Granite 3.3 8B Instruct vs Hunyuan Hy3 Preview
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct (2025) and Hunyuan Hy3 Preview (2026) are frontier reasoning models from IBM Research and Tencent AI Lab. Granite 3.3 8B Instruct ships a 128k-token context window, while Hunyuan Hy3 Preview ships a 262k-token context window. On pricing, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct costs $0.03/1M input tokens versus $0.07/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is ~120% cheaper at $0.03/1M; pay for Hunyuan Hy3 Preview only for reasoning depth.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Granite 3.3 8B Instruct | Hunyuan Hy3 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | tool-calling agents and provider-routed production | reasoning-heavy apps, tool-calling agents, and provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | RAG, Agents, and Long context | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 128k | 262k |
| Cheapest output | $0.25/1M tokens | $0.26/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 2 tracked | 2 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 rows | 0 rows |
Decision tradeoffs
- Granite 3.3 8B Instruct has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.25/1M tokens.
- Local decision data tags Granite 3.3 8B Instruct for RAG, Agents, and Long context.
- Hunyuan Hy3 Preview has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Hunyuan Hy3 Preview uniquely exposes Reasoning in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Hunyuan Hy3 Preview for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
$86.50
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Replicate API
Hunyuan Hy3 Preview
$118
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Estimated monthly gap: $31.30. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Granite 3.3 8B Instruct and Hunyuan Hy3 Preview; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Hunyuan Hy3 Preview is $0.01/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Hunyuan Hy3 Preview adds Reasoning in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Hunyuan Hy3 Preview and Granite 3.3 8B Instruct; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is $0.01/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Reasoning before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-03-01 | 2026-04-22 |
| Context window | 128k | 262k |
| Parameters | 8B | 295B |
| Architecture | decoder only | dense moe hybrid |
| License | Apache 2.0(OSI) | Tencent Hunyuan Community License |
| Openness | Open source | Open weights |
| Commercial use | Commercial use allowed | Commercial use with conditions |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-04 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Granite 3.3 8B Instruct | Hunyuan Hy3 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.03/1M tokens | $0.07/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.25/1M tokens | $0.26/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Granite 3.3 8B Instruct | Hunyuan Hy3 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| Function calling | Yes | Yes |
| Tool use | Yes | Yes |
| Structured outputs | No | No |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark rows are currently sourced for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on reasoning mode: Hunyuan Hy3 Preview. Both models share function calling and tool use, so the practical split is not just feature count. Use those differences to decide whether the page is about raw model quality, agentic coding support, multimodal ingestion, or predictable structured API behavior.
For cost, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct lists $0.03/1M input and $0.25/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider, while Hunyuan Hy3 Preview lists $0.07/1M input and $0.26/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Granite 3.3 8B Instruct lower by about $0.03 per million blended tokens. Availability is 2 providers versus 2, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Granite 3.3 8B Instruct when provider fit and lower input-token cost are central to the workload. Choose Hunyuan Hy3 Preview when reasoning depth and larger context windows are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship. This keeps the decision grounded in measurable tradeoffs instead of brand-level assumptions. It also helps separate model capability from provider packaging, which can change cost and latency.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct or Hunyuan Hy3 Preview?
Hunyuan Hy3 Preview supports 262k tokens, while Granite 3.3 8B Instruct supports 128k tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Which is cheaper, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct or Hunyuan Hy3 Preview?
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Granite 3.3 8B Instruct costs $0.03/1M input and $0.25/1M output tokens. Hunyuan Hy3 Preview costs $0.07/1M input and $0.26/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Granite 3.3 8B Instruct or Hunyuan Hy3 Preview open source?
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is listed under Apache 2.0. Hunyuan Hy3 Preview is listed under Tencent Hunyuan Community License. License labels affect whether you can self-host, redistribute weights, or rely only on hosted APIs, so confirm the upstream license before deployment.
Which is better for reasoning mode, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct or Hunyuan Hy3 Preview?
Hunyuan Hy3 Preview has the clearer documented reasoning mode signal in this comparison. If reasoning mode is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for function calling, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct or Hunyuan Hy3 Preview?
Both Granite 3.3 8B Instruct and Hunyuan Hy3 Preview expose function calling. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface.
Where can I run Granite 3.3 8B Instruct and Hunyuan Hy3 Preview?
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is available on NVIDIA NIM and Replicate API. Hunyuan Hy3 Preview is available on OpenRouter and Tencent Cloud TI Platform. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-06-07. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.