Model Comparison

Gemma 3 4B vs Phi-3.5-mini-instructWhich is better in 2026?

Gemma 3 4B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Gemma 3 4B is 4.0x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Gemma 3 4B vs Phi-3.5-mini-instruct — which is better?

Gemma 3 4B (by Google) and Phi-3.5-mini-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.

Gemma 3 4B outperforms in 5 benchmarks (BIG-Bench Hard, GPQA, GSM8k, HumanEval, MATH), while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is better at 2 benchmarks (MBPP, MMLU-Pro). Gemma 3 4B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

On price, Gemma 3 4B is roughly 4.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Gemma 3 4B also accepts a larger context window (131,072 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Gemma 3 4B if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 5 of 7 shared benchmarks
  • cost matters — it's about 4.0x cheaper per token
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 131,072 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Mar 2025

Choose Phi-3.5-mini-instruct if…

  • you want predictable pricing at $0.10/M input and $0.10/M output

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

7 benchmarks

Gemma 3 4B outperforms in 5 benchmarks (BIG-Bench Hard, GPQA, GSM8k, HumanEval, MATH), while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is better at 2 benchmarks (MBPP, MMLU-Pro).

Gemma 3 4B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Mon Jun 29 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Gemma 3 4B costs less

For input processing, Gemma 3 4B ($0.02/1M tokens) is 5.0x cheaper than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

For output processing, Gemma 3 4B ($0.04/1M tokens) is 2.5x cheaper than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is more expensive than Gemma 3 4B.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Mon Jun 29 2026 • llm-stats.com
Google
Gemma 3 4B
Input tokens$0.02
Output tokens$0.04
Best providerDeepinfra
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
Input tokens$0.10
Output tokens$0.10
Best providerAzure
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

200.0M diff

Gemma 3 4B has 0.2B more parameters than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct, making it 5.3% larger.

Google
Gemma 3 4B
4.0Bparameters
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
3.8Bparameters
4.0B
Gemma 3 4B
3.8B
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Gemma 3 4B accepts 131,072 input tokens compared to Phi-3.5-mini-instruct's 128,000 tokens. Gemma 3 4B can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is limited to 128,000 tokens.

Google
Gemma 3 4B
Input131,072 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Mon Jun 29 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Gemma 3 4B supports multimodal inputs, whereas Phi-3.5-mini-instruct does not.

Gemma 3 4B can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Gemma 3 4B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemma 3 4B is licensed under Gemma, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct uses MIT.

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

Gemma 3 4B

Gemma

Open weights

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemma 3 4B was released on 2025-03-12, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct was released on 2024-08-23.

Gemma 3 4B is 7 months newer than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct.

Gemma 3 4B

Mar 12, 2025

1.3 years ago

6mo newer
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Aug 23, 2024

1.8 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemma 3 4B has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-08-01, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Gemma 3 4B's training data extends to 2024-08-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Phi-3.5-mini-instruct's cutoff date.

Gemma 3 4B

Aug 2024

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

—

Provider Availability

Gemma 3 4B is available from DeepInfra. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is available from Azure.

Gemma 3 4B

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.02/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.04/1M

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

azure logo
Azure
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput 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 (131,072 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Higher BIG-Bench Hard score (72.2% vs 69.0%)
Higher GPQA score (30.8% vs 30.4%)
Higher GSM8k score (89.2% vs 86.2%)
Higher HumanEval score (71.3% vs 62.8%)
Higher MATH score (75.6% vs 48.5%)
Microsoft
Higher MBPP score (69.6% vs 63.2%)
Higher MMLU-Pro score (47.4% vs 43.6%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Gemma 3 4B and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemma 3 4B
✓ Preferred
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemma 3 4B
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Gemma 3 4B vs Phi-3.5-mini-instruct.

Which is better, Gemma 3 4B or Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Gemma 3 4B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Gemma 3 4B is made by Google and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is made by Microsoft. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Gemma 3 4B compare to Phi-3.5-mini-instruct in benchmarks?

Gemma 3 4B scores IFEval: 90.2%, GSM8k: 89.2%, DocVQA: 75.8%, MATH: 75.6%, AI2D: 74.8%. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct scores GSM8k: 86.2%, ARC-C: 84.6%, RULER: 84.1%, PIQA: 81.0%, OpenBookQA: 79.2%.

Is Gemma 3 4B cheaper than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Gemma 3 4B is 5.0x cheaper for input tokens. Gemma 3 4B costs $0.02/M input and $0.04/M output via deepinfra. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct costs $0.10/M input and $0.10/M output via azure.

What are the context window sizes for Gemma 3 4B and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Gemma 3 4B supports 131K tokens and Phi-3.5-mini-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 Gemma 3 4B and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Key differences include context window (131K vs 128K), input pricing ($0.02 vs $0.10/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Gemma vs MIT). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Gemma 3 4B and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Gemma 3 4B is developed by Google and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is developed by Microsoft.

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