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Comparison · 3 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite vs Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite vs Phi-4-mini

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite comes out ahead, 84 to 78 and 25 on our weighted score, though Phi-4-mini is 25% cheaper per token.

  1. Google

    Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite

    Released Dec 11, 2024

    78/100
    • ECI—
    • Price—
    • Context1.05M
    Full specs Remove Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite
  2. Our pick

    Google

    Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

    Released Jun 17, 2025

    84/100
    • ECI133.9
    • Price$0.10 / $0.40
    • Context1.05M
    Full specs Remove Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

  3. Microsoft

    Phi-4-mini

    Released Dec 11, 2024

    25/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.075 / $0.30
    • Context128K
    Full specs Remove Phi-4-mini
01 — Verdict

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is our pick

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 84/100 against Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite (78) and Phi-4-mini (25). It leads on inputs & features. The score weighs inputs & features 60%, context window 40%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

  • CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
  • Lowest pricePhi-4-miniPhi-4-mini $0.131 · Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite $0.175 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend) · Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite unpriced
  • Longest contextGemini 2.0 Flash-Lite and Gemini 2.5 Flash-LiteGemini 2.0 Flash-Lite 1,048,576 · Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite 1,048,576 · Phi-4-mini 128,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsGemini 2.0 Flash-Lite and Gemini 2.5 Flash-LiteGemini 2.0 Flash-Lite: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video · Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video · Phi-4-mini: Text
  • Self-hostingPhi-4-miniPublishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGemini 2.0 Flash-LiteGemini 2.5 Flash-LitePhi-4-mini
Inputs & features60%9010025
Context window40%616124
Overall100%78/10084/10025/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability and price. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite vs Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite vs Phi-4-mini specifications side by side
SpecificationGemini 2.0 Flash-LiteGoogleGemini 2.5 Flash-LiteGooglePhi-4-miniMicrosoft
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)—133.9—
ECI rank—#118 of 148—
Price per million tokens
Input—$0.10$0.075 (best)
Output—$0.40$0.30 (best)
Cached input—$0.01—
Blended (3:1)—$0.175$0.131 (best)
Long-context rate—Same rateSame rate
Price source—Official Google APIOfficial Azure API
Limits
Context window1,048,576 tokens (best)1,048,576 tokens (best)128,000 tokens
Max output8,192 tokens65,536 tokens (best)4,096 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYesYes
ImagesYesYesNo
PDFsYesYesNo
AudioYesYesNo
VideoYesYesNo
ReasoningNoYesNo
Tool callingYesYesYes
Structured outputYesYesNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietaryOpen
API model ID—gemini-2.5-flash-litephi-4-mini
API providers—20 (best)1
ReleasedDec 11, 2024Jun 17, 2025Dec 11, 2024
Knowledge cutoffJun 2024Jan 2025Oct 2023
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite—
  • Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite$1.80
  • Phi-4-mini$1.35
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite or Phi-4-mini?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 84/100 against Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite (78) and Phi-4-mini (25). It leads on inputs & features. The score weighs inputs & features 60%, context window 40%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

Which is cheaper, Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite or Phi-4-mini?

Phi-4-mini is cheaper at $0.075 input / $0.30 output per million tokens (official Azure API price). Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite costs $0.10 input / $0.40 output per million tokens (official Google API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.131 per million tokens for Phi-4-mini versus $0.175 for Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite (1.3× as much). Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite has no published per-token price.

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite has not been scored yet, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite has an ECI of 133.9 and Phi-4-mini has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite and Phi-4-mini yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite and Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite have the largest context windows (1,048,576 and 1,048,576 tokens), against 128,000 for Phi-4-mini. Maximum output per response: Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite up to 8,192, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite up to 65,536, Phi-4-mini up to 4,096 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite accepts text, images, PDFs, audio and video; Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite accepts text, images, PDFs, audio and video; Phi-4-mini accepts text. Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Phi-4-mini publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite and Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is the newest, released Jun 17, 2025. Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite came out Dec 11, 2024; Phi-4-mini came out Dec 11, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite Jun 2024, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Jan 2025, Phi-4-mini Oct 2023.

How do you decide the winner?

Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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