RUNLOCALAIv38
→WILL IT RUNBEST GPUCOMPARETROUBLESHOOTSTARTPULSEMODELSHARDWARETOOLSBENCH
  1. >
  2. Home
  3. /Models
  4. /Granite 3.0 2B Instruct
granite
2B parameters
Commercial OK
·Reviewed May 2026

Granite 3.0 2B Instruct

IBM Granite at 2B. Apache 2.0 enterprise-friendly small model with safety tuning.

License: Apache 2.0·Released Oct 21, 2024·Context: 4,096 tokens

Overview

IBM Granite at 2B. Apache 2.0 enterprise-friendly small model with safety tuning.

Family & lineage

How this model relates to others in its lineage. Family members share architecture and training-data roots; parent / children edges record direct distillation or fine-tune relationships.

Family siblings (granite-3)
Granite 3.0 2B Instruct2B
You are here
Granite 3.0 8B Instruct8B
Consumer
Granite 3.2 8B8B
Consumer
Granite 3.3 8B8B
Consumer
Granite 3 MoE (3B active)16B
Consumer
Distilled / fine-tuned from this
Granite 3.0 8B Instruct8B
Consumer

Strengths

  • Apache 2.0
  • Enterprise safety tuning

Weaknesses

  • Smaller community than Llama / Qwen at the 2B tier

Quantization variants

Each quantization trades model quality for file size and VRAM. Q4_K_M is the most popular starting point.

QuantizationFile sizeVRAM required
Q4_K_M1.5 GB2 GB

Get the model

HuggingFace

Original weights

huggingface.co/ibm-granite/granite-3.0-2b-instruct

Source repository — direct quantization required.

Hardware that runs this

Cards with enough VRAM for at least one quantization of Granite 3.0 2B Instruct.

NVIDIA GB200 NVL72
13824GB · nvidia
AMD Instinct MI355X
288GB · amd
AMD Instinct MI325X
256GB · amd
AMD Instinct MI300X
192GB · amd
NVIDIA B200
192GB · nvidia
NVIDIA H100 NVL
188GB · nvidia
NVIDIA H200
141GB · nvidia
Intel Gaudi 3
128GB · intel

Frequently asked

What's the minimum VRAM to run Granite 3.0 2B Instruct?

2GB of VRAM is enough to run Granite 3.0 2B Instruct at the Q4_K_M quantization (file size 1.5 GB). Higher-quality quantizations need more.

Can I use Granite 3.0 2B Instruct commercially?

Yes — Granite 3.0 2B Instruct ships under the Apache 2.0, which permits commercial use. Always read the license text before deployment.

What's the context length of Granite 3.0 2B Instruct?

Granite 3.0 2B Instruct supports a context window of 4,096 tokens (about 4K).

Source: huggingface.co/ibm-granite/granite-3.0-2b-instruct

Reviewed by RunLocalAI Editorial. See our editorial policy for how we research and verify model claims.

Related — keep moving

Compare hardware
  • 4060 Ti 16 GB vs 4070 Ti Super →
  • Arc B580 vs 4060 Ti 16 GB →
Buyer guides
  • Best budget GPU — for 7B-13B models →
  • Best GPU for local AI →
  • Best laptop for local AI →
  • Best Mac for local AI →
  • Best used GPU for local AI →
When it doesn't work
  • CUDA out of memory →
  • Ollama running slowly →
  • ROCm not detected →
  • Model keeps crashing →
Recommended hardware
  • NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 →
  • AMD Instinct MI355X →
  • AMD Instinct MI325X →
  • AMD Instinct MI300X →
  • NVIDIA B200 →
Alternatives
Granite 3.0 8B InstructGranite 3.2 8BGranite 3.3 8BGranite 3 MoE (3B active)
Before you buy

Verify Granite 3.0 2B Instruct runs on your specific hardware before committing money.

Will it run on my hardware? →Custom hardware comparison →GPU recommender (4 questions) →
RUNLOCALAI

Operator-grade instrument for local-AI hardware intelligence. Hand-written verdicts. Real benchmarks. Reproducible commands.

OP·Fredoline Eruo
DIR
  • Models
  • Hardware
  • Tools
  • Benchmarks
  • Will it run?
GUIDES
  • Best GPU
  • Best laptop
  • Best Mac
  • Best used GPU
  • Best budget GPU
  • Best GPU for Ollama
  • Best GPU for SD
  • AI PC build $2K
  • CUDA vs ROCm
  • 16 vs 24 GB
  • Compare hardware
  • Custom compare
REF
  • Systems
  • Ecosystem maps
  • Pillar guides
  • Methodology
  • Glossary
  • Errors KB
  • Troubleshooting
  • Resources
  • Public API
EDITOR
  • About
  • About the author
  • Changelog
  • Latest
  • Updates
  • Submit benchmark
  • Send feedback
  • Trust
  • Editorial policy
  • How we make money
  • Contact
LEGAL
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Sitemap
MAIL · MONTHLY DIGEST
Get monthly local AI changes
Monthly recap. No spam.
DISCLOSURE

Some links on this site are affiliate links (Amazon Associates and other first-class retailers). When you buy through them, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Affiliate links do not influence our verdicts — there are cards we rate highly that we don't have affiliate relationships with, and cards that sell well that we refuse to recommend. Read more →

SYS · ONLINEUPTIME · 100%2026 · operator-owned
RUNLOCALAI · v38
Compare alternatives

Models worth comparing

Same parameter band, plus what's one tier above and below — so you can decide what actually fits your hardware.

Same tier
Models in the same parameter band as this one
  • BGE M3
    other · 0.57B
    unrated
  • BGE Reranker v2 M3
    other · 0.57B
    unrated
  • Llama 3.2 1B Instruct
    llama · 1B
    6.0/10
Step up
More capable — bigger memory footprint
  • Gemma 3 4B
    gemma · 4B
    7.5/10
  • Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
    llama · 3B
    7.4/10
Step down
Smaller — faster, runs on weaker hardware
No verdicted models in the next tier down yet.