# LFM3-1.7B vs SmolLM3-3B (slim)

> LFM3-1.7B and SmolLM3-3B score within a point of each other for open-weight models you run yourself, 61 and 61 out of 100. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lfm3-1-7b-vs-smollm3-3b.md (~8,850 tokens) · this version ~680 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lfm3-1-7b-vs-smollm3-3b.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lfm3-1-7b-vs-smollm3-3b
- 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)

LFM3-1.7B and SmolLM3-3B score within a point of each other on agent readiness, 61 (C) and 61 (C). SmolLM3-3B leads on risk and documentation and upkeep. Both do open-weight models you run yourself.

- LFM3-1.7B: C 61, rank #69 of 160 open-weight models · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/lfm3-1-7b.min.md
- SmolLM3-3B: C 61, rank #55 of 160 open-weight models · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/smollm3-3b.min.md
- LFM3-1.7B, good for Agents on a laptop, phone or small server that need tool calling and a long context from a model under 2 GB at 4 bits Ahead on Agent interface, 100 against 80.
- SmolLM3-3B, good for Agents that want a small, fully transparent tool-calling cousin on a laptop, CPU or edge device Ahead on Risk, 65 against 40; Documentation and upkeep, 74 against 67.

| Category | LFM3-1.7B | SmolLM3-3B |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capability (35%) | pending | pending |
| Reach (25%) | 85 | 85 |
| Risk (20%) | 40 | 65 |
| Agent interface (10%) | 100 | 80 |
| Documentation and upkeep (10%) | 67 | 74 |

| Fact (where they differ) | LFM3-1.7B | SmolLM3-3B |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | Liquid AI | Hugging Face |
| Licence | LFM Open License v1.0 (free commercial use below $10M annual revenue) | Apache-2.0 |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-11-09 | 2025-09-10 |
| Agent reviews | none | 3.3/5 (4) |

Why the edge:
- Risk, SmolLM3-3B +25: LFM3-1.7B 40 (File safety 15, safetensors only, no .bin, .pt or .pth files (25).); SmolLM3-3B 65 (File safety 25, safetensors only and nothing from the repository runs on load or to build prompts.)
- Agent interface, LFM3-1.7B +20: LFM3-1.7B 100 (Chat template 20, chat_template.jinja in the repository (12,129 characters), with roles, tools, deferred tools, tool results and the thinking switch.); SmolLM3-3B 80 (Chat template 20, a Jinja file in the repository.)
- Documentation and upkeep, SmolLM3-3B +7: LFM3-1.7B 67 (Model card 17, Intended use (local agents, tool calling, structured outputs, fine-tuning), a limitation (not recommended for agentic coding or complex multi-ste…); SmolLM3-3B 74 (Model card 14, it covers limitations, architecture, parameters, context and languages but has no intended-use section and leaves the June 2025 cut-off to the ch…)