Model Comparison
Phi 4 vs Phi-4-multimodal-instructWhich is better in 2026?
Comparing Phi 4 and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.
Verdict: Phi 4 vs Phi-4-multimodal-instruct — which is better?
Phi 4 (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.
On price, Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is roughly 1.4x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct also accepts a larger context window (128,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Phi 4 if…
- you want predictable pricing at $0.07/M input and $0.14/M output
Choose Phi-4-multimodal-instruct if…
- cost matters — it's about 1.4x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 128,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Feb 2025
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Phi 4 and Phi-4-multimodal-instructdon't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Phi 4 ($0.07/1M tokens) is 1.4x more expensive than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct ($0.05/1M tokens).
For output processing, Phi 4 ($0.14/1M tokens) is 1.4x more expensive than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Phi 4 is more expensive than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Phi 4 has 9.1B more parameters than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct, making it 162.5% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct accepts 128,000 input tokens compared to Phi 4's 16,000 tokens. Phi-4-multimodal-instruct can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Phi 4 is limited to 16,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct supports multimodal inputs, whereas Phi 4 does not.
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Phi 4
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
License
Usage and distribution terms
Both models are licensed under MIT.
Both models share the same licensing terms, providing consistent usage rights.
MIT
Open weights
MIT
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Phi 4 was released on 2024-12-12, while Phi-4-multimodal-instruct was released on 2025-02-01.
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is 2 months newer than Phi 4.
Dec 12, 2024
1.6 years ago
Feb 1, 2025
1.5 years ago
1mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Both models have the same knowledge cutoff date of 2024-06-01.
They should have similar awareness of historical events and information up to this date.
Jun 2024
Jun 2024
Provider Availability
Phi 4 is available from DeepInfra. Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is available from DeepInfra.
Phi 4
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Phi 4
View detailsMicrosoft
No standout differentiators in the data we have for this pair.
Detailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Phi 4 and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
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FAQ
Common questions about Phi 4 vs Phi-4-multimodal-instruct.