Grok 4 vs Phi-4 Reasoning Vision 15B
Grok 4 (2026) and Phi-4 Reasoning Vision 15B (2026) are frontier reasoning models from xAI and Microsoft Research. Grok 4 ships a 256k-token context window, while Phi-4 Reasoning Vision 15B ships a not-yet-sourced context window. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit. It focuses on practical selection signals rather than broad model-family marketing. The goal is to make the tradeoff clear before deeper testing.
Phi-4 Reasoning Vision 15B is safer overall; choose Grok 4 when coding workflow support matters.
Specs
| Released | 2026-03-01 | 2026-03-12 |
| Context window | 256k | — |
| Parameters | — | 15B |
| Architecture | decoder only | - |
| License | Proprietary | Microsoft Research |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | - |
Pricing and availability
| Grok 4 | Phi-4 Reasoning Vision 15B | |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $3/1M tokens | - |
| Output price | $15/1M tokens | - |
| Providers | - |
Capabilities
| Grok 4 | Phi-4 Reasoning Vision 15B | |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | ||
| Multimodal | ||
| Reasoning | ||
| Function calling | ||
| Tool use | ||
| Structured outputs | ||
| Code execution |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark rows are currently sourced for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on reasoning mode: Grok 4, structured outputs: Grok 4, and code execution: Grok 4. Both models share multimodal input, 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: Grok 4 has $3/1M input tokens and Phi-4 Reasoning Vision 15B has no token price sourced yet. Provider availability is 3 tracked routes versus 0. Treat unknown pricing as an integration gap, then verify the route you will actually call before estimating production spend.
Choose Grok 4 when coding workflow support and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Phi-4 Reasoning Vision 15B when provider fit 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
Is Grok 4 or Phi-4 Reasoning Vision 15B open source?
Grok 4 is listed under Proprietary. Phi-4 Reasoning Vision 15B is listed under Microsoft Research. 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 multimodal input, Grok 4 or Phi-4 Reasoning Vision 15B?
Both Grok 4 and Phi-4 Reasoning Vision 15B expose multimodal input. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface.
Which is better for reasoning mode, Grok 4 or Phi-4 Reasoning Vision 15B?
Grok 4 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, Grok 4 or Phi-4 Reasoning Vision 15B?
Grok 4 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.
Which is better for code execution, Grok 4 or Phi-4 Reasoning Vision 15B?
Grok 4 has the clearer documented code execution signal in this comparison. If code execution is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run Grok 4 and Phi-4 Reasoning Vision 15B?
Grok 4 is available on Microsoft Foundry, OpenRouter, and Replicate API. Phi-4 Reasoning Vision 15B is available on the tracked providers still being sourced. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-04-24. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.