# DeepSeek V3.1 vs Granite 4.2 8B

> Side-by-side benchmark comparison for DeepSeek V3.1 and Granite 4.2 8B across agentic, coding, multimodal, knowledge, reasoning, multilingual, and math tasks.

- Canonical page: https://benchlm.ai/compare/deepseek-v3-1-vs-granite-4-2-8b
- Last updated: October 15, 2026

- Shared sourced benchmarks: 4
- HTML indexing: indexable
- Ranking lane: BenchAlign v5.8

## Quick Verdict

DeepSeek V3.1 leads by point estimate. Conditional score ranges do not establish rank confidence. Choose using the category evidence and your own workload tests.

## Summary

- DeepSeek V3.1 has the higher overall point estimate 40.78 to 33.4. Conditional score ranges do not establish rank confidence.
- The clearest category separation is in instruction following, where the averages are 43.5 for DeepSeek V3.1 and 86.5 for Granite 4.2 8B.
- The biggest single benchmark swing is AIME 2025 in Mathematics, with scores of 49.8% and 86.7%.

## Model Snapshot

| Property | DeepSeek V3.1 | Granite 4.2 8B |
|----------|----------|----------|
| Creator | DeepSeek | IBM |
| Type | Open Weight | Open Weight |
| Reasoning | Non-Reasoning | Reasoning |
| Context | 128K | 128K |
| Overall Score | 40.78 | 33.4 |
| Benchmarks Covered | 6 | 14 |
| Pricing (input/output) | $0.00 / $0.00 | $0.00 / $0.00 |

## Category Breakdown

### Agentic

- Winner: Not comparable
- DeepSeek V3.1 public-lane score: Coming soon
- Granite 4.2 8B public-lane score: 15.7 (Estimated · #113/127)

| Benchmark | DeepSeek V3.1 | Granite 4.2 8B | Winner |
|-----------|-----------|-----------|--------|
| Terminal-Bench 2.1 | Coming soon | 20.6% | Coming soon |
| τ³-bench results | Coming soon | 58.1% | Coming soon |
| BFCL v4 | Coming soon | 52.4% | Coming soon |

### Coding

- Winner: Not comparable
- DeepSeek V3.1 public-lane score: Coming soon
- Granite 4.2 8B public-lane score: 17.2 (Estimated · #125/150)

| Benchmark | DeepSeek V3.1 | Granite 4.2 8B | Winner |
|-----------|-----------|-----------|--------|
| SWE-bench Verified | 66% | 47.7% | DeepSeek V3.1 |
| LiveCodeBench | 56.4% | Coming soon | Coming soon |
| SWE-bench Pro | Coming soon | 19.1% | Coming soon |
| SWE Multilingual | Coming soon | 30.8% | Coming soon |
| Terminal-Bench 2.1 | Coming soon | 20.6% | Coming soon |
| LiveCodeBench v6 | Coming soon | 73.2% | Coming soon |
| SciCode | Coming soon | 36.1% | Coming soon |

### Reasoning

- Winner: Not comparable
- DeepSeek V3.1 public-lane score: 58.1 (Unranked · 2 rankable rows)
- Granite 4.2 8B public-lane score: 56.8 (Unranked · 2 rankable rows)

### Knowledge

- Winner: DeepSeek V3.1
- DeepSeek V3.1 public-lane score: 38.6 (Supported · #121/184)
- Granite 4.2 8B public-lane score: 30.6 (Supported · #154/184)

| Benchmark | DeepSeek V3.1 | Granite 4.2 8B | Winner |
|-----------|-----------|-----------|--------|
| GPQA | 74.9% | 64.1% | DeepSeek V3.1 |
| MMLU-Pro | 83.7% | 74.0% | DeepSeek V3.1 |

### Instruction Following

- Winner: Directional only
- DeepSeek V3.1 public-lane score: 43.5 (#109/146)
- Granite 4.2 8B public-lane score: 86.5 (#41/146)

| Benchmark | DeepSeek V3.1 | Granite 4.2 8B | Winner |
|-----------|-----------|-----------|--------|
| IFBench | Coming soon | 79.3% | Coming soon |

### Mathematics

- Winner: Not comparable
- DeepSeek V3.1 public-lane score: Coming soon
- Granite 4.2 8B public-lane score: Coming soon

| Benchmark | DeepSeek V3.1 | Granite 4.2 8B | Winner |
|-----------|-----------|-----------|--------|
| AIME 2024 | 66.3% | Coming soon | Coming soon |
| AIME 2025 | 49.8% | 86.7% | Granite 4.2 8B |
| HMMT Feb 2025 | Coming soon | 78.3% | Coming soon |

## FAQ

### Which is better overall, DeepSeek V3.1 or Granite 4.2 8B?

DeepSeek V3.1 has the higher overall point estimate. Conditional score ranges do not establish rank confidence.

### Where is the biggest gap between DeepSeek V3.1 and Granite 4.2 8B?

The widest category gap is in instruction following, where the averages are 43.5 for DeepSeek V3.1 and 86.5 for Granite 4.2 8B.

### How many benchmarks does DeepSeek V3.1 cover on BenchLM?

DeepSeek V3.1 currently has 6 sourced benchmark scores on BenchLM.

### How many benchmarks does Granite 4.2 8B cover on BenchLM?

Granite 4.2 8B currently has 14 sourced benchmark scores on BenchLM.

## Related Comparisons

- [DeepSeek V3.1 vs DeepSeek V3.1 (Reasoning)](/compare/deepseek-v3-1-vs-deepseek-v3-1-reasoning)
- [Granite 4.2 8B vs DeepSeek V3.1 (Reasoning)](/compare/deepseek-v3-1-reasoning-vs-granite-4-2-8b)
- [DeepSeek V3.1 vs Granite 4.2 30B](/compare/deepseek-v3-1-vs-granite-4-2-30b)
- [Granite 4.2 8B vs Granite 4.2 30B](/compare/granite-4-2-30b-vs-granite-4-2-8b)

## Explore More

- [DeepSeek V3.1 profile](/models/deepseek-v3-1)
- [Granite 4.2 8B profile](/models/granite-4-2-8b)
- [Compare Pricing](/llm-pricing)
- [Alternative Finder](/tools/alternative-finder)
- [LLM Selector](/tools/llm-selector)
- [Overall Rankings](/best/overall)