GPT-6 Astra (Xhigh) vs Granite 4.2 30B
Which is better for the money: GPT-6 Astra (Xhigh) 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 (Xhigh) scores 39.7 points higher (52.4 vs 12.7) but costs 34× as much to run the benchmark ($3803 vs $111; flagship vs mid-range cost classes). They are not alternatives at one budget: pick GPT-6 Astra (Xhigh) when you need intelligence above 12.7, and Granite 4.2 30B when 12.7 is enough.
| Metric | GPT-6 Astra (Xhigh) | Granite 4.2 30B | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 52.4 | 12.7 | −75.8% Granite 4.2 30B is 75.8% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $3,802.98 | $110.83 | −97.1% Granite 4.2 30B is 97.1% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 188.57s | 65.24s | −65.4% Granite 4.2 30B is 65.4% faster |
| 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 (Xhigh): 75.8% less intelligence, 97.1% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 65.4% faster end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- GPT-6 Astra (Xhigh) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, Kimi K3.1 Pro scores 55.10 for $3117.
- 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 (Xhigh)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-xhigh/granite-4-2-30b · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/gpt-6-astra-xhigh/granite-4-2-30b?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill