DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) vs Granite 4.2 3B
Which is better for the money: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) by DeepSeek or Granite 4.2 3B by IBM? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-10-24.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) scores 30.4 points higher (39.5 vs 9.1) but costs 45× as much to run the benchmark ($672 vs $14.9; premium vs budget cost classes). They are not alternatives at one budget: pick DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) when you need intelligence above 9.1, and Granite 4.2 3B when 9.1 is enough.
| Metric | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) | Granite 4.2 3B | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 39.5 | 9.1 | −77.0% Granite 4.2 3B is 77.0% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $671.96 | $14.91 | −97.8% Granite 4.2 3B is 97.8% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 14.92s | 35.30s | +136.6% Granite 4.2 3B is 136.6% slower |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $0.29 / $1.20 | $0.03 / $0.12 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text |
Granite 4.2 3B vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max): 77.0% less intelligence, 97.8% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 136.6% slower end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) scores 51.00 for $662.
- Granite 4.2 3B is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6 Luna (Low) scores 21.50 for $10.6.
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max)Granite 4.2 3BToday's Pareto frontierOpen-weights frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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