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Granite 3.1 8B vs Grok 2

A complete head-to-head: pricing, context window, benchmarks, modality coverage, and openness, with a programmatic verdict synthesized from the underlying data.

Updated

Granite 3.1 8B specs · Grok 2 specs
Verdict by category
  • PriceTie

    Neither model publishes per-token API pricing.

  • Context windowTie

    Both ship a 128K-token context window.

  • BenchmarksTie

    No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores.

  • ModalitiesGrok 2

    Grok 2 supports 2 modalities (text, vision) vs 1 for Granite 3.1 8B.

  • OpennessGranite 3.1 8B

    Granite 3.1 8B ships open weights (Apache-2.0); Grok 2 is API-only.

It's a genuine coin-flip between Granite 3.1 8B and Grok 2: 1 category wins each, with the rest tied. Neither model publishes per-token API pricing. Both ship a 128K-token context window.

No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores. They differ in modality coverage, Granite 3.1 8B handles text while Grok 2 handles text, vision, which can be the deciding factor before you even look at benchmarks. Granite 3.1 8B ships open weights (Apache-2.0); Grok 2 is API-only.

Granite 3.1 8B is the newer of the two, released 4 months after Grok 2, which usually means a more recent knowledge cutoff and updated safety post-training. Granite 3.1 8B is usually picked for enterprise llm and commercial use llm workloads, while Grok 2 sees more deployments in chatbots. If pricing matters more than every last benchmark point, run the numbers in the calculator below before committing.

Side-by-side specs

SpecGranite 3.1 8BGrok 2
ProviderOtherxAI
ReleasedDec 2024Aug 2024
Modalitiestexttext, vision
Context window128K tokens128K tokens
Max output,,
Input · 1MPricing not publishedPricing not published
Output · 1MPricing not publishedPricing not published
Knowledge cutoff,,
Open weightsYes (Apache-2.0)No
API availableYesYes

Pricing at scale

What you'd actually pay at typical workloads. Numbers come from each model's published per-million-token rates.

  • Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day, vs ,
  • Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day, vs ,
  • RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day, vs ,

Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates).

Price calculator

Estimated spend for the listed models at your usage. Numbers are derived from each model's published per-million-token rates.

  • Granite 3.1 8BPricing unavailable
  • Grok 2Pricing unavailable

Benchmarks compared

Only sourced numbers. Where a benchmark is missing for one model we show the available value rather than fabricating the other.

Benchmark scores not yet available. We only publish numbers we can source from official model cards or independent leaderboards, see methodology.
Pick Granite 3.1 8B if

Granite 3.1 8B fits when…

  • Apache-2.0
  • Enterprise-friendly
  • IP-clean training
  • Self-hosting and on-prem requirements, open weights (Apache-2.0).
Pick Grok 2 if

Grok 2 fits when…

  • Free on X Premium
  • Real-time data
  • Multimodal needs covering vision.
Don't want either?

Consider DBRX

Databricks' 132B MoE, a notable 2024 open-weight release tuned for enterprise.

See DBRX specsGranite 3.1 8B vs DBRXGrok 2 vs DBRX

Frequently asked

  • Is Granite 3.1 8B or Grok 2 cheaper?
    Per-token pricing isn't published for at least one of these models, check each model's spec page for current rates.
  • Which has the larger context window?
    Both Granite 3.1 8B and Grok 2 ship a 128K-token context window.
  • Is Granite 3.1 8B or Grok 2 better for coding?
    Both Granite 3.1 8B and Grok 2 are competitive on coding benchmarks. See each model's individual spec page for HumanEval and SWE-bench scores where published. For an opinionated pick, consult our Best LLM for Coding ranking.
  • Are either of these models open source?
    Granite 3.1 8B ships open weights (Apache-2.0). Grok 2 is API-only.
  • When were Granite 3.1 8B and Grok 2 released?
    Granite 3.1 8B was released by Other on 2024-12-18. Grok 2 was released by xAI on 2024-08-13.
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