Qwen Flash vs Phi-4-mini
Qwen Flash comes out ahead, 68 to 58 on our weighted score.
- Our pick
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen Flash
68/100- ECI—
- Price$0.05 / $0.40
- Context1M
MicrosoftPhi-4-mini
58/100- ECI—
- Price$0.075 / $0.30
- Context128K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Qwen Flash is our pick
Qwen Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against Phi-4-mini (58). It leads on inputs & features 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 · Qwen Flash $0.138 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextQwen FlashQwen Flash 1,000,000 · Phi-4-mini 128,000 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsQwen Flash: Text · Phi-4-mini: Text
- Self-hostingPhi-4-miniPublishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Qwen Flash | Phi-4-mini |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 91 | 92 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 35 | 25 |
| Context window | 20% | 60 | 24 |
| Overall | 100% | 68/100 | 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 | Qwen FlashAlibaba (Qwen) | Phi-4-miniMicrosoft |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.05 (best) | $0.075 |
| Output | $0.40 | $0.30 (best) |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.138 | $0.131 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Alibaba API | Official Azure API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens (best) | 128,000 tokens |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens (best) | 4,096 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | No |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | qwen-flash | phi-4-mini |
| API providers | 6 (best) | 1 |
| Released | Jul 28, 2025 | Dec 11, 2024 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Apr 2024 | 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.
- Qwen Flash$1.30
- Phi-4-mini$1.35
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Qwen Flash or Phi-4-mini?
Qwen Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against Phi-4-mini (58). It leads on inputs & features 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, Qwen Flash or Phi-4-mini?
Phi-4-mini is cheaper at $0.075 input / $0.30 output per million tokens (official Azure API price). Qwen Flash costs $0.05 input / $0.40 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 $0.138 for Qwen Flash (1× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen Flash 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 Qwen Flash 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?
Qwen Flash has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 128,000 for Phi-4-mini. Maximum output per response: Qwen Flash up to 32,768, Phi-4-mini up to 4,096 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Qwen Flash 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; Qwen Flash is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Qwen Flash is the newest, released Jul 28, 2025. Phi-4-mini came out Dec 11, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen Flash Apr 2024, 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.
