Model Comparison

Claude Opus 5 vs Phi-3.5-mini-instructWhich is better in 2026?

Comparing Claude Opus 5 and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

Verdict: Claude Opus 5 vs Phi-3.5-mini-instruct — which is better?

Claude Opus 5 (by Anthropic) and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct (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.

On price, Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is roughly 100.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Claude Opus 5 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 5 if…

  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026

Choose Phi-3.5-mini-instruct if…

  • cost matters — it's about 100.0x cheaper per token
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

No common benchmarks found

Claude Opus 5 and Phi-3.5-mini-instructdon't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct costs less

For input processing, Claude Opus 5 ($5.00/1M tokens) is 50.0x more expensive than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude Opus 5 ($25.00/1M tokens) is 250.0x more expensive than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Opus 5 is more expensive than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Sat Jul 25 2026 • llm-stats.com
Anthropic
Claude Opus 5
Input tokens$5.00
Output tokens$25.00
Best providerAnthropic
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
Input tokens$0.10
Output tokens$0.10
Best providerAzure
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Claude Opus 5 accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Phi-3.5-mini-instruct's 128,000 tokens. Both models can generate responses up to 128,000 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude Opus 5
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Sat Jul 25 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Claude Opus 5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas Phi-3.5-mini-instruct does not.

Claude Opus 5 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Claude Opus 5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Claude Opus 5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct uses MIT.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

Claude Opus 5

Proprietary

Closed source

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude Opus 5 was released on 2026-07-24, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct was released on 2024-08-23.

Claude Opus 5 is 23 months newer than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct.

Claude Opus 5

Jul 24, 2026

1 days ago

1.9yr newer
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Aug 23, 2024

1.9 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Provider Availability

Claude Opus 5 is available from Anthropic. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is available from Azure.

Claude Opus 5

anthropic logo
Anthropic
Input Price:Input: $5.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $25.00/1M

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

azure logo
Azure
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.10/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Anthropic
Larger context window (1,000,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Microsoft
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Claude Opus 5 and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Claude Opus 5
✓ Preferred
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Anthropic
Claude Opus 5
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Claude Opus 5 vs Phi-3.5-mini-instruct.

Which is better, Claude Opus 5 or Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Claude Opus 5 (Anthropic) and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct (Microsoft) each have strengths in different areas. Compare their benchmark scores, pricing, context windows, and capabilities above to determine which fits your needs.

How does Claude Opus 5 compare to Phi-3.5-mini-instruct in benchmarks?

Claude Opus 5 scores BrowseComp: 90.8%, BioMysteryBench: 90.1%, OSWorld 2.0: 70.6%, DeepSWE 1.1: 68.8%, Humanity's Last Exam: 64.7%. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct scores GSM8k: 86.2%, ARC-C: 84.6%, RULER: 84.1%, PIQA: 81.0%, OpenBookQA: 79.2%.

Is Claude Opus 5 cheaper than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is 50.0x cheaper for input tokens. Claude Opus 5 costs $5.00/M input and $25.00/M output via anthropic. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct costs $0.10/M input and $0.10/M output via azure.

What are the context window sizes for Claude Opus 5 and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Claude Opus 5 supports 1.0M tokens and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct supports 128K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Claude Opus 5 and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Key differences include context window (1.0M vs 128K), input pricing ($5.00 vs $0.10/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs MIT). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Claude Opus 5 and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Claude Opus 5 is developed by Anthropic and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is developed by Microsoft.

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