Model Comparison

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

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

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

Phi-3.5-vision-instruct (by Microsoft) and Phi-4-multimodal-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.

Phi-3.5-vision-instruct outperforms in 2 benchmarks (ChartQA, POPE), while Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is better at 6 benchmarks (AI2D, InterGPS, MathVista, MMBench, MMMU, TextVQA). Phi-4-multimodal-instruct shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Choose Phi-3.5-vision-instruct if…

  • you are already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem

Choose Phi-4-multimodal-instruct if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 6 of 8 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Feb 2025

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

8 benchmarks

Phi-3.5-vision-instruct outperforms in 2 benchmarks (ChartQA, POPE), while Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is better at 6 benchmarks (AI2D, InterGPS, MathVista, MMBench, MMMU, TextVQA).

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Mon Jul 27 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

1.4B diff

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct has 1.4B more parameters than Phi-3.5-vision-instruct, making it 33.3% larger.

Microsoft
Phi-3.5-vision-instruct
4.2Bparameters
Microsoft
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
5.6Bparameters
4.2B
Phi-3.5-vision-instruct
5.6B
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Phi-4-multimodal-instruct specifies input context (128,000 tokens). Only Phi-4-multimodal-instruct specifies output context (128,000 tokens).

Microsoft
Phi-3.5-vision-instruct
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Microsoft
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Mon Jul 27 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

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

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

Phi-3.5-vision-instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Both models are licensed under MIT.

Both models share the same licensing terms, providing consistent usage rights.

Phi-3.5-vision-instruct

MIT

Open weights

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Phi-3.5-vision-instruct was released on 2024-08-23, while Phi-4-multimodal-instruct was released on 2025-02-01.

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is 5 months newer than Phi-3.5-vision-instruct.

Phi-3.5-vision-instruct

Aug 23, 2024

1.9 years ago

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

Feb 1, 2025

1.5 years ago

5mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-06-01, while Phi-3.5-vision-instruct's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Phi-4-multimodal-instruct's training data extends to 2024-06-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Phi-3.5-vision-instruct's cutoff date.

Phi-3.5-vision-instruct

—

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

Jun 2024

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

Microsoft
Higher ChartQA score (81.8% vs 81.4%)
Higher POPE score (86.1% vs 85.6%)
Microsoft
Larger context window (128,000 tokens)
Higher AI2D score (82.3% vs 78.1%)
Higher InterGPS score (48.6% vs 36.3%)
Higher MathVista score (62.4% vs 43.9%)
Higher MMBench score (86.7% vs 81.9%)
Higher MMMU score (55.1% vs 43.0%)
Higher TextVQA score (75.6% vs 72.0%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

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

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

FAQ

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

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

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Phi-3.5-vision-instruct is made by Microsoft and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is made by Microsoft. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

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

Phi-3.5-vision-instruct scores ScienceQA: 91.3%, POPE: 86.1%, MMBench: 81.9%, ChartQA: 81.8%, AI2D: 78.1%. Phi-4-multimodal-instruct scores ScienceQA Visual: 97.5%, DocVQA: 93.2%, MMBench: 86.7%, POPE: 85.6%, OCRBench: 84.4%.

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

Phi-3.5-vision-instruct supports an unknown number of tokens and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct supports 128K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

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