granite-4.1-8b
ibm-graniteapache-2.0text

granite-4.1-8b

Updated Oct 1, 2026
Parameters
8.8B
Context
131,072
License
apache-2.0
Q4 GGUF
5.35 GB
Updated
Oct 1, 2026

Q4 GGUF download: ibm-granite/granite-4.1-8b-GGUF - 5.35 GB on disk, read 2026-09-27. VRAM figures above are estimates; this is the actual file size.

Intelligence benchmarks

Artificial Analysis indexes - compared with the best open and proprietary models

Intelligence

6.6

AA Index

Coding

9.5

AA Index

Intelligence Index - granite-4.1-8b vs. the field

Best open-weight models (you can run locally) and leading proprietary models for context.

Claude Opus 5.5
57.6
closed
Claude Sonnet 5.5
56
closed
Claude Fable 5.1
53.4
closed
GPT-6 Astra
52.7
closed
Gemini 4 Argon
52.6
closed
MiMo-V2.6-Pro
46.3
open
GLM-5.3
44.8
open
granite-4.1-8b
6.6
open

Coding Index comparison

Claude Fable 5.1
81.6
closed
GPT-6 Astra
77.1
closed
GPT-5.6 Terra
76.7
closed
Muse Spark 1.3
76.5
closed
Gemini 3.8 Flash
76.3
closed
Kimi K3
76.2
open
GLM-5.3
74.8
open
granite-4.1-8b
9.5
open

Benchmark data from Artificial Analysis · updated 2026-10-01.

Arena rating (LMArena)

Human preference wins from head-to-head chat battles

MetricValue
Overall arena rating1291.1
Rank (overall)#249
Battle votes4,166

Overall rating published by LMArena on 2026-09-30 - a pairwise human-preference Elo across live chat battles; higher is better. Fetched 2026-10-01. Open-weights models compete head-to-head with proprietary ones here — no benchmark prompts, just what people pick.

Standard benchmarks

Performance across standard evaluations

BenchmarkScore
GPQA Diamond43.3

Source: Artificial Analysis component evals - updated 2026-10-01.

Will it run on your hardware?

Pick your GPU memory - see which quantizations fit, and the cheapest card for the rest

Runs on your 24 GB - best at FP16
4 of 4 quantizations fit granite-4.1-8b with real runtime overhead.
Q4_K_M
5 GB
Q5_K_M
6 GB
Q8_0
9 GB
FP16
18 GB
fits tight too big

Need an exact figure for your context length? Use the VRAM calculator.

Run it locally

Copy-paste - running in under a minute

vLLMOpenAI-compatible API
vllm serve ibm-granite/granite-4.1-8b

New to this? Start with Ollama · serve to many users with vLLM.

Deep dive

Notes, sources, and the full write-up

granite-4.1-8b is a 8.8B-parameter apache-2.0 model from ibm-granite. It scores 6.6 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (coding 9.5). At Q4_K_M it needs roughly 5 GB of VRAM, placing it in the 8–12 GB GPU hardware tier.

Benchmarks

Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index - granite-4.1-8b vs. leading closed models:

ModelIntelligenceCodingGPQA
granite-4.1-8b6.79.543.3
Claude Fable 5 (with fallback)59.976.592.6
Claude Opus 4.8 (max)55.774.392
GPT-5.5 (xhigh)54.874.993.5
Claude Opus 4.7 (max)53.573.691.4
Claude Sonnet 5 (max)53.471.591.1

Source: Artificial Analysis (2026-07-04).

Popularity

granite-4.1-8b has 474,685 downloads in the last month on HuggingFace and 203 likes.

Frequently asked

Quick answers to common questions

How much VRAM does granite-4.1-8b need?

granite-4.1-8b with 8.8B parameters needs approximately 5 GB at Q4_K_M quantization. Use our VRAM calculator for an exact estimate.

Is granite-4.1-8b better than other ibm-granite models?

granite-4.1-8b has 8.8B parameters with 131,072 context - a strong choice for general use.

What license is granite-4.1-8b under?

granite-4.1-8b is released under the apache-2.0 license, making it suitable for most commercial and personal projects.

What hardware runs granite-4.1-8b well?

With 8.8B parameters, granite-4.1-8b requires adequate VRAM. High-end GPUs like the RTX 4090 (24GB), RTX 5090 (32GB), or Mac Studio with unified memory are good options. Check our hardware directory for specific recommendations.

What is the best quantization for granite-4.1-8b?

Q4_K_M is the recommended sweet spot - ~98% of FP16 quality at ~27% of the size. Q5_K_M (~6 GB) is an option if you have spare VRAM. Use our VRAM calculator to compare.

How long can granite-4.1-8b's context window handle?

granite-4.1-8b supports a 131,072-token context window - enough for very long documents, codebases, or multi-turn conversations. Real-world usable context may vary by implementation.

What models compete with granite-4.1-8b?

granite-4.1-8b competes with other models in its class. Browse our model directory for comparisons, benchmarks, and community reviews to find the best fit.

Nearby options

Similar models and compatible hardware by spec