Mistral Medium vs Phi-4 Mini Reasoning
Mistral Medium (2023) and Phi-4 Mini Reasoning (2026) are frontier reasoning models from MistralAI and Microsoft Research. Mistral Medium ships a 32k-token context window, while Phi-4 Mini Reasoning ships a 128k-token context window. On Google-Proof Q&A, Mistral Medium leads by 6.9 pts. 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 Reasoning fits 4x more tokens; pick it for long-context work and Mistral Medium for tighter calls.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Mistral Medium | Phi-4 Mini Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | provider-routed production | reasoning-heavy apps |
| Decision fit | Coding, Classification, and JSON / Tool use | Long context |
| Context window | 32k | 128k |
| Cheapest output | $2/1M tokens | - |
| Provider routes | 2 tracked | 0 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | Google-Proof Q&A leader | 1 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Mistral Medium holds a shared-benchmark lead on Google-Proof Q&A, ahead by 6.9 points.
- Mistral Medium has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Mistral Medium uniquely exposes Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Mistral Medium for Coding, Classification, and JSON / Tool use.
- Phi-4 Mini Reasoning has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Phi-4 Mini Reasoning uniquely exposes Reasoning in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Phi-4 Mini Reasoning for Long context.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Mistral Medium
$820
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Phi-4 Mini 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 Mistral Medium and Phi-4 Mini Reasoning; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Check replacement coverage for Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
- Phi-4 Mini Reasoning adds Reasoning in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Phi-4 Mini Reasoning and Mistral Medium; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Check replacement coverage for Reasoning before moving production traffic.
- Mistral Medium adds Structured outputs in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2023-12-11 | 2026-05-16 |
| Context window | 32k | 128k |
| Parameters | — | 3.8B |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | - |
| License | Proprietary | MITOSI-approved |
| Openness | Proprietary | Open source |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: permitted |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | 2025-02 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Mistral Medium | Phi-4 Mini Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.40/1M tokens | - |
| Output price | $2/1M tokens | - |
| Providers | - |
Capabilities
| Capability | Mistral Medium | Phi-4 Mini 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
| Benchmark | Mistral Medium | Phi-4 Mini Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Google-Proof Q&A | 58.9 | 52.0 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, Google-Proof Q&A has Mistral Medium at 58.9 and Phi-4 Mini Reasoning at 52, with Mistral Medium ahead by 6.9 points. The largest visible gap is 6.9 points on Google-Proof Q&A, which matters most when that benchmark mirrors your workload. Treat isolated benchmark wins as directional, because provider routing, prompt style, and tool access can move real application results.
The capability footprint differs most on reasoning mode: Phi-4 Mini Reasoning and structured outputs: Mistral Medium. 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: Mistral Medium has $0.40/1M input tokens and Phi-4 Mini Reasoning has no token price sourced yet. Provider availability is 2 tracked routes versus 0. Treat unknown pricing as an integration gap, then verify the route you will actually call before estimating production spend.
Choose Mistral Medium when provider fit and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Phi-4 Mini Reasoning when reasoning depth and larger context windows are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, Mistral Medium or Phi-4 Mini Reasoning?
Phi-4 Mini Reasoning supports 128k tokens, while Mistral Medium supports 32k tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Is Mistral Medium or Phi-4 Mini Reasoning open source?
Mistral Medium is listed under Proprietary. Phi-4 Mini 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, Mistral Medium or Phi-4 Mini Reasoning?
Phi-4 Mini 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, Mistral Medium or Phi-4 Mini Reasoning?
Mistral Medium 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 Mistral Medium and Phi-4 Mini Reasoning?
Mistral Medium is available on Mistral AI Studio and OpenRouter. Phi-4 Mini Reasoning is available on the tracked providers still being sourced. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
When should I pick Mistral Medium over Phi-4 Mini Reasoning?
Phi-4 Mini Reasoning fits 4x more tokens; pick it for long-context work and Mistral Medium for tighter calls. If your workload also depends on provider fit, start with Mistral Medium; if it depends on reasoning depth, run the same evaluation with Phi-4 Mini Reasoning.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-06-15. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.