Phi-4-mini vs Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct
Phi-4-mini comes out ahead, 58 to 28 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
- Our pick
MicrosoftPhi-4-mini
58/100- ECI—
- Price$0.075 / $0.30
- Context128K
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct
28/100- ECI—
- Price$1.50 / $7.50
- Context262K
Add a model
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 Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct (28). It leads on price. Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct wins on 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 · Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct $3.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextQwen3-Coder 480B-A35B InstructQwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct 262,144 · Phi-4-mini 128,000 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsPhi-4-mini: Text · Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct: Text
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | Phi-4-mini | Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 92 | 27 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 25 | 25 |
| Context window | 20% | 24 | 37 |
| Overall | 100% | 58/100 | 28/100 |
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 | Phi-4-miniMicrosoft | Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B InstructAlibaba (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.075 (best) | $1.50 |
| Output | $0.30 (best) | $7.50 |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.131 (best) | $3.00 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Over 32K: $2.70 / $13.50 |
| Price source | Official Azure API | Official Alibaba API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 128,000 tokens | 262,144 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 4,096 tokens | 65,536 tokens (best) |
| 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 | Open | Open |
| API model ID | phi-4-mini | qwen3-coder-480b-a35b-instruct |
| API providers | 1 | 7 (best) |
| Released | Dec 11, 2024 | Apr 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Oct 2023 | Apr 2025 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Phi-4-mini$1.35
- Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct$30.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Phi-4-mini or Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct?
Phi-4-mini is the better all-round choice, scoring 58/100 against Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct (28). It leads on price. Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct wins on 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, Phi-4-mini or Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct?
Phi-4-mini is cheaper at $0.075 input / $0.30 output per million tokens (official Azure API price). Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct costs $1.50 input / $7.50 output per million tokens (official Alibaba 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 $3.00 for Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct (23× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Phi-4-mini has not been scored yet and Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Phi-4-mini and Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B 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?
Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 128,000 for Phi-4-mini. Maximum output per response: Phi-4-mini up to 4,096, Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct up to 65,536 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Phi-4-mini accepts text; Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, both publish their weights, so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct is the newest, released Apr 2025. Phi-4-mini came out Dec 11, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Phi-4-mini Oct 2023, Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct Apr 2025.
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.
