Model Comparison

GPT-4o mini vs Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

GPT-4o mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is 2.6x cheaper per token.

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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

5 benchmarks

GPT-4o mini outperforms in 5 benchmarks (GPQA, HumanEval, MATH, MGSM, MMLU), while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.

GPT-4o mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sat Apr 18 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct costs less

For input processing, GPT-4o mini ($0.15/1M tokens) is 1.5x more expensive than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

For output processing, GPT-4o mini ($0.60/1M tokens) is 6.0x more expensive than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

In conclusion, GPT-4o mini is more expensive than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Sat Apr 18 2026 • llm-stats.com
OpenAI
GPT-4o mini
Input tokens$0.15
Output tokens$0.60
Best providerAzure
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
Input tokens$0.10
Output tokens$0.10
Best providerAzure
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Both models have the same input context window of 128,000 tokens. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while GPT-4o mini is limited to 16,384 tokens.

OpenAI
GPT-4o mini
Input128,000 tokens
Output16,384 tokens
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Sat Apr 18 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

GPT-4o mini supports multimodal inputs, whereas Phi-3.5-mini-instruct does not.

GPT-4o mini can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

GPT-4o mini

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

GPT-4o mini is licensed under a proprietary license, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct uses MIT.

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

GPT-4o mini

Proprietary

Closed source

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

GPT-4o mini was released on 2024-07-18, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct was released on 2024-08-23.

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is 1 month newer than GPT-4o mini.

GPT-4o mini

Jul 18, 2024

1.8 years ago

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Aug 23, 2024

1.7 years ago

1mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

GPT-4o mini has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2023-10-01, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm GPT-4o mini's training data extends to 2023-10-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Phi-3.5-mini-instruct's cutoff date.

GPT-4o mini

Oct 2023

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

—

Provider Availability

GPT-4o mini is available from Azure. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is available from Azure.

GPT-4o mini

azure logo
Azure
Input Price:Input: $0.15/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.60/1M

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

OpenAI
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher GPQA score (40.2% vs 30.4%)
Higher HumanEval score (87.2% vs 62.8%)
Higher MATH score (70.2% vs 48.5%)
Higher MGSM score (87.0% vs 47.9%)
Higher MMLU score (82.0% vs 69.0%)
Microsoft
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
OpenAI
GPT-4o mini
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

FAQ

Common questions about GPT-4o mini vs Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

GPT-4o mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. GPT-4o mini is made by OpenAI 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.
GPT-4o mini scores HumanEval: 87.2%, MGSM: 87.0%, MMLU: 82.0%, DROP: 79.7%, MATH: 70.2%. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct scores GSM8k: 86.2%, ARC-C: 84.6%, RULER: 84.1%, PIQA: 81.0%, OpenBookQA: 79.2%.
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is 1.5x cheaper for input tokens. GPT-4o mini costs $0.15/M input and $0.60/M output via azure. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct costs $0.10/M input and $0.10/M output via azure.
GPT-4o mini supports 128K 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.
Key differences include input pricing ($0.15 vs $0.10/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs MIT). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.
GPT-4o mini is developed by OpenAI and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is developed by Microsoft.