Model Comparison

GPT-5.6 Luna vs Phi 4 MiniWhich is better in 2026?

GPT-5.6 Luna significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: GPT-5.6 Luna vs Phi 4 Mini — which is better?

GPT-5.6 Luna (by OpenAI) and Phi 4 Mini (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-5.6 Luna outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Phi 4 Mini is better at 0 benchmarks. GPT-5.6 Luna significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose GPT-5.6 Luna if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026

Choose Phi 4 Mini if…

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

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

GPT-5.6 Luna outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Phi 4 Mini is better at 0 benchmarks.

GPT-5.6 Luna significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sat Jul 18 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only GPT-5.6 Luna specifies input context (1,050,000 tokens). Only GPT-5.6 Luna specifies output context (128,000 tokens).

OpenAI
GPT-5.6 Luna
Input1,050,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Microsoft
Phi 4 Mini
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Sat Jul 18 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

GPT-5.6 Luna supports multimodal inputs, whereas Phi 4 Mini does not.

GPT-5.6 Luna can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

GPT-5.6 Luna

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Phi 4 Mini

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

GPT-5.6 Luna is licensed under a proprietary license, while Phi 4 Mini uses MIT.

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

GPT-5.6 Luna

Proprietary

Closed source

Phi 4 Mini

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

GPT-5.6 Luna was released on 2026-07-09, while Phi 4 Mini was released on 2025-02-01.

GPT-5.6 Luna is 17 months newer than Phi 4 Mini.

GPT-5.6 Luna

Jul 9, 2026

1 weeks ago

1.4yr newer
Phi 4 Mini

Feb 1, 2025

1.5 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

GPT-5.6 Luna has a knowledge cutoff of 2026-02-16, while Phi 4 Mini has a cutoff of 2024-06-01.

GPT-5.6 Luna has more recent training data (up to 2026-02-16), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to Phi 4 Mini (2024-06-01).

GPT-5.6 Luna

Feb 2026

1.7 yr newer
Phi 4 Mini

Jun 2024

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

OpenAI
Larger context window (1,050,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher GPQA score (92.3% vs 25.2%)
Microsoft
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against GPT-5.6 Luna and Phi 4 Mini side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

GPT-5.6 Luna
✓ Preferred
Phi 4 Mini
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
OpenAI
GPT-5.6 Luna
Microsoft
Phi 4 Mini

FAQ

Common questions about GPT-5.6 Luna vs Phi 4 Mini.

Which is better, GPT-5.6 Luna or Phi 4 Mini?

GPT-5.6 Luna significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. GPT-5.6 Luna is made by OpenAI and Phi 4 Mini is made by Microsoft. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does GPT-5.6 Luna compare to Phi 4 Mini in benchmarks?

GPT-5.6 Luna scores Connectors: 99.9%, HealthBench Consensus: 95.1%, GPQA: 92.3%, Search and Function-Calling: 89.7%, Capture-the-Flag Challenges (Internal): 85.2%. Phi 4 Mini scores GSM8k: 88.6%, ARC-C: 83.7%, BoolQ: 81.2%, OpenBookQA: 79.2%, PIQA: 77.6%.

What are the context window sizes for GPT-5.6 Luna and Phi 4 Mini?

GPT-5.6 Luna supports 1.1M tokens and Phi 4 Mini 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-5.6 Luna and Phi 4 Mini?

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-5.6 Luna and Phi 4 Mini?

GPT-5.6 Luna is developed by OpenAI and Phi 4 Mini is developed by Microsoft.

Related comparisons