Granite 4.0 H Micro vs Qwen1.5-7B
Granite 4.0 H Micro (2025) and Qwen1.5-7B (2024) are compact production models from IBM Research and Alibaba. Granite 4.0 H Micro ships a 131K-token context window, while Qwen1.5-7B ships a 32K-token context window. On Google-Proof Q&A, Qwen1.5-7B leads by 10.4 pts. On pricing, Granite 4.0 H Micro costs $0.02/1M input tokens versus $0.05/1M 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 4.0 H Micro is ~194% cheaper at $0.02/1M; pay for Qwen1.5-7B only for provider fit.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Granite 4.0 H Micro | Qwen1.5-7B |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | tool-calling agents and provider-routed production | provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | Coding, Classification, and JSON / Tool use |
| Context window | 131K | 32K |
| Cheapest output | $0.11/1M tokens | $0.25/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 2 tracked | 3 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 3 shared | Google-Proof Q&A leader |
Decision tradeoffs
- Granite 4.0 H Micro holds a shared-benchmark lead on HumanEval, ahead by 17.3 points.
- Granite 4.0 H Micro has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Granite 4.0 H Micro has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.11/1M tokens.
- Granite 4.0 H Micro uniquely exposes JSON / Tool use in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Granite 4.0 H Micro for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- Qwen1.5-7B holds a shared-benchmark lead on Google-Proof Q&A, ahead by 10.4 points.
- Qwen1.5-7B has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- Qwen1.5-7B uniquely exposes Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Qwen1.5-7B for Coding, Classification, and JSON / Tool use.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Granite 4.0 H Micro
$41.60
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Cloudflare Workers AI
Qwen1.5-7B
$103
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Replicate API
Estimated monthly gap: $60.90. 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 4.0 H Micro and Qwen1.5-7B; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Qwen1.5-7B is $0.14/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Check replacement coverage for JSON / Tool use before moving production traffic.
- Qwen1.5-7B adds Structured outputs in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Qwen1.5-7B and Granite 4.0 H Micro; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Granite 4.0 H Micro is $0.14/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
- Granite 4.0 H Micro adds JSON / Tool use in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-04-01 | 2024-02-05 |
| Context window | 131K | 32K |
| Parameters | — | 7B |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Decoder Only |
| License | Apache 2.0OSI-approved | Qianwen |
| Openness | Open source | Open weights |
| Weights | Available | Unknown |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Permitted | Restricted |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Granite 4.0 H Micro | Qwen1.5-7B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.02/1M tokens | $0.05/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.11/1M tokens | $0.25/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Granite 4.0 H Micro | Qwen1.5-7B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| JSON / Tool use | Yes | No |
| Structured outputs | No | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Granite 4.0 H Micro | Qwen1.5-7B |
|---|---|---|
| Google-Proof Q&A | 32.1 | 42.5 |
| HumanEval | 81.0 | 63.7 |
| Massive Multitask Language Understanding | 67.4 | 69.4 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, Google-Proof Q&A has Granite 4.0 H Micro at 32.1 and Qwen1.5-7B at 42.5, with Qwen1.5-7B ahead by 10.4 points; HumanEval has Granite 4.0 H Micro at 81 and Qwen1.5-7B at 63.7, with Granite 4.0 H Micro ahead by 17.3 points; Massive Multitask Language Understanding has Granite 4.0 H Micro at 67.4 and Qwen1.5-7B at 69.4, with Qwen1.5-7B ahead by 2.0 points. The largest visible gap is 17.3 points on HumanEval, which matters most when that benchmark mirrors your workload. Treat isolated benchmark wins as directional, because provider routing, prompt style, and tool access can move real application results.
The capability footprint differs most on JSON / Tool use: Granite 4.0 H Micro, JSON / Tool use: Granite 4.0 H Micro, and structured outputs: Qwen1.5-7B. Both models share the core language-model surface, 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 4.0 H Micro lists $0.02/1M input and $0.11/1M output tokens on the cheapest listed provider, while Qwen1.5-7B lists $0.05/1M input and $0.25/1M output tokens on the cheapest listed provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Granite 4.0 H Micro lower by about $0.06 per million blended tokens. Availability is 2 providers versus 3, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Granite 4.0 H Micro when long-context analysis, larger context windows, and lower input-token cost are central to the workload. Choose Qwen1.5-7B when provider fit and broader provider choice are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, Granite 4.0 H Micro or Qwen1.5-7B?
Granite 4.0 H Micro supports 131K tokens, while Qwen1.5-7B supports 32K 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 4.0 H Micro or Qwen1.5-7B?
Granite 4.0 H Micro is cheaper on listed token pricing. Granite 4.0 H Micro costs $0.02/1M input and $0.11/1M output tokens. Qwen1.5-7B costs $0.05/1M input and $0.25/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Granite 4.0 H Micro or Qwen1.5-7B open source?
Granite 4.0 H Micro is listed under Apache 2.0. Qwen1.5-7B is listed under Qianwen. 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 JSON / Tool use, Granite 4.0 H Micro or Qwen1.5-7B?
Granite 4.0 H Micro has the clearer documented JSON / Tool use signal in this comparison. If JSON / Tool use is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for JSON / Tool use, Granite 4.0 H Micro or Qwen1.5-7B?
Granite 4.0 H Micro has the clearer documented JSON / Tool use signal in this comparison. If JSON / Tool use is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run Granite 4.0 H Micro and Qwen1.5-7B?
Granite 4.0 H Micro is available on Cloudflare Workers AI and OpenRouter. Qwen1.5-7B is available on Alibaba Cloud PAI-EAS, Together AI, and Replicate API. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-10-17. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.