Model Comparison

GPT-3.5 Turbo vs Phi-3.5-MoE-instructWhich is better in 2026?

Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: GPT-3.5 Turbo vs Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct — which is better?

GPT-3.5 Turbo (by OpenAI) and Phi-3.5-MoE-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.

GPT-3.5 Turbo outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct is better at 5 benchmarks (GPQA, HumanEval, MATH, MGSM, MMLU). Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose GPT-3.5 Turbo if…

  • you want predictable pricing at $0.50/M input and $1.50/M output

Choose Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 5 of 5 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Aug 2024
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

5 benchmarks

GPT-3.5 Turbo outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct is better at 5 benchmarks (GPQA, HumanEval, MATH, MGSM, MMLU).

Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sat Jun 13 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only GPT-3.5 Turbo specifies input context (16,385 tokens). Only GPT-3.5 Turbo specifies output context (4,096 tokens).

OpenAI
GPT-3.5 Turbo
Input16,385 tokens
Output4,096 tokens
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Sat Jun 13 2026 • llm-stats.com

License

Usage and distribution terms

GPT-3.5 Turbo is licensed under a proprietary license, while Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct uses MIT.

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

GPT-3.5 Turbo

Proprietary

Closed source

Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

GPT-3.5 Turbo was released on 2023-03-21, while Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct was released on 2024-08-23.

Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct is 17 months newer than GPT-3.5 Turbo.

GPT-3.5 Turbo

Mar 21, 2023

3.2 years ago

Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct

Aug 23, 2024

1.8 years ago

1.4yr newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

GPT-3.5 Turbo has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2021-09-30, while Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm GPT-3.5 Turbo's training data extends to 2021-09-30, but cannot make a direct comparison without Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct's cutoff date.

GPT-3.5 Turbo

Sep 2021

Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct

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Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

OpenAI
Larger context window (16,385 tokens)
Microsoft
Has open weights
Higher GPQA score (36.8% vs 30.8%)
Higher HumanEval score (70.7% vs 68.0%)
Higher MATH score (59.5% vs 43.1%)
Higher MGSM score (58.7% vs 56.3%)
Higher MMLU score (78.9% vs 69.8%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
OpenAI
GPT-3.5 Turbo
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct

FAQ

Common questions about GPT-3.5 Turbo vs Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct.

Which is better, GPT-3.5 Turbo or Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct?

Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. GPT-3.5 Turbo is made by OpenAI and Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct is made by Microsoft. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does GPT-3.5 Turbo compare to Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct in benchmarks?

GPT-3.5 Turbo scores DROP: 70.2%, MMLU: 69.8%, HumanEval: 68.0%, MGSM: 56.3%, MATH: 43.1%. Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct scores ARC-C: 91.0%, OpenBookQA: 89.6%, GSM8k: 88.7%, PIQA: 88.6%, RULER: 87.1%.

What are the context window sizes for GPT-3.5 Turbo and Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct?

GPT-3.5 Turbo supports 16K tokens and Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct 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 GPT-3.5 Turbo and Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct?

Key differences include licensing (Proprietary vs MIT). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes GPT-3.5 Turbo and Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct?

GPT-3.5 Turbo is developed by OpenAI and Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct is developed by Microsoft.

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