Model Comparison

GPT-5 nano vs Phi-3.5-MoE-instructWhich is better in 2026?

GPT-5 nano significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: GPT-5 nano vs Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct — which is better?

GPT-5 nano (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-5 nano outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct is better at 0 benchmarks. GPT-5 nano significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose GPT-5 nano if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Aug 2025

Choose Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct if…

  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

GPT-5 nano outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.

GPT-5 nano 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-5 nano specifies input context (400,000 tokens). Only GPT-5 nano specifies output context (128,000 tokens).

OpenAI
GPT-5 nano
Input400,000 tokens
Output128,000 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-5 nano supports multimodal inputs, whereas Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct does not.

GPT-5 nano can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

GPT-5 nano

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

GPT-5 nano 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-5 nano

Proprietary

Closed source

Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

GPT-5 nano was released on 2025-08-07, while Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct was released on 2024-08-23.

GPT-5 nano is 12 months newer than Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct.

GPT-5 nano

Aug 7, 2025

10 months ago

11mo newer
Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct

Aug 23, 2024

1.8 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

GPT-5 nano has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-05-30, while Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm GPT-5 nano's training data extends to 2024-05-30, but cannot make a direct comparison without Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct's cutoff date.

GPT-5 nano

May 2024

Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct

—

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

OpenAI
Larger context window (400,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher GPQA score (71.2% vs 36.8%)
Microsoft
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
OpenAI
GPT-5 nano
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct

FAQ

Common questions about GPT-5 nano vs Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct.

Which is better, GPT-5 nano or Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct?

GPT-5 nano significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. GPT-5 nano 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-5 nano compare to Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct in benchmarks?

GPT-5 nano scores AIME 2025: 85.2%, HMMT 2025: 75.6%, GPQA: 71.2%, FrontierMath: 9.6%, Humanity's Last Exam: 8.7%. 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-5 nano and Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct?

GPT-5 nano supports 400K 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-5 nano 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-5 nano and Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct?

GPT-5 nano is developed by OpenAI and Phi-3.5-MoE-instruct is developed by Microsoft.

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