Model Comparison

Gemini 3.6 Flash vs Phi 4 Mini ReasoningWhich is better in 2026?

Comparing Gemini 3.6 Flash and Phi 4 Mini Reasoning across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

Verdict: Gemini 3.6 Flash vs Phi 4 Mini Reasoning — which is better?

Gemini 3.6 Flash (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 3.6 Flash 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 3.6 Flash 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 3.6 Flash specifies input context (1,048,576 tokens). Only Gemini 3.6 Flash specifies output context (65,536 tokens).

Google
Gemini 3.6 Flash
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 3.6 Flash supports multimodal inputs, whereas Phi 4 Mini Reasoning does not.

Gemini 3.6 Flash can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Gemini 3.6 Flash

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Phi 4 Mini Reasoning

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemini 3.6 Flash 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 3.6 Flash

Proprietary

Closed source

Phi 4 Mini Reasoning

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemini 3.6 Flash was released on 2026-07-21, while Phi 4 Mini Reasoning was released on 2025-04-30.

Gemini 3.6 Flash is 15 months newer than Phi 4 Mini Reasoning.

Gemini 3.6 Flash

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

Gemini 3.6 Flash 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 3.6 Flash

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 3.6 Flash and Phi 4 Mini Reasoning side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemini 3.6 Flash
✓ Preferred
Phi 4 Mini Reasoning
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemini 3.6 Flash
Microsoft
Phi 4 Mini Reasoning

FAQ

Common questions about Gemini 3.6 Flash vs Phi 4 Mini Reasoning.

Which is better, Gemini 3.6 Flash or Phi 4 Mini Reasoning?

Gemini 3.6 Flash (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 3.6 Flash compare to Phi 4 Mini Reasoning in benchmarks?

Gemini 3.6 Flash scores CharXiv-R: 89.4%, OSWorld-Verified: 83.0%, Terminal-Bench 2.1: 78.0%, MLE-Bench: 63.9%, SWE-Bench Pro: 58.7%. Phi 4 Mini Reasoning scores MATH-500: 94.6%, AIME: 57.5%, GPQA: 52.0%.

What are the context window sizes for Gemini 3.6 Flash and Phi 4 Mini Reasoning?

Gemini 3.6 Flash 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 3.6 Flash 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 3.6 Flash and Phi 4 Mini Reasoning?

Gemini 3.6 Flash is developed by Google and Phi 4 Mini Reasoning is developed by Microsoft.

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