GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) vs Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning
GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) (2023) and Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning (2025) are frontier reasoning models from OpenAI and Microsoft Research. GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) ships a 128k-token context window, while Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning ships a 128k-token context window. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning is safer overall; choose GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) when provider fit matters.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) | Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | general production evaluation | reasoning-heavy apps |
| Decision fit | RAG, Long context, and Classification | Long context |
| Context window | 128k | 128k |
| Cheapest output | $30/1M tokens | - |
| Provider routes | 1 tracked | 1 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 rows | 0 rows |
Decision tradeoffs
- GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) uniquely exposes Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) for RAG, Long context, and Classification.
- Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning uniquely exposes Reasoning in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning for Long context.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106)
$15,500
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning
Unavailable
No complete token price in local provider data
Cost delta unavailable until both models have sourced input and output token prices.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) and Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Check replacement coverage for Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
- Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning adds Reasoning in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning and GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106); plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Check replacement coverage for Reasoning before moving production traffic.
- GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) adds Structured outputs in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2023-11-06 | 2025-12-01 |
| Context window | 128k | 128k |
| Parameters | — | 3.8B |
| Architecture | decoder only | decoder only |
| License | Unknown | Proprietary |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2023-04 | 2025-02 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) | Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $10/1M tokens | - |
| Output price | $30/1M tokens | - |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) | Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| Function calling | No | No |
| Tool use | No | No |
| Structured outputs | Yes | No |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark rows are currently sourced for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on reasoning mode: Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning and structured outputs: GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106). Both models share the core language-model surface, so the practical split is not just feature count. Use those differences to decide whether the page is about raw model quality, agentic coding support, multimodal ingestion, or predictable structured API behavior.
Pricing coverage is uneven: GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) has $10/1M input tokens and Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning has no token price sourced yet. Provider availability is 1 tracked routes versus 1. Treat unknown pricing as an integration gap, then verify the route you will actually call before estimating production spend.
Choose GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) when provider fit are central to the workload. Choose Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning when reasoning depth are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship. This keeps the decision grounded in measurable tradeoffs instead of brand-level assumptions. It also helps separate model capability from provider packaging, which can change cost and latency. For teams standardizing a stack, that distinction is often the difference between a benchmark win and a reliable deployment.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) or Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning?
GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) supports 128k tokens, while Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning supports 128k tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Is GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) or Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning open source?
GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) is listed under Unknown. Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning is listed under Proprietary. License labels affect whether you can self-host, redistribute weights, or rely only on hosted APIs, so confirm the upstream license before deployment.
Which is better for reasoning mode, GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) or Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning?
Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning has the clearer documented reasoning mode signal in this comparison. If reasoning mode is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for structured outputs, GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) or Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning?
GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) has the clearer documented structured outputs signal in this comparison. If structured outputs is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) and Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning?
GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) is available on OpenRouter. Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning is available on NVIDIA NIM. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options. Use this as a quick comparison signal, then confirm the provider-specific limits before committing to production.
When should I pick GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) over Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning?
Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning is safer overall; choose GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106) when provider fit matters. If your workload also depends on provider fit, start with GPT-4 Turbo (older v1106); if it depends on reasoning depth, run the same evaluation with Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-05-22. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.