phi-4 vs GPT-4.1

At a Glance

Compare
phi-4Microsoft
GPT-4.1OpenAI
Intelligence, Cost, and Efficiency
IntelligenceHigher is better · MM Intelligence v2.5UnrankedNot in the 46-model eligible cohort#44 of 463.7 score · 2/3 sources · provisional · missing LiveBench · full-core range 2.5–35.8
Pricing and Limits
Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens$0.070Deepinfra · Sep 22, 2026$1.00Openrouter · Sep 3, 2026
Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens$0.14Deepinfra · Sep 22, 2026$4.00Openrouter · Sep 3, 2026
Context windowMaximum documented tokens16K1,048K
Model facts checkedAug 28, 2026View model evidence →Aug 29, 2026View model evidence →

Token prices are the lowest available sourced USD rates; input and output may use different providers. Cost ranking estimates output spend on LiveBench, not a full request bill. Ranking methodology →

Available Benchmarks

All benchmark results →
Benchmarkphi-4GPT-4.1
Berkeley Function Calling Leaderboardv4-ede5081a24bc · overall_accuracy · leader28.7973% of row best · percent · Phi-4 (Prompt)39.38100% of row best · percent · GPT-4.1-2025-04-14 (Prompt)
LMArena Text Arenatext-2026-09-13-d25aabda0010 · arena_rating · leader1,216.6088% of row best · rating · phi-4; 95% CI [1212.02298793, 1221.18318193]; votes 24126; rank 3001,382.77100% of row best · rating · gpt-4.1-2025-04-14; 95% CI [1379.06025569, 1386.47352582]; votes 49941; rank 157
Overall ResultCounted from the protocol-matched rows above0 benchmark wins2 benchmark winsOverall lead

Third-party benchmark Only like-for-like primary-publisher results are shown; raw scores, relative scores, configuration, and token spend remain visible.

Side-by-Side Facts

Fieldphi-4GPT-4.1
DeveloperMicrosoftOpenAI
FamilyPhi 4Gpt 4 1
Modelphi-4GPT-4.1
Versionphi-4GPT-4.1
Lifecycleactiveactive
Released2024-12-12Unknown
Knowledge cutoffUnknown2024-06-01
Input modalitiesTextText, Image
Output modalitiesTextText
Context window16K1,048K
Total parameters14.7BUnknown
Active parametersUnknownUnknown
LicensemitUnknown
Open weightsYesNo
API availableYesYes
Self-hostableYesNo
Provider accessDeepinfra (Standard), Hugging Face (Standard), Openrouter (Standard)Openai (Standard), Openrouter (Standard)
Capabilitieschat, generationchat, generation, tools

phi-4 Capabilities

chatgeneration
Serving providers3
Canonical IDmicrosoft/phi-4

GPT-4.1 Capabilities

chatgenerationtools
Serving providers2
Canonical IDopenai/gpt-4.1

Primary Evidence

Sources and Freshness

Questions

phi-4 vs GPT-4.1 FAQs

Is phi-4 or GPT-4.1 better for coding?+

This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both phi-4 and GPT-4.1, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.

Which is cheaper, phi-4 or GPT-4.1?+

phi-4 is $0.070 and GPT-4.1 is $1.00 per million tokens, so phi-4 is cheaper on this metric. phi-4 is $0.14 and GPT-4.1 is $4.00 per million tokens, so phi-4 is cheaper on this metric.

Which has a larger context window, phi-4 or GPT-4.1?+

GPT-4.1 has the larger sourced context window. phi-4 supports 16K and GPT-4.1 supports 1,048K.

Which performs better in benchmarks, phi-4 or GPT-4.1?+

GPT-4.1 leads the current overall benchmark count. The result uses 2 protocol-matched benchmarks from 2 publishers; it is not a universal quality score.

Can phi-4 or GPT-4.1 be self-hosted?+

phi-4 is the only model in this pair currently marked as self-hostable. phi-4 is open weight; GPT-4.1 is not marked open weight.

Can phi-4 and GPT-4.1 understand images?+

phi-4 is not documented with image input; GPT-4.1 is documented with image input. This reflects supported input modalities, not vision quality.

Which can generate longer answers, phi-4 or GPT-4.1?+

Neither has a larger sourced maximum output. phi-4 is — and GPT-4.1 is 33K.

Do phi-4 and GPT-4.1 support reasoning and tool use?+

phi-4: none of these features are definitively sourced. GPT-4.1: tool calling and image input. Feature support does not establish relative quality.

Which is available from more inference providers, phi-4 or GPT-4.1?+

phi-4 has 3 sourced provider routes; GPT-4.1 has 2, so phi-4 has broader tracked availability.

Which offers better value, phi-4 or GPT-4.1?+

There is no universal value winner. Compare the input and output prices above with the matched benchmark result for your workload: cheaper tokens can be offset by different quality, token usage, latency, or provider availability.

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