API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewGranite 4.1 8B vs GPT-5.2 Pro

Pick Granite 4.1 8B for lower cost; pick GPT-5.2 Pro only if the larger context window matters more.

Pricing data updated:  Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Granite 4.1 8B for lower cost; pick GPT-5.2 Pro only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Granite 4.1 8B is estimated at $0.1 vs $105 for GPT-5.2 Pro, saving $104.9 (99.9% lower).

Cost-first pickGranite 4.1 8B
Context-first pickGPT-5.2 Pro
Sample savings$104.999.9%
10x traffic gap$1049

GPT-5.2 Pro has more context, but Granite 4.1 8B saves $104.9 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $1049. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Granite 4.1 8B stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickGranite 4.1 8BGPT-5.2 Pro
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputGranite 4.1 8B$0.3$189
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputGranite 4.1 8B$0.15$189
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputGranite 4.1 8B$0.55$861
Cheaper input Granite 4.1 8B $0.05 vs $21 / 1M

Granite 4.1 8B is $20.95 cheaper per 1M input tokens (99.8% lower; 420x difference).

Cheaper output Granite 4.1 8B $0.1 vs $168 / 1M

Granite 4.1 8B is $167.9 cheaper per 1M output tokens (99.9% lower; 1680x difference).

Larger context GPT-5.2 Pro 131.07K vs 400K

GPT-5.2 Pro has 268.93K more context (3.05x larger).

Sample workload Granite 4.1 8B $0.1 vs $105

Granite 4.1 8B is $104.9 cheaper on the standard workload (99.9% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
Granite 4.1 8B Calculating… Estimated API cost
GPT-5.2 Pro Calculating… Estimated API cost
Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.

Quick Decision

Verdict

Granite 4.1 8B has the lower input price; Granite 4.1 8B has the lower output price; GPT-5.2 Pro offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Granite 4.1 8B is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.1 for Granite 4.1 8B and $105 for GPT-5.2 Pro.

Best Fit

Choose Granite 4.1 8B when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Choose GPT-5.2 Pro when you care most about larger context window.

Decision Notes
  • On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Granite 4.1 8B is estimated at $0.1 vs $105 for GPT-5.2 Pro, saving $104.9 (99.9% lower).
  • Granite 4.1 8B is $104.9 cheaper on the standard workload (99.9% lower).
  • Granite 4.1 8B is $20.95 cheaper per 1M input tokens (99.8% lower; 420x difference).
  • Granite 4.1 8B is $167.9 cheaper per 1M output tokens (99.9% lower; 1680x difference).
  • GPT-5.2 Pro has 268.93K more context (3.05x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureNewGranite 4.1 8B
(IBM)
GPT-5.2 Pro
(OpenAI)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M
$0.05$21
Completion Price
per 1M tokens
$0.1$168
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output
$0.1$105
Context Window131.07K400K
Release Date

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionGranite 4.1 8BOn the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Granite 4.1 8B is estimated at $0.1 vs $105 for GPT-5.2 Pro, saving $104.9 (99.9% lower).
High-volume input processingGranite 4.1 8BLower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsGranite 4.1 8BLower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workGPT-5.2 ProA larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps
  • Granite 4.0 Micro can replace Granite 4.1 8B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.07.
  • gpt-oss-120b (free) can replace GPT-5.2 Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace GPT-5.2 Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • gpt-oss-20b can replace GPT-5.2 Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.
Popular competitors
  • No popular competitor is currently available.

Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

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IBM catalog

Review all tracked IBM models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

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OpenAI catalog

Check other OpenAI models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.

Open OpenAI models
Granite 4.1 8B

Granite 4.1 8B is a dense, decoder-only 8-billion-parameter language model from IBM, part of the Granite 4.1 family. It supports a 131K-token context window and is designed for enterprise tasks...

GPT-5.2 Pro

GPT-5.2 Pro is OpenAI’s most advanced model, offering major improvements in agentic coding and long context performance over GPT-5 Pro. It is optimized for complex tasks that require step-by-step reasoning,...