Model Comparison

GPT-4o mini vs Phi-3.5-MoE-instructWhich is better in 2026?

GPT-4o mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: GPT-4o mini vs Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct — which is better?

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

Choose GPT-4o mini if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 5 of 5 shared benchmarks

Choose Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct if…

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Aug 2024
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Want to compare interactively?Try the playground

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-MoE-instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.

GPT-4o mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sun Jun 14 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only GPT-4o mini specifies input context (128,000 tokens). Only GPT-4o mini specifies output context (16,384 tokens).

OpenAI
GPT-4o mini
Input128,000 tokens
Output16,384 tokens
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Sun Jun 14 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

GPT-4o mini supports multimodal inputs, whereas Phi-3.5-MoE-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-MoE-instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

GPT-4o mini 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-4o mini

Proprietary

Closed source

Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

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

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

GPT-4o mini

Jul 18, 2024

1.9 years ago

Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct

Aug 23, 2024

1.8 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-MoE-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-MoE-instruct's cutoff date.

GPT-4o mini

Oct 2023

Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct

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Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

OpenAI
Larger context window (128,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher GPQA score (40.2% vs 36.8%)
Higher HumanEval score (87.2% vs 70.7%)
Higher MATH score (70.2% vs 59.5%)
Higher MGSM score (87.0% vs 58.7%)
Higher MMLU score (82.0% vs 78.9%)
Microsoft
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

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

FAQ

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

Which is better, GPT-4o mini or Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct?

GPT-4o mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. GPT-4o mini 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-4o mini compare to Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct in benchmarks?

GPT-4o mini scores HumanEval: 87.2%, MGSM: 87.0%, MMLU: 82.0%, DROP: 79.7%, MATH: 70.2%. 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-4o mini and Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct?

GPT-4o mini supports 128K 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-4o mini and Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct?

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

Who makes GPT-4o mini and Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct?

GPT-4o mini is developed by OpenAI and Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct is developed by Microsoft.

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