Model Comparison

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite vs Phi 4 Mini ReasoningWhich is better in 2026?

Comparing Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite and Phi 4 Mini Reasoning across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

Verdict: Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite vs Phi 4 Mini Reasoning — which is better?

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite (by Google) and Phi 4 Mini Reasoning (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.

Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite if…

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026

Choose Phi 4 Mini Reasoning if…

  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

No common benchmarks found

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite and Phi 4 Mini Reasoningdon't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite specifies input context (1,048,576 tokens). Only Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite specifies output context (65,536 tokens).

Google
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
Input1,048,576 tokens
Output65,536 tokens
Microsoft
Phi 4 Mini Reasoning
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Sun Jul 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite supports multimodal inputs, whereas Phi 4 Mini Reasoning does not.

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Phi 4 Mini Reasoning

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is licensed under a proprietary license, while Phi 4 Mini Reasoning uses MIT.

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

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite

Proprietary

Closed source

Phi 4 Mini Reasoning

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite was released on 2026-07-21, while Phi 4 Mini Reasoning was released on 2025-04-30.

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is 15 months newer than Phi 4 Mini Reasoning.

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite

Jul 21, 2026

4 days ago

1.2yr newer
Phi 4 Mini Reasoning

Apr 30, 2025

1.2 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite has a knowledge cutoff of 2026-03-31, while Phi 4 Mini Reasoning has a cutoff of 2025-02-01.

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite has more recent training data (up to 2026-03-31), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to Phi 4 Mini Reasoning (2025-02-01).

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite

Mar 2026

1.1 yr newer
Phi 4 Mini Reasoning

Feb 2025

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Google
Larger context window (1,048,576 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Microsoft
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite and Phi 4 Mini Reasoning side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
✓ Preferred
Phi 4 Mini Reasoning
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
Microsoft
Phi 4 Mini Reasoning

FAQ

Common questions about Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite vs Phi 4 Mini Reasoning.

Which is better, Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite or Phi 4 Mini Reasoning?

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite (Google) and Phi 4 Mini Reasoning (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 Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite compare to Phi 4 Mini Reasoning in benchmarks?

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite scores CharXiv-R: 76.5%, OSWorld-Verified: 74.0%, SWE-Bench Pro: 54.2%, Terminal-Bench 2.1: 54.0%, MLE-Bench: 39.2%. Phi 4 Mini Reasoning scores MATH-500: 94.6%, AIME: 57.5%, GPQA: 52.0%.

What are the context window sizes for Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite and Phi 4 Mini Reasoning?

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite supports 1.0M tokens and Phi 4 Mini Reasoning supports an unknown number of tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite and Phi 4 Mini Reasoning?

Key differences include multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs MIT). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite and Phi 4 Mini Reasoning?

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is developed by Google and Phi 4 Mini Reasoning is developed by Microsoft.

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