Model Comparison

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B vs Phi-4-multimodal-instructWhich is better in 2026?

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is 2.0x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B vs Phi-4-multimodal-instruct — which is better?

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B (by Google) and Phi-4-multimodal-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.

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B outperforms in 1 benchmarks (Video-MME), while Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is better at 2 benchmarks (MathVista, MMMU). Phi-4-multimodal-instruct shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

On price, Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is roughly 2.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B also accepts a larger context window (1,048,576 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B if…

  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,048,576 token context window

Choose Phi-4-multimodal-instruct if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 3 shared benchmarks
  • cost matters — it's about 2.0x cheaper per token
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Feb 2025
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

3 benchmarks

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B outperforms in 1 benchmarks (Video-MME), while Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is better at 2 benchmarks (MathVista, MMMU).

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Mon Jul 27 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct costs less

For input processing, Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B ($0.07/1M tokens) is 1.4x more expensive than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct ($0.05/1M tokens).

For output processing, Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B ($0.30/1M tokens) is 3.0x more expensive than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B is more expensive than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Mon Jul 27 2026 • llm-stats.com
Google
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B
Input tokens$0.07
Output tokens$0.30
Best providerGoogle
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

2.4B diff

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B has 2.4B more parameters than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct, making it 42.9% larger.

Google
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B
8.0Bparameters
Microsoft
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
5.6Bparameters
8.0B
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B
5.6B
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B accepts 1,048,576 input tokens compared to Phi-4-multimodal-instruct's 128,000 tokens. Phi-4-multimodal-instruct can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B is limited to 8,192 tokens.

Google
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B
Input1,048,576 tokens
Output8,192 tokens
Microsoft
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Mon Jul 27 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct support multimodal inputs.

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

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B is licensed under a proprietary license, while Phi-4-multimodal-instruct uses MIT.

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

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B

Proprietary

Closed source

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B was released on 2024-03-15, while Phi-4-multimodal-instruct was released on 2025-02-01.

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is 11 months newer than Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B.

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B

Mar 15, 2024

2.4 years ago

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

Feb 1, 2025

1.5 years ago

10mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B has a knowledge cutoff of 2024-10-01, while Phi-4-multimodal-instruct has a cutoff of 2024-06-01.

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B has more recent training data (up to 2024-10-01), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to Phi-4-multimodal-instruct (2024-06-01).

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B

Oct 2024

4 mo newer
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

Jun 2024

Provider Availability

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B is available from Google. Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is available from DeepInfra.

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B

google logo
Google
Input Price:Input: $0.07/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.30/1M

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→

Key Takeaways

Google
Larger context window (1,048,576 tokens)
Higher Video-MME score (66.2% vs 55.0%)
Microsoft
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights
Higher MathVista score (62.4% vs 54.7%)
Higher MMMU score (55.1% vs 53.7%)
GoogleGemini 1.5 Flash 8B
MicrosoftPhi-4-multimodal-instruct
Compare in Playground

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B
✓ Preferred
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B
Microsoft
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B vs Phi-4-multimodal-instruct.

Which is better, Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B or Phi-4-multimodal-instruct?

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B is made by Google and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is made by Microsoft. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B compare to Phi-4-multimodal-instruct in benchmarks?

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B scores XSTest: 92.6%, FLEURS: 86.4%, Natural2Code: 75.5%, WMT23: 72.6%, Video-MME: 66.2%. Phi-4-multimodal-instruct scores ScienceQA Visual: 97.5%, DocVQA: 93.2%, MMBench: 86.7%, POPE: 85.6%, OCRBench: 84.4%.

Is Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B cheaper than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct?

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is 1.4x cheaper for input tokens. Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B costs $0.07/M input and $0.30/M output via google. Phi-4-multimodal-instruct costs $0.05/M input and $0.10/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct?

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B 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 Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct?

Key differences include context window (1.0M vs 128K), input pricing ($0.07 vs $0.05/M), licensing (Proprietary vs MIT). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct?

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B is developed by Google and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is developed by Microsoft.

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