Model Comparison

Grok-2 vs Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Grok-2 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is 40.0x cheaper per token.

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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

5 benchmarks

Grok-2 outperforms in 5 benchmarks (GPQA, HumanEval, MATH, MMLU, MMLU-Pro), while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.

Grok-2 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Fri May 15 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, Grok-2 ($2.00/1M tokens) is 20.0x more expensive than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

For output processing, Grok-2 ($10.00/1M tokens) is 100.0x more expensive than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Grok-2 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

Fri May 15 2026 • llm-stats.com

Grok-2

Input tokens$2.00

Output tokens$10.00

Best providerxAI

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 Grok-2 is limited to 8,000 tokens.

Grok-2

Input128,000 tokens

Output8,000 tokens

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Input128,000 tokens

Output128,000 tokens

Fri May 15 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Grok-2 supports multimodal inputs, whereas Phi-3.5-mini-instruct does not.

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

Grok-2

Text

Images

Audio

Video

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Text

Images

Audio

Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Grok-2 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.

Grok-2

Proprietary

Closed source

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Grok-2 was released on 2024-08-13, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct was released on 2024-08-23.

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is 0 month newer than Grok-2.

Grok-2

Aug 13, 2024

1.8 years ago

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Aug 23, 2024

1.7 years ago

1w newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Provider Availability

Grok-2 is available from xAI. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is available from Azure.

Grok-2

xAI

Input Price:Input: $2.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $10.00/1M

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Azure

Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.10/1M

* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

Grok-2

View details

xAI

Supports multimodal inputs

Higher GPQA score (56.0% vs 30.4%)

Higher HumanEval score (88.4% vs 62.8%)

Higher MATH score (76.1% vs 48.5%)

Higher MMLU score (87.5% vs 69.0%)

Higher MMLU-Pro score (75.5% vs 47.4%)

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

View details

Microsoft

Less expensive input tokens

Less expensive output tokens

Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature	Grok-2	Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Grok-2 vs Phi-3.5-mini-instruct.

Which is better, Grok-2 or Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Grok-2 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Grok-2 is made by xAI 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.

How does Grok-2 compare to Phi-3.5-mini-instruct in benchmarks?

Grok-2 scores DocVQA: 93.6%, HumanEval: 88.4%, MMLU: 87.5%, MATH: 76.1%, MMLU-Pro: 75.5%. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct scores GSM8k: 86.2%, ARC-C: 84.6%, RULER: 84.1%, PIQA: 81.0%, OpenBookQA: 79.2%.

Is Grok-2 cheaper than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is 20.0x cheaper for input tokens. Grok-2 costs $2.00/M input and $10.00/M output via xai. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct costs $0.10/M input and $0.10/M output via azure.

What are the context window sizes for Grok-2 and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Grok-2 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.

What are the main differences between Grok-2 and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Key differences include input pricing ($2.00 vs $0.10/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs MIT). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Grok-2 and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Grok-2 is developed by xAI and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is developed by Microsoft.