Model Comparison
Llama 4 Scout vs Phi 4Which is better in 2026?
Llama 4 Scout has a slight edge in benchmark performance. Phi 4 is 1.5x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Llama 4 Scout vs Phi 4 — which is better?
Llama 4 Scout (by Meta) and Phi 4 (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.
Llama 4 Scout outperforms in 3 benchmarks (GPQA, MGSM, MMLU-Pro), while Phi 4 is better at 2 benchmarks (MATH, MMLU). Llama 4 Scout has a slight edge in benchmark performance.
On price, Phi 4 is roughly 1.5x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Llama 4 Scout also accepts a larger context window (10,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Llama 4 Scout if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 3 of 5 shared benchmarks
- you process long inputs — it offers a 10,000,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Apr 2025
Choose Phi 4 if…
- cost matters — it's about 1.5x cheaper per token
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Llama 4 Scout outperforms in 3 benchmarks (GPQA, MGSM, MMLU-Pro), while Phi 4 is better at 2 benchmarks (MATH, MMLU).
Llama 4 Scout has a slight edge in benchmark performance.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Llama 4 Scout ($0.08/1M tokens) is 1.1x more expensive than Phi 4 ($0.07/1M tokens).
For output processing, Llama 4 Scout ($0.30/1M tokens) is 2.1x more expensive than Phi 4 ($0.14/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Llama 4 Scout is more expensive than Phi 4.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Llama 4 Scout has 94.3B more parameters than Phi 4, making it 641.5% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Llama 4 Scout accepts 10,000,000 input tokens compared to Phi 4's 16,000 tokens. Llama 4 Scout can generate longer responses up to 10,000,000 tokens, while Phi 4 is limited to 16,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Llama 4 Scout supports multimodal inputs, whereas Phi 4 does not.
Llama 4 Scout can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Llama 4 Scout
Phi 4
License
Usage and distribution terms
Llama 4 Scout is licensed under Llama 4 Community License Agreement, while Phi 4 uses MIT.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Llama 4 Community License Agreement
Open weights
MIT
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Llama 4 Scout was released on 2025-04-05, while Phi 4 was released on 2024-12-12.
Llama 4 Scout is 4 months newer than Phi 4.
Apr 5, 2025
1.3 years ago
3mo newerDec 12, 2024
1.6 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Phi 4 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-06-01, while Llama 4 Scout's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Phi 4's training data extends to 2024-06-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Llama 4 Scout's cutoff date.
—
Jun 2024
Provider Availability
Llama 4 Scout is available from DeepInfra, Lambda, Novita, Groq, Fireworks, Together. Phi 4 is available from DeepInfra.
Llama 4 Scout
Phi 4
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Phi 4
View detailsMicrosoft
Detailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Llama 4 Scout and Phi 4 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
| Feature | | |
|---|
FAQ
Common questions about Llama 4 Scout vs Phi 4.