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DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash vs Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash leads the LLM Stats Score 51.8 to 2.8. Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is 5.3x cheaper per token.

DeepSeek · Microsoft · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash leads the overall LLM Stats Score 51.8 to 2.8, ranking #12 overall.

On price, Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is roughly 5.3x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash also accepts a larger context window (1,040,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.

Choose DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash

  • overall performance matters — it scores 51.8 and ranks #12 on LLM Stats
  • your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,040,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2026

Choose Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

  • cost matters — it's about 5.3x cheaper per token

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash
DeepSeek
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
Microsoft
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
51.8
#12
2.8
#311
Reasoning
48.9
#17
-0.2
#319
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
—
—
Input price
$0.22 / M
$0.05 / M
Output price
$0.66 / M
$0.10 / M
Context window
1,040,000
128,000

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

2 shared
Index
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
Vision
29.5#31
1.6#172
Multimodal
34.3#13
3.6#141
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

20 reported for DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash · 15 for Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

No common benchmarks found

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash and Phi-4-multimodal-instructdon't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct costs less

For input processing, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash ($0.22/1M tokens) is 4.4x more expensive than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct ($0.05/1M tokens).

For output processing, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash ($0.66/1M tokens) is 6.6x more expensive than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

In conclusion, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash is more expensive than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Fri Sep 11 2026 • llm-stats.com
DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash
Input tokens$0.22
Output tokens$0.66
Best providerFireworks
Microsoft
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
Input tokens$0.05
Output tokens$0.10
Best providerDeepinfra
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

757.6B diff

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash has 757.6B more parameters than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct, making it 13528.7% larger.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash
763.2Bparameters
Microsoft
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
5.6Bparameters
763.2B
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash
5.6B
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash accepts 1,040,000 input tokens compared to Phi-4-multimodal-instruct's 128,000 tokens. DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash can generate longer responses up to 393,216 tokens, while Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is limited to 128,000 tokens.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash
Input1,040,000 tokens
Output393,216 tokens
Microsoft
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Fri Sep 11 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input capabilities

Documented input modalities across available providers

Both DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct support multimodal inputs.

They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Both models are licensed under MIT.

Both models share the same licensing terms, providing consistent usage rights.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash

MIT

Open weights

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash was released on 2026-09-10, while Phi-4-multimodal-instruct was released on 2025-02-01.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash is 20 months newer than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash

Sep 10, 2026

0 days ago

1.6yr newer
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

Feb 1, 2025

1.6 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-06-01, while DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Phi-4-multimodal-instruct's training data extends to 2024-06-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash's cutoff date.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash

—

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

Jun 2024

Provider Availability

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash is available from Fireworks, DeepInfra, DeepSeek, Novita. Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is available from DeepInfra.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash

fireworks logo
Fireworks
Input Price:Input: $0.22/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.66/1M
deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.20/1M
deepseek logo
DeepSeek
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.20/1M
novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.20/1M

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.05/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.10/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash
✓ Preferred
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash vs Phi-4-multimodal-instruct.

Which is better, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash or Phi-4-multimodal-instruct?

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash leads the LLM Stats Score 51.8 to 2.8. DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash is made by DeepSeek and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is made by Microsoft. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their capability indexes, individual benchmarks, pricing, and limits above.

How does DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash compare to Phi-4-multimodal-instruct in benchmarks?

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash scores CodeForces: 100.0%, GPQA: 90.9%, Terminal-Bench 2.1: 90.6%, BabyVision: 89.6%, CyberGym: 88.1%. Phi-4-multimodal-instruct scores ScienceQA Visual: 97.5%, DocVQA: 93.2%, MMBench: 86.7%, POPE: 85.6%, OCRBench: 84.4%.

Is DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash cheaper than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct?

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is 4.4x cheaper for input tokens. DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash costs $0.22/M input and $0.66/M output via fireworks. Phi-4-multimodal-instruct costs $0.05/M input and $0.10/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct?

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash supports 1.0M tokens and Phi-4-multimodal-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 DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (51.8 vs 2.8), context window (1.0M vs 128K), input pricing ($0.22 vs $0.05/M). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct?

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash is developed by DeepSeek and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is developed by Microsoft.

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