Model Comparison
Claude Opus 4.6 vs Phi 4Which is better in 2026?
Claude Opus 4.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Phi 4 is 114.3x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Claude Opus 4.6 vs Phi 4 — which is better?
Claude Opus 4.6 (by Anthropic) and Phi 4 (by Microsoft) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.
Claude Opus 4.6 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Phi 4 is better at 0 benchmarks. Claude Opus 4.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Phi 4 is roughly 114.3x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Claude Opus 4.6 also accepts a larger context window (1,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Claude Opus 4.6 if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Feb 2026
Choose Phi 4 if…
- cost matters — it's about 114.3x cheaper per token
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Claude Opus 4.6 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Phi 4 is better at 0 benchmarks.
Claude Opus 4.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude Opus 4.6 ($5.00/1M tokens) is 71.4x more expensive than Phi 4 ($0.07/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude Opus 4.6 ($25.00/1M tokens) is 178.6x more expensive than Phi 4 ($0.14/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Opus 4.6 is more expensive than Phi 4.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Claude Opus 4.6 accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Phi 4's 16,000 tokens. Claude Opus 4.6 can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Phi 4 is limited to 16,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Claude Opus 4.6 supports multimodal inputs, whereas Phi 4 does not.
Claude Opus 4.6 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Claude Opus 4.6
Phi 4
License
Usage and distribution terms
Claude Opus 4.6 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Phi 4 uses MIT.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
MIT
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Claude Opus 4.6 was released on 2026-02-05, while Phi 4 was released on 2024-12-12.
Claude Opus 4.6 is 14 months newer than Phi 4.
Feb 5, 2026
4 months ago
1.2yr newerDec 12, 2024
1.5 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Phi 4 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-06-01, while Claude Opus 4.6's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Phi 4's training data extends to 2024-06-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Claude Opus 4.6's cutoff date.
—
Jun 2024
Provider Availability
Claude Opus 4.6 is available from Anthropic. Phi 4 is available from DeepInfra.
Claude Opus 4.6
Phi 4
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Claude Opus 4.6
View detailsAnthropic
Phi 4
View detailsMicrosoft
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about Claude Opus 4.6 vs Phi 4.