GPT-6 Astra (Low) vs Granite 4.2 30B
Which is better for the money: GPT-6 Astra (Low) by OpenAI or Granite 4.2 30B by IBM? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-10-26.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
GPT-6 Astra (Low) scores 33.1 points higher (45.8 vs 12.7) but costs 14× as much to run the benchmark ($1537 vs $111; premium vs mid-range cost classes). They are not alternatives at one budget: pick GPT-6 Astra (Low) when you need intelligence above 12.7, and Granite 4.2 30B when 12.7 is enough.
| Metric | GPT-6 Astra (Low) | Granite 4.2 30B | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 45.8 | 12.7 | −72.3% Granite 4.2 30B is 72.3% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $1,536.78 | $110.83 | −92.8% Granite 4.2 30B is 92.8% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 12.56s | 65.19s | +419.0% Granite 4.2 30B is 419.0% slower |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $10.0 / $50.0 | $0.16 / $0.65 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text |
Granite 4.2 30B vs GPT-6 Astra (Low): 72.3% less intelligence, 92.8% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 419.0% slower end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- GPT-6 Astra (Low) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Max) scores 51.80 for $1082.
- Granite 4.2 30B is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, MiMo-V2.6-Flash scores 37.90 for $110.
GPT-6 Astra (Low)Granite 4.2 30BToday's Pareto frontierOpen-weights frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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Accept: text/markdown or ?format=md returns this page as Markdown. JSON: /api/v1/compare/gpt-6-astra-low/granite-4-2-30b · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/gpt-6-astra-low/granite-4-2-30b?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill