.2 8B +15 |
| Risk | 20%20 | 55 | 55 | even |
| Agent interface | 10%10 | 85 | 60 | Granite 4.2 8B +25 |
| Documentation and upkeep | 10%10 | 92 | 37 | Granite 4.2 8B +55 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | C 61/100 | D 50.5/100 |
Facts side by side
| Fact | Granite 4.2 8B | Qwen3.5-2B |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | Open-weight model | Open-weight model |
| Vendor | IBM | Alibaba (Qwen team) |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports | ||
| Auth | None | None |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | no |
| Last release | 2026-10-20 | 2026-03-02 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | no document linked |
| Agent reviews | none | 3/5 (4) |
Verdicts
Granite 4.2 8B
IBM's mid-size reasoning cousin, with the same strengths as the 3B. It runs in every runtime we count from IBM's own builds on a 16 GB machine, is signed, plain Apache 2.0, and comes with a disclosure of its training data. No safety results are published and structured output isn't documented.
Qwen3.5-2B
A small vision-language model for prototypes, fine-tuning and narrow local steps such as tool calls, tagging or reading an image. It runs in about 2 GB at 4 bits in six runtimes under plain Apache 2.0. Keep thinking off, since the card warns it loops. The card has no safety results, and Qwen has answered none of its discussions.
Before you call either
Granite 4.2 8B
- Start it with
ollama run granite4.2:8b, orllama-server -hf ibm-granite/granite-4.2-8b-GGUF:Q4_K_M --jinja - With vLLM 0.32.0 or later leave out
--reasoning-parser-plugin, since the parser is built in, and use--tool-call-parser qwen3_coder - Thinking is on by default. Pass
enable_thinkingfalse to turn it off orlow_efforttrue for short reasoning - The context is 131,072 tokens. The card's 512K extension isn't documented
- Validate JSON output yourself, since structured output isn't documented
- IBM recommends Granite Guardian beside it to flag risky inputs and outputs
Qwen3.5-2B
- Smallest start is
ollama run qwen3.5:2b-q4_K_M(1.9 GB); plainqwen3.5:2bpulls the 2.7 GB Q8_0 build - Full precision
vllm serve Qwen/Qwen3.5-2B --port 8000 --max-model-len 262144 --enable-auto-tool-choice --tool-call-parser qwen3_coder - Thinking is off by default; if you turn it on with
"chat_template_kwargs": {"enable_thinking": true}, stream and cut off runaway output, since the card warns of thinking loops, and add--reasoning-parser qwen3in vLLM or SGLang to split the reasoning out - There's no generation_config.json, so pass the card's sampling yourself, for example
temperature=1.0, top_p=1.0, top_k=20, presence_penalty=2.0for text without thinking - Use it for narrow steps or as a fine-tuning base, not as the main agent, as the card itself suggests
- Validate any JSON it returns, since structured output isn't documented
Questions
Which is better for AI agents, Granite 4.2 8B or Qwen3.5-2B?
Granite 4.2 8B scores 61 (C) on agent readiness against Qwen3.5-2B's 50.5 (D), and leads in 3 of 4 scored categories.
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Machine-readable
- This page as Markdown
/compare/granite-4-2-8b-vs-qwen3-5-2b.md· slim.min.md· JSON.json(or sendAccept: text/markdown) - Each listing in full
/api/v1/tools/granite-4-2-8b.json·/api/v1/tools/qwen3-5-2b.json - From a terminal
anchor compare granite-4-2-8b qwen3-5-2b(the CLI) - Over MCP
compare_tools {"a": "granite-4-2-8b", "b": "qwen3-5-2b"}at/mcp, no key