API cost decision in 10 seconds

Grok 4.20 vs Granite 4.0 Micro

Pick Granite 4.0 Micro for lower cost; pick Grok 4.20 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 Grok 4.20 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 Grok 4.20, saving $2.43 (97.1% lower).

Cost-first pickGranite 4.0 Micro

Context-first pickGrok 4.20

Sample savings$2.4397.1%

10x traffic gap$24.27

Grok 4.20 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	Grok 4.20	Granite 4.0 Micro
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Granite 4.0 Micro	$7.5	$0.14
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Granite 4.0 Micro	$3.75	$0.13
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Granite 4.0 Micro	$13.75	$0.58

Cheaper input Granite 4.0 Micro $1.25 vs $0.017 / 1M

Granite 4.0 Micro is $1.23 cheaper per 1M input tokens (98.6% lower; 73.5x difference).

Cheaper output Granite 4.0 Micro $2.5 vs $0.112 / 1M

Granite 4.0 Micro is $2.39 cheaper per 1M output tokens (95.5% lower; 22.3x difference).

Larger context Grok 4.20 2M vs 131K

Grok 4.20 has 1.87M more context (15.3x 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

Grok 4.20 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; Grok 4.20 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 Grok 4.20 and $0.07 for Granite 4.0 Micro.

Best Fit

Choose Grok 4.20 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 Grok 4.20, 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 $1.23 cheaper per 1M input tokens (98.6% lower; 73.5x difference).
Granite 4.0 Micro is $2.39 cheaper per 1M output tokens (95.5% lower; 22.3x difference).
Grok 4.20 has 1.87M more context (15.3x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Grok 4.20 (xAI)	Granite 4.0 Micro (IBM)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$1.25	$0.017
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$2.5	$0.112
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$2.5	$0.07
Context Window	2M	131K
Release Date	2026-03-31	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 Grok 4.20, 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	Grok 4.20	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Grok Build 0.1 can replace Grok 4.20 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $2.

Larger context near this budget

Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 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.

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Larger context alternatives

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

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Provider catalogs

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xAI catalog

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IBM catalog

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