Model Comparison

Hermes 3 70B vs Phi-3.5-mini-instructWhich is better in 2026?

Hermes 3 70B has a slight edge in benchmark performance. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is 6.1x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Hermes 3 70B vs Phi-3.5-mini-instruct — which is better?

Hermes 3 70B (by Nous Research) and Phi-3.5-mini-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.

Hermes 3 70B outperforms in 6 benchmarks (BoolQ, GPQA, HellaSwag, MMLU, PIQA, Winogrande), while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is better at 5 benchmarks (ARC-C, MATH, MMLU-Pro, OpenBookQA, TruthfulQA). Hermes 3 70B has a slight edge in benchmark performance.

On price, Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is roughly 6.1x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Hermes 3 70B also accepts a larger context window (131,072 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Hermes 3 70B if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 6 of 11 shared benchmarks
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 131,072 token context window

Choose Phi-3.5-mini-instruct if…

  • cost matters — it's about 6.1x cheaper per token
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Aug 2024

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

11 benchmarks

Hermes 3 70B outperforms in 6 benchmarks (BoolQ, GPQA, HellaSwag, MMLU, PIQA, Winogrande), while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is better at 5 benchmarks (ARC-C, MATH, MMLU-Pro, OpenBookQA, TruthfulQA).

Hermes 3 70B has a slight edge in benchmark performance.

Tue Jul 21 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, Hermes 3 70B ($0.35/1M tokens) is 3.5x more expensive than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

For output processing, Hermes 3 70B ($1.40/1M tokens) is 14.0x more expensive than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Hermes 3 70B 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
Tue Jul 21 2026 • llm-stats.com
Nous Research
Hermes 3 70B
Input tokens$0.35
Output tokens$1.40
Best providerDeepinfra
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
Input tokens$0.10
Output tokens$0.10
Best providerAzure
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

66.2B diff

Hermes 3 70B has 66.2B more parameters than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct, making it 1742.1% larger.

Nous Research
Hermes 3 70B
70.0Bparameters
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
3.8Bparameters
70.0B
Hermes 3 70B
3.8B
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Hermes 3 70B accepts 131,072 input tokens compared to Phi-3.5-mini-instruct's 128,000 tokens. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Hermes 3 70B is limited to 16,384 tokens.

Nous Research
Hermes 3 70B
Input131,072 tokens
Output16,384 tokens
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Tue Jul 21 2026 • llm-stats.com

License

Usage and distribution terms

Hermes 3 70B is licensed under Apache 2.0, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct uses MIT.

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

Hermes 3 70B

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Hermes 3 70B was released on 2024-08-15, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct was released on 2024-08-23.

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is 0 month newer than Hermes 3 70B.

Hermes 3 70B

Aug 15, 2024

1.9 years ago

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Aug 23, 2024

1.9 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

Hermes 3 70B is available from DeepInfra. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is available from Azure.

Hermes 3 70B

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.35/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.40/1M

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

azure logo
Azure
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.10/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Nous Research
Larger context window (131,072 tokens)
Higher BoolQ score (88.0% vs 78.0%)
Higher GPQA score (66.1% vs 30.4%)
Higher HellaSwag score (88.2% vs 69.4%)
Higher MMLU score (79.1% vs 69.0%)
Higher PIQA score (84.4% vs 81.0%)
Higher Winogrande score (83.2% vs 68.5%)
Microsoft
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Higher ARC-C score (84.6% vs 65.5%)
Higher MATH score (48.5% vs 20.8%)
Higher MMLU-Pro score (47.4% vs 47.2%)
Higher OpenBookQA score (79.2% vs 49.4%)
Higher TruthfulQA score (64.0% vs 63.3%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Hermes 3 70B and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Hermes 3 70B
✓ Preferred
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Nous Research
Hermes 3 70B
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Hermes 3 70B vs Phi-3.5-mini-instruct.

Which is better, Hermes 3 70B or Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Hermes 3 70B has a slight edge in benchmark performance. Hermes 3 70B is made by Nous Research 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 Hermes 3 70B compare to Phi-3.5-mini-instruct in benchmarks?

Hermes 3 70B scores MT-Bench: 89.9%, HellaSwag: 88.2%, BoolQ: 88.0%, PIQA: 84.4%, Winogrande: 83.2%. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct scores GSM8k: 86.2%, ARC-C: 84.6%, RULER: 84.1%, PIQA: 81.0%, OpenBookQA: 79.2%.

Is Hermes 3 70B cheaper than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is 3.5x cheaper for input tokens. Hermes 3 70B costs $0.35/M input and $1.40/M output via deepinfra. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct costs $0.10/M input and $0.10/M output via azure.

What are the context window sizes for Hermes 3 70B and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Hermes 3 70B supports 131K 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 Hermes 3 70B and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Key differences include context window (131K vs 128K), input pricing ($0.35 vs $0.10/M), licensing (Apache 2.0 vs MIT). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Hermes 3 70B and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Hermes 3 70B is developed by Nous Research and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is developed by Microsoft.

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