Model Comparison

Grok-4 vs Phi-3.5-vision-instructWhich is better in 2026?

Comparing Grok-4 and Phi-3.5-vision-instruct across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

Verdict: Grok-4 vs Phi-3.5-vision-instruct — which is better?

Grok-4 (by xAI) and Phi-3.5-vision-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.

Choose Grok-4 if…

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2025

Choose Phi-3.5-vision-instruct if…

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

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

No common benchmarks found

Grok-4 and Phi-3.5-vision-instructdon't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Grok-4 specifies input context (256,000 tokens). Only Grok-4 specifies output context (8,000 tokens).

xAI
Grok-4
Input256,000 tokens
Output8,000 tokens
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-vision-instruct
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Sun Jul 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Grok-4 and Phi-3.5-vision-instruct support multimodal inputs.

They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.

Grok-4

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Phi-3.5-vision-instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Grok-4 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Phi-3.5-vision-instruct uses MIT.

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

Grok-4

Proprietary

Closed source

Phi-3.5-vision-instruct

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Grok-4 was released on 2025-07-09, while Phi-3.5-vision-instruct was released on 2024-08-23.

Grok-4 is 11 months newer than Phi-3.5-vision-instruct.

Grok-4

Jul 9, 2025

1.0 years ago

10mo newer
Phi-3.5-vision-instruct

Aug 23, 2024

1.9 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Grok-4 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-12-31, while Phi-3.5-vision-instruct's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Grok-4's training data extends to 2024-12-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without Phi-3.5-vision-instruct's cutoff date.

Grok-4

Dec 2024

Phi-3.5-vision-instruct

—

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

xAI
Larger context window (256,000 tokens)
Microsoft
Has open weights
xAIGrok-4
MicrosoftPhi-3.5-vision-instruct
Compare in Playground

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Grok-4 and Phi-3.5-vision-instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Grok-4
✓ Preferred
Phi-3.5-vision-instruct
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
xAI
Grok-4
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-vision-instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Grok-4 vs Phi-3.5-vision-instruct.

Which is better, Grok-4 or Phi-3.5-vision-instruct?

Grok-4 (xAI) and Phi-3.5-vision-instruct (Microsoft) each have strengths in different areas. Compare their benchmark scores, pricing, context windows, and capabilities above to determine which fits your needs.

How does Grok-4 compare to Phi-3.5-vision-instruct in benchmarks?

Grok-4 scores AIME 2025: 91.7%, HMMT25: 90.0%, GPQA: 87.5%, LiveCodeBench: 79.0%, Humanity's Last Exam: 40.0%. Phi-3.5-vision-instruct scores ScienceQA: 91.3%, POPE: 86.1%, MMBench: 81.9%, ChartQA: 81.8%, AI2D: 78.1%.

What are the context window sizes for Grok-4 and Phi-3.5-vision-instruct?

Grok-4 supports 256K tokens and Phi-3.5-vision-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 Grok-4 and Phi-3.5-vision-instruct?

Key differences include licensing (Proprietary vs MIT). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Grok-4 and Phi-3.5-vision-instruct?

Grok-4 is developed by xAI and Phi-3.5-vision-instruct is developed by Microsoft.

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