Nova Micro vs Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct comes out ahead, 72 to 62 on our weighted score, though Nova Micro is 23% cheaper per token.
AmazonNova Micro
62/100- ECI—
- Price$0.035 / $0.14
- Context128K
- Our pick
MicrosoftPhi-4-multimodal-instruct
72/100- ECI—
- Price$0.07 / $0.11
- Context131K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is our pick
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 72/100 against Nova Micro (62). It leads on inputs & features. Nova Micro wins on price. 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 priceNova MicroNova Micro $0.061 · Phi-4-multimodal-instruct $0.08 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextPhi-4-multimodal-instructPhi-4-multimodal-instruct 131,072 · Nova Micro 128,000 tokens
- Widest inputsPhi-4-multimodal-instructNova Micro: Text · Phi-4-multimodal-instruct: Text, Images, Audio
- Self-hostingPhi-4-multimodal-instructPublishes downloadable weights (MIT)
| Measure | Weight | Nova Micro | Phi-4-multimodal-instruct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 100 | 98 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 25 | 60 |
| Context window | 20% | 24 | 25 |
| Overall | 100% | 62/100 | 72/100 |
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 | Nova MicroAmazon | Phi-4-multimodal-instructMicrosoft |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.035 (best) | $0.07 |
| Output | $0.14 | $0.11 (best) |
| Cached input | $0.0088 | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.061 (best) | $0.08 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Amazon Bedrock API | Median of 1 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 128,000 tokens | 131,072 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 10,000 tokens | 131,072 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | Yes |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | OpenMIT |
| API model ID | amazon.nova-micro-v1:0 | — |
| API providers | 8 (best) | 1 |
| Released | Dec 3, 2024 | Feb 26, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Oct 2024 | Jun 2024 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Nova Micro$0.63
- Phi-4-multimodal-instruct$0.92
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Nova Micro or Phi-4-multimodal-instruct?
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 72/100 against Nova Micro (62). It leads on inputs & features. Nova Micro wins on price. 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, Nova Micro or Phi-4-multimodal-instruct?
Nova Micro is cheaper at $0.035 input / $0.14 output per million tokens (official Amazon Bedrock API price). Phi-4-multimodal-instruct costs $0.07 input / $0.11 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.061 per million tokens for Nova Micro versus $0.08 for Phi-4-multimodal-instruct (1.3× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Nova Micro has not been scored yet and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Nova Micro and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct 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-multimodal-instruct has the largest context window at 131,072 tokens, against 128,000 for Nova Micro. Maximum output per response: Nova Micro up to 10,000, Phi-4-multimodal-instruct up to 131,072 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Nova Micro accepts text; Phi-4-multimodal-instruct accepts text, images and audio. Phi-4-multimodal-instruct handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct publishes its weights (MIT) and can be self-hosted; Nova Micro is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is the newest, released Feb 26, 2025. Nova Micro came out Dec 3, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Nova Micro Oct 2024, Phi-4-multimodal-instruct Jun 2024.
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 Nov 2, 2026.
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