Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 vs Phi-3 Medium 128K
Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 (2024) and Phi-3 Medium 128K (2024) are compact production models from MistralAI and Microsoft Research. Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 ships a 64K-token context window, while Phi-3 Medium 128K ships a 128K-token context window. On pricing, Phi-3 Medium 128K costs $0.5/1M input tokens versus $2/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit.
Phi-3 Medium 128K is ~300% cheaper at $0.5/1M; pay for Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 only for provider fit.
Specs
| Released | 2024-07-01 | 2024-05-21 |
| Context window | 64K | 128K |
| Parameters | 8x22B | 14B |
| Architecture | mixture of experts | decoder only |
| License | Apache 2.0 | Open Source |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | - |
Pricing and availability
| Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 | Phi-3 Medium 128K | |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $2/1M tokens | $0.5/1M tokens |
| Output price | $2/1M tokens | $1.5/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 | Phi-3 Medium 128K | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 function calling: Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3. 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.
For cost, Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 lists $2/1M input and $2/1M output tokens, while Phi-3 Medium 128K lists $0.5/1M input and $1.5/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Phi-3 Medium 128K lower by about $1.2 per million blended tokens. Availability is 1 providers versus 2, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 when provider fit are central to the workload. Choose Phi-3 Medium 128K when long-context analysis, larger context windows, and lower input-token cost 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, Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 or Phi-3 Medium 128K?
Phi-3 Medium 128K supports 128K tokens, while Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 supports 64K tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Which is cheaper, Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 or Phi-3 Medium 128K?
Phi-3 Medium 128K is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 costs $2/1M input and $2/1M output tokens. Phi-3 Medium 128K costs $0.5/1M input and $1.5/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 or Phi-3 Medium 128K open source?
Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 is listed under Apache 2.0. Phi-3 Medium 128K is listed under Open Source. 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 function calling, Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 or Phi-3 Medium 128K?
Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 has the clearer documented function calling signal in this comparison. If function calling is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 and Phi-3 Medium 128K?
Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 is available on Replicate API. Phi-3 Medium 128K is available on Microsoft Foundry and NVIDIA NIM. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
When should I pick Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 over Phi-3 Medium 128K?
Phi-3 Medium 128K is ~300% cheaper at $0.5/1M; pay for Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 only for provider fit. If your workload also depends on provider fit, start with Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3; if it depends on long-context analysis, run the same evaluation with Phi-3 Medium 128K.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-04-18. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.