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Granite 3.1 8B vs SmolLM2 1.7B

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 · SmolLM2 1.7B specs
Verdict by category
  • PriceTie

    Neither model publishes per-token API pricing.

  • Context windowGranite 3.1 8B

    Granite 3.1 8B accepts 128K tokens vs 8.2K, 15.6× the room for long documents and codebases.

  • BenchmarksTie

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

  • ModalitiesTie

    Both handle text.

  • OpennessTie

    Both ship open weights, self-host either one.

On balance Granite 3.1 8B edges ahead, winning 1 of 5 categories against SmolLM2 1.7B's 0. Neither model publishes per-token API pricing. Granite 3.1 8B accepts 128K tokens vs 8.2K, 15.6× the room for long documents and codebases.

No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores. Both target the same set of modalities (text), so the deciding factors are price, context, and raw quality. Both ship open weights, self-host either one.

Granite 3.1 8B is the newer of the two, released 2 months after SmolLM2 1.7B, 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 SmolLM2 1.7B sees more deployments in on device and edge deployment. 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 8BSmolLM2 1.7B
ProviderOtherOther
ReleasedDec 2024Nov 2024
Modalitiestexttext
Context window128K tokens8.2K tokens
Max output,,
Input · 1MPricing not publishedPricing not published
Output · 1MPricing not publishedPricing not published
Knowledge cutoff,,
Open weightsYes (Apache-2.0)Yes (Apache-2.0)
API availableYesNo

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
  • SmolLM2 1.7BPricing 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
  • Long-context tasks, handles 128K tokens vs 8.2K for SmolLM2 1.7B.
Pick SmolLM2 1.7B if

SmolLM2 1.7B fits when…

  • Truly tiny
  • Apache-2.0
  • Runs on phones
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 DBRXSmolLM2 1.7B vs DBRX

Frequently asked

  • Is Granite 3.1 8B or SmolLM2 1.7B 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?
    Granite 3.1 8B accepts 128K tokens vs 8.2K for SmolLM2 1.7B.
  • Is Granite 3.1 8B or SmolLM2 1.7B better for coding?
    Both Granite 3.1 8B and SmolLM2 1.7B 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?
    Both ship with open weights. Granite 3.1 8B is licensed under Apache-2.0; SmolLM2 1.7B under Apache-2.0.
  • When were Granite 3.1 8B and SmolLM2 1.7B released?
    Granite 3.1 8B was released by Other on 2024-12-18. SmolLM2 1.7B was released by Other on 2024-11-01.
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