Model Comparison

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite vs Phi 4Which is better in 2026?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Phi 4 is 2.0x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite vs Phi 4 — which is better?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite (by Google) 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.

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, SimpleQA), while Phi 4 is better at 0 benchmarks. Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

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

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite also accepts a larger context window (1,048,576 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,048,576 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jun 2025

Choose Phi 4 if…

  • cost matters — it's about 2.0x cheaper per token

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

2 benchmarks

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, SimpleQA), while Phi 4 is better at 0 benchmarks.

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Mon Jun 15 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Phi 4 costs less

For input processing, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite ($0.10/1M tokens) is 1.4x more expensive than Phi 4 ($0.07/1M tokens).

For output processing, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite ($0.40/1M tokens) is 2.9x more expensive than Phi 4 ($0.14/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is more expensive than Phi 4.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Mon Jun 15 2026 • llm-stats.com
Google
Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite
Input tokens$0.10
Output tokens$0.40
Best providerGoogle
Microsoft
Phi 4
Input tokens$0.07
Output tokens$0.14
Best providerDeepinfra
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Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite accepts 1,048,576 input tokens compared to Phi 4's 16,000 tokens. Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite can generate longer responses up to 65,536 tokens, while Phi 4 is limited to 16,000 tokens.

Google
Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite
Input1,048,576 tokens
Output65,536 tokens
Microsoft
Phi 4
Input16,000 tokens
Output16,000 tokens
Mon Jun 15 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite supports multimodal inputs, whereas Phi 4 does not.

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Phi 4

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, while Phi 4 uses MIT.

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

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License

Open weights

Phi 4

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite was released on 2025-06-17, while Phi 4 was released on 2024-12-12.

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is 6 months newer than Phi 4.

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

Jun 17, 2025

12 months ago

6mo newer
Phi 4

Dec 12, 2024

1.5 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite has a knowledge cutoff of 2025-01-01, while Phi 4 has a cutoff of 2024-06-01.

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite has more recent training data (up to 2025-01-01), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to Phi 4 (2024-06-01).

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

Jan 2025

7 mo newer
Phi 4

Jun 2024

Provider Availability

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is available from Google. Phi 4 is available from DeepInfra.

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

google logo
Google
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.40/1M

Phi 4

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.07/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.14/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

Larger context window (1,048,576 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher GPQA score (64.6% vs 56.1%)
Higher SimpleQA score (10.7% vs 3.0%)
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite
Microsoft
Phi 4

FAQ

Common questions about Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite vs Phi 4.

Which is better, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite or Phi 4?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is made by Google and Phi 4 is made by Microsoft. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite compare to Phi 4 in benchmarks?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite scores FACTS Grounding: 84.1%, Global-MMLU-Lite: 81.1%, MMMU: 72.9%, GPQA: 64.6%, Vibe-Eval: 51.3%. Phi 4 scores MMLU: 84.8%, HumanEval+: 82.8%, HumanEval: 82.6%, MGSM: 80.6%, MATH: 80.4%.

Is Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite cheaper than Phi 4?

Phi 4 is 1.4x cheaper for input tokens. Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite costs $0.10/M input and $0.40/M output via google. Phi 4 costs $0.07/M input and $0.14/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite and Phi 4?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite supports 1.0M tokens and Phi 4 supports 16K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite and Phi 4?

Key differences include context window (1.0M vs 16K), input pricing ($0.10 vs $0.07/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License vs MIT). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite and Phi 4?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is developed by Google and Phi 4 is developed by Microsoft.