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Grok-2 mini vs Phi 4 Reasoning Plus

Phi 4 Reasoning Plus significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

xAI · Microsoft · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

Grok-2 mini outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Phi 4 Reasoning Plus is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU-Pro). Phi 4 Reasoning Plus significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Based on current benchmark, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.

Choose Grok-2 mini

  • you are already invested in the xAI ecosystem

Choose Phi 4 Reasoning Plus

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Apr 2025
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

Grok-2 mini
xAI
Phi 4 Reasoning Plus
Microsoft
Benchmark wins
0 of 2
2 of 2
Input price
— / M
— / M
Output price
— / M
— / M
Context window
—
—
Released
Aug 2024
Apr 2025
License
Proprietary
MIT

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

2 benchmarks

Grok-2 mini outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Phi 4 Reasoning Plus is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU-Pro).

Phi 4 Reasoning Plus significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Tue Aug 25 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Playground indexes and blind preference scores

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Grok-2 mini supports multimodal inputs, whereas Phi 4 Reasoning Plus does not.

Grok-2 mini can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Grok-2 mini

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Phi 4 Reasoning Plus

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Grok-2 mini is licensed under a proprietary license, while Phi 4 Reasoning Plus uses MIT.

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

Grok-2 mini

Proprietary

Closed source

Phi 4 Reasoning Plus

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Grok-2 mini was released on 2024-08-13, while Phi 4 Reasoning Plus was released on 2025-04-30.

Phi 4 Reasoning Plus is 9 months newer than Grok-2 mini.

Grok-2 mini

Aug 13, 2024

2.0 years ago

Phi 4 Reasoning Plus

Apr 30, 2025

1.3 years ago

8mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Phi 4 Reasoning Plus has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-03-01, while Grok-2 mini's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Phi 4 Reasoning Plus's training data extends to 2025-03-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Grok-2 mini's cutoff date.

Grok-2 mini

—

Phi 4 Reasoning Plus

Mar 2025

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Grok-2 mini and Phi 4 Reasoning Plus side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Grok-2 mini
✓ Preferred
Phi 4 Reasoning Plus
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about Grok-2 mini vs Phi 4 Reasoning Plus.

Which is better, Grok-2 mini or Phi 4 Reasoning Plus?

Phi 4 Reasoning Plus significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Grok-2 mini is made by xAI and Phi 4 Reasoning Plus is made by Microsoft. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Grok-2 mini compare to Phi 4 Reasoning Plus in benchmarks?

Grok-2 mini scores DocVQA: 93.2%, MMLU: 86.2%, HumanEval: 85.7%, MATH: 73.0%, MMLU-Pro: 72.0%. Phi 4 Reasoning Plus scores FlenQA: 97.9%, HumanEval+: 92.3%, IFEval: 84.9%, OmniMath: 81.9%, AIME 2024: 81.3%.

What are the main differences between Grok-2 mini and Phi 4 Reasoning Plus?

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

Who makes Grok-2 mini and Phi 4 Reasoning Plus?

Grok-2 mini is developed by xAI and Phi 4 Reasoning Plus is developed by Microsoft.

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