Llama Guard 4 12B vs Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning
Llama Guard 4 12B (2025) and Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning (2025) are frontier reasoning models from AI at Meta and Microsoft Research. Llama Guard 4 12B ships a 164k-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 Llama Guard 4 12B when long-context analysis matters.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Llama Guard 4 12B | Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | provider-routed production | reasoning-heavy apps |
| Decision fit | RAG, Long context, and Classification | Long context |
| Context window | 164k | 128k |
| Cheapest output | $0.18/1M tokens | - |
| Provider routes | 3 tracked | 1 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 rows | 0 rows |
Decision tradeoffs
- Llama Guard 4 12B has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Llama Guard 4 12B has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Llama Guard 4 12B uniquely exposes Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Llama Guard 4 12B 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.
Llama Guard 4 12B
$189
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
- Provider overlap exists on NVIDIA NIM; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Check replacement coverage for Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
- Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning adds Reasoning in local capability data.
- Provider overlap exists on NVIDIA NIM; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Check replacement coverage for Reasoning before moving production traffic.
- Llama Guard 4 12B adds Structured outputs in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-04-05 | 2025-12-01 |
| Context window | 164k | 128k |
| Parameters | 12B | 3.8B |
| Architecture | decoder only | decoder only |
| License | Llama 2 Community | MIT(OSI) |
| Openness | Open weights | Open source |
| Commercial use | Commercial use with conditions | Commercial use allowed |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-08 | 2025-02 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Llama Guard 4 12B | Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.18/1M tokens | - |
| Output price | $0.18/1M tokens | - |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Llama Guard 4 12B | 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: Llama Guard 4 12B. 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: Llama Guard 4 12B has $0.18/1M input tokens and Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning has no token price sourced yet. Provider availability is 3 tracked routes versus 1. Treat unknown pricing as an integration gap, then verify the route you will actually call before estimating production spend.
Choose Llama Guard 4 12B when long-context analysis, larger context windows, and broader provider choice 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.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, Llama Guard 4 12B or Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning?
Llama Guard 4 12B supports 164k 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 Llama Guard 4 12B or Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning open source?
Llama Guard 4 12B is listed under Llama 2 Community. Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning is listed under MIT. 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, Llama Guard 4 12B 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, Llama Guard 4 12B or Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning?
Llama Guard 4 12B 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 Llama Guard 4 12B and Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning?
Llama Guard 4 12B is available on NVIDIA NIM, Replicate API, and OpenRouter. Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning is available on NVIDIA NIM. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
When should I pick Llama Guard 4 12B over Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning?
Phi-4 Mini Flash Reasoning is safer overall; choose Llama Guard 4 12B when long-context analysis matters. If your workload also depends on long-context analysis, start with Llama Guard 4 12B; 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.