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GPT-4.1 vs Phi-4

A complete head-to-head: pricing, context window, benchmarks, modality coverage, and openness, with a programmatic verdict synthesized from the underlying data.

Updated

GPT-4.1 specs · Phi-4 specs
Verdict by category
  • PriceGPT-4.1

    GPT-4.1 publishes pricing ($8.00 / 1M output tokens) while Phi-4 does not.

  • Context windowGPT-4.1

    GPT-4.1 accepts 1M tokens vs 16K, 62.5× the room for long documents and codebases.

  • BenchmarksGPT-4.1

    GPT-4.1 leads in 2 of 2 shared benchmarks; the biggest gap is on HumanEval (Python coding), where it scores 90.6 vs 82.6.

  • ModalitiesGPT-4.1

    GPT-4.1 supports 2 modalities (text, vision) vs 1 for Phi-4.

  • OpennessPhi-4

    Phi-4 ships open weights (MIT); GPT-4.1 is API-only.

On balance GPT-4.1 edges ahead, winning 4 of 5 categories against Phi-4's 1. GPT-4.1 publishes pricing ($8.00 / 1M output tokens) while Phi-4 does not. GPT-4.1 accepts 1M tokens vs 16K, 62.5× the room for long documents and codebases.

GPT-4.1 leads in 2 of 2 shared benchmarks; the biggest gap is on HumanEval (Python coding), where it scores 90.6 vs 82.6. They differ in modality coverage, GPT-4.1 handles text, vision while Phi-4 handles text, which can be the deciding factor before you even look at benchmarks. Phi-4 ships open weights (MIT); GPT-4.1 is API-only.

GPT-4.1 is the newer of the two, released 4 months after Phi-4, which usually means a more recent knowledge cutoff and updated safety post-training. GPT-4.1 is usually picked for long context and rag workloads, while Phi-4 sees more deployments in on device and edge deployment. If pricing matters more than every last benchmark point, run the numbers in the calculator below before committing.

Side-by-side specs

SpecGPT-4.1Phi-4
ProviderOpenAIMicrosoft
ReleasedApr 2025Dec 2024
Modalitiestext, visiontext
Context window1M tokens16K tokens
Max output32.8K tokens,
Input · 1M$2.00 / 1M tokensPricing not published
Output · 1M$8.00 / 1M tokensPricing not published
Knowledge cutoff2024-06,
Open weightsNoYes (MIT)
API availableYesYes

Pricing at scale

What you'd actually pay at typical workloads. Numbers come from each model's published per-million-token rates.

  • Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day$18.00 vs ,
  • Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day$180 vs ,
  • RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day$348 vs ,

Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates).

Price calculator

Estimated spend for the listed models at your usage. Numbers are derived from each model's published per-million-token rates.

  • GPT-4.1$0.600
  • Phi-4Pricing unavailable

Benchmarks compared

Only sourced numbers. Where a benchmark is missing for one model we show the available value rather than fabricating the other.

GPT-4.1Phi-4
  • MMLU86.284.8
  • HumanEval90.682.6
Pick GPT-4.1 if

GPT-4.1 fits when…

  • 1M-token context window, strong for long-doc workloads
  • Mature SDK and tooling integrations
  • Reliable JSON-mode and function-calling
  • Long-context tasks, handles 1M tokens vs 16K for Phi-4.
  • Multimodal needs covering vision.
Pick Phi-4 if

Phi-4 fits when…

  • Exceptional quality at 14B parameters
  • MIT license, clean commercial use
  • Strong on math
  • Self-hosting and on-prem requirements, open weights (MIT).
Don't want either?

Consider GPT-5.5

OpenAI's mid-cycle GPT-5 refresh, improved reasoning, tool use, and multimodal grounding over the 2025 launch.

See GPT-5.5 specsGPT-4.1 vs GPT-5.5Phi-4 vs GPT-5.5

Frequently asked

  • Is GPT-4.1 or Phi-4 cheaper?
    Per-token pricing isn't published for at least one of these models, check each model's spec page for current rates.
  • Which has the larger context window?
    GPT-4.1 accepts 1M tokens vs 16K for Phi-4.
  • Is GPT-4.1 or Phi-4 better for coding?
    Both GPT-4.1 and Phi-4 are competitive on coding benchmarks. See each model's individual spec page for HumanEval and SWE-bench scores where published. For an opinionated pick, consult our Best LLM for Coding ranking.
  • Are either of these models open source?
    Phi-4 ships open weights (MIT). GPT-4.1 is API-only.
  • When were GPT-4.1 and Phi-4 released?
    GPT-4.1 was released by OpenAI on 2025-04-14. Phi-4 was released by Microsoft on 2024-12-12.
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