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Comparison · 3 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite vs Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview vs Phi-4-mini

Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview comes out ahead, 84 to 78 and 25 on our weighted score, though Phi-4-mini is 4.3× 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 3.1 Flash Lite Preview

    Released Mar 3, 2026Deprecated

    84/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.25 / $1.50
    • Context1.05M
    Full specs Remove Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview

  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 3.1 Flash Lite Preview is our pick

Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview 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 3.1 Flash Lite Preview $0.563 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend) · Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite unpriced
  • Longest contextGemini 2.0 Flash-Lite and Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite PreviewGemini 2.0 Flash-Lite 1,048,576 · Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview 1,048,576 · Phi-4-mini 128,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsGemini 2.0 Flash-Lite and Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite PreviewGemini 2.0 Flash-Lite: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video · Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview: 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 3.1 Flash Lite PreviewPhi-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 3.1 Flash Lite Preview vs Phi-4-mini specifications side by side
SpecificationGemini 2.0 Flash-LiteGoogleGemini 3.1 Flash Lite PreviewGooglePhi-4-miniMicrosoft
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)———
ECI rank———
Price per million tokens
Input—$0.25$0.075 (best)
Output—$1.50$0.30 (best)
Cached input—$0.025—
Blended (3:1)—$0.563$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
ReasoningNoYesminimal · low · medium · highNo
Tool callingYesYesYes
Structured outputYesYesNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietaryOpen
API model ID—gemini-3.1-flash-lite-previewphi-4-mini
API providers—10 (best)1
ReleasedDec 11, 2024Mar 3, 2026Dec 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 3.1 Flash Lite Preview$5.50
  • Phi-4-mini$1.35
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview or Phi-4-mini?

Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview 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 3.1 Flash Lite Preview or Phi-4-mini?

Phi-4-mini is cheaper at $0.075 input / $0.30 output per million tokens (official Azure API price). Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview costs $0.25 input / $1.50 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 $0.563 for Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview (4.3× 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 3.1 Flash Lite Preview has not been scored yet 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 3.1 Flash Lite Preview 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 3.1 Flash Lite Preview 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 3.1 Flash Lite Preview 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 3.1 Flash Lite Preview 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 3.1 Flash Lite Preview is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Preview is the newest, released Mar 3, 2026. 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 3.1 Flash Lite Preview 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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