GPT-4 vs Phi-4-mini
Phi-4-mini comes out ahead, 58 to 8 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
OpenAIGPT-4
8/100- ECI—
- Price$30.00 / $60.00
- Context8K
- Our pick
MicrosoftPhi-4-mini
58/100- ECI—
- Price$0.075 / $0.30
- Context128K
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Make it a three-way comparison.
Phi-4-mini is our pick
Phi-4-mini is the better all-round choice, scoring 58/100 against GPT-4 (8). It leads on price and context window. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. 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 · GPT-4 $37.50 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextPhi-4-miniPhi-4-mini 128,000 · GPT-4 8,192 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsGPT-4: Text · Phi-4-mini: Text
- Self-hostingPhi-4-miniPublishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | GPT-4 | Phi-4-mini |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 0 | 92 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 25 | 25 |
| Context window | 20% | 0 | 24 |
| Overall | 100% | 8/100 | 58/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | GPT-4OpenAI | Phi-4-miniMicrosoft |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $30.00 | $0.075 (best) |
| Output | $60.00 | $0.30 (best) |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $37.50 | $0.131 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official OpenAI API | Official Azure API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 8,192 tokens | 128,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 8,192 tokens (best) | 4,096 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | No |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | gpt-4 | phi-4-mini |
| API providers | 8 (best) | 1 |
| Released | Nov 6, 2023 | Dec 11, 2024 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Nov 2023 | Oct 2023 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- GPT-4$420.00
- Phi-4-mini$1.35
Which should you choose?
Which is better: GPT-4 or Phi-4-mini?
Phi-4-mini is the better all-round choice, scoring 58/100 against GPT-4 (8). It leads on price and context window. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
Which is cheaper, GPT-4 or Phi-4-mini?
Phi-4-mini is cheaper at $0.075 input / $0.30 output per million tokens (official Azure API price). GPT-4 costs $30.00 input / $60.00 output per million tokens (official OpenAI 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 $37.50 for GPT-4 (286× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. GPT-4 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 GPT-4 and Phi-4-mini yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Phi-4-mini has the largest context window at 128,000 tokens, against 8,192 for GPT-4. Maximum output per response: GPT-4 up to 8,192, Phi-4-mini up to 4,096 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
GPT-4 accepts text; Phi-4-mini accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Phi-4-mini publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; GPT-4 is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Phi-4-mini is the newest, released Dec 11, 2024. GPT-4 came out Nov 6, 2023. Knowledge cutoff: GPT-4 Nov 2023, 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.
