DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) vs Granite 4.2 8B
Which is better for the money: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) by DeepSeek or Granite 4.2 8B 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 28.4 points higher (39.5 vs 11.1) but costs 13× as much to run the benchmark ($672 vs $53.1; premium vs mid-range cost classes). They are not alternatives at one budget: pick DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) when you need intelligence above 11.1, and Granite 4.2 8B when 11.1 is enough.
| Metric | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) | Granite 4.2 8B | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 39.5 | 11.1 | −71.9% Granite 4.2 8B is 71.9% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $671.96 | $53.07 | −92.1% Granite 4.2 8B is 92.1% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 14.92s | 39.25s | +163.1% Granite 4.2 8B is 163.1% slower |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $0.29 / $1.20 | $0.06 / $0.25 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text |
Granite 4.2 8B vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max): 71.9% less intelligence, 92.1% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 163.1% 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 8B is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6 Luna (High) scores 32.90 for $47.9.
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max)Granite 4.2 8BToday's Pareto frontierOpen-weights frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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