Model Comparison

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B InstructWhich is better in 2026?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is 9.6x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Phi-4-multimodal-instruct vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct — which is better?

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct (by Microsoft) and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct (by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team) 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-4-multimodal-instruct outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is better at 4 benchmarks (AI2D, BLINK, MMMU-Pro, OCRBench). Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is roughly 9.6x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct also accepts a larger context window (262,144 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Phi-4-multimodal-instruct if…

  • cost matters — it's about 9.6x cheaper per token

Choose Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 4 of 4 shared benchmarks
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 262,144 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025
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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

4 benchmarks

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is better at 4 benchmarks (AI2D, BLINK, MMMU-Pro, OCRBench).

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Wed Jun 24 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct costs less

For input processing, Phi-4-multimodal-instruct ($0.05/1M tokens) is 6.0x cheaper than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct ($0.30/1M tokens).

For output processing, Phi-4-multimodal-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens) is 14.9x cheaper than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct ($1.49/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is more expensive than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Wed Jun 24 2026 • llm-stats.com
Microsoft
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
Input tokens$0.05
Output tokens$0.10
Best providerDeepinfra
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
Input tokens$0.30
Output tokens$1.49
Best providerDeepinfra
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

230.4B diff

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct has 230.4B more parameters than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct, making it 4114.3% larger.

Microsoft
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
5.6Bparameters
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
236.0Bparameters
5.6B
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
236.0B
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct accepts 262,144 input tokens compared to Phi-4-multimodal-instruct's 128,000 tokens. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 262,144 tokens, while Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is limited to 128,000 tokens.

Microsoft
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct
Input262,144 tokens
Output262,144 tokens
Wed Jun 24 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Phi-4-multimodal-instruct and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct support multimodal inputs.

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

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is licensed under MIT, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct uses Apache 2.0.

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

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

MIT

Open weights

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct was released on 2025-02-01, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct was released on 2025-09-22.

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is 8 months newer than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct.

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

Feb 1, 2025

1.4 years ago

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

Sep 22, 2025

9 months ago

7mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-06-01, while Qwen3 VL 235B A22B 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 Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct's cutoff date.

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

Jun 2024

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

—

Provider Availability

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is available from DeepInfra. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is available from DeepInfra, Novita.

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.05/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.10/1M

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.49/1M
novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.50/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Microsoft
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Larger context window (262,144 tokens)
Higher AI2D score (89.7% vs 82.3%)
Higher BLINK score (70.7% vs 61.3%)
Higher MMMU-Pro score (68.1% vs 38.5%)
Higher OCRBench score (92.0% vs 84.4%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Microsoft
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Phi-4-multimodal-instruct vs Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct.

Which is better, Phi-4-multimodal-instruct or Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is made by Microsoft and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is made by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Phi-4-multimodal-instruct compare to Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct in benchmarks?

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct scores ScienceQA Visual: 97.5%, DocVQA: 93.2%, MMBench: 86.7%, POPE: 85.6%, OCRBench: 84.4%. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct scores DocVQAtest: 97.1%, ScreenSpot: 95.4%, MMLU-Redux: 92.2%, OCRBench: 92.0%, MMBench-V1.1: 89.9%.

Is Phi-4-multimodal-instruct cheaper than Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is 6.0x cheaper for input tokens. Phi-4-multimodal-instruct costs $0.05/M input and $0.10/M output via deepinfra. Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct costs $0.30/M input and $1.49/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for Phi-4-multimodal-instruct and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct supports 128K tokens and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct supports 262K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Phi-4-multimodal-instruct and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

Key differences include context window (128K vs 262K), input pricing ($0.05 vs $0.30/M), licensing (MIT vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Phi-4-multimodal-instruct and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct?

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is developed by Microsoft and Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Instruct is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.

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