API cost decision in 10 seconds

Relace Search vs Granite 4.0 Micro

Pick Granite 4.0 Micro for lower cost; pick Relace Search only if the larger context window matters more.

Pricing data updated: 2026-05-26T11:08:00Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Granite 4.0 Micro for lower cost; pick Relace Search only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Granite 4.0 Micro is estimated at $0.07 vs $2.5 for Relace Search, saving $2.43 (97.1% lower).

Cost-first pickGranite 4.0 Micro

Context-first pickRelace Search

Sample savings$2.4397.1%

10x traffic gap$24.27

Relace Search has more context, but Granite 4.0 Micro saves $2.43 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $24.27. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Granite 4.0 Micro stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Relace Search	Granite 4.0 Micro
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Granite 4.0 Micro	$6.5	$0.14
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Granite 4.0 Micro	$4	$0.13
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Granite 4.0 Micro	$16	$0.58

Cheaper input Granite 4.0 Micro $1 vs $0.017 / 1M

Granite 4.0 Micro is $0.98 cheaper per 1M input tokens (98.3% lower; 58.8x difference).

Cheaper output Granite 4.0 Micro $3 vs $0.112 / 1M

Granite 4.0 Micro is $2.89 cheaper per 1M output tokens (96.3% lower; 26.8x difference).

Larger context Relace Search 256K vs 131K

Relace Search has 125K more context (1.95x larger).

Sample workload Granite 4.0 Micro $2.5 vs $0.07

Granite 4.0 Micro is $2.43 cheaper on the standard workload (97.1% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Relace Search Calculating… Estimated API cost

Granite 4.0 Micro 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 4.0 Micro has the lower input price; Granite 4.0 Micro has the lower output price; Relace Search offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Granite 4.0 Micro is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $2.5 for Relace Search and $0.07 for Granite 4.0 Micro.

Best Fit

Choose Relace Search when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Granite 4.0 Micro when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Granite 4.0 Micro is estimated at $0.07 vs $2.5 for Relace Search, saving $2.43 (97.1% lower).
Granite 4.0 Micro is $2.43 cheaper on the standard workload (97.1% lower).
Granite 4.0 Micro is $0.98 cheaper per 1M input tokens (98.3% lower; 58.8x difference).
Granite 4.0 Micro is $2.89 cheaper per 1M output tokens (96.3% lower; 26.8x difference).
Relace Search has 125K more context (1.95x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Relace Search (Relace)	Granite 4.0 Micro (IBM)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$1	$0.017
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$3	$0.112
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$2.5	$0.07
Context Window	256K	131K
Release Date	2025-12-08	2025-10-20

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Granite 4.0 Micro	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Granite 4.0 Micro is estimated at $0.07 vs $2.5 for Relace Search, saving $2.43 (97.1% lower).
High-volume input processing	Granite 4.0 Micro	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Granite 4.0 Micro	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Relace Search	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Relace Apply 3 can replace Relace Search when lower sample workload cost matters most: $1.48.

Larger context near this budget

Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite offers 1.05M context with $1 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

No popular competitor is currently available.

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

Open cheapest models

Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

Open largest context models

Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

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Relace catalog

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

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IBM catalog

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

Open IBM models

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