Mixtral 8x7B vs Phi-3 Mini 4k
Mixtral 8x7B (2023) and Phi-3 Mini 4k (2024) are compact production models from MistralAI and Microsoft Research. Mixtral 8x7B ships a 32K-token context window, while Phi-3 Mini 4k ships a 4K-token context window. On Google-Proof Q&A, Mixtral 8x7B leads by 13.9 pts. On pricing, Phi-3 Mini 4k costs $0.05/1M input tokens versus $0.15/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit.
Phi-3 Mini 4k is ~200% cheaper at $0.05/1M; pay for Mixtral 8x7B only for long-context analysis.
Specs
| Released | 2023-12-11 | 2024-04-23 |
| Context window | 32K | 4K |
| Parameters | 8x7B | 3.8B |
| Architecture | mixture of experts | decoder only |
| License | Apache 2.0 | Open Source |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2023-12 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Mixtral 8x7B | Phi-3 Mini 4k | |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.15/1M tokens | $0.05/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.45/1M tokens | $0.25/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Mixtral 8x7B | Phi-3 Mini 4k | |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | ||
| Multimodal | ||
| Reasoning | ||
| Function calling | ||
| Tool use | ||
| Structured outputs | ||
| Code execution |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Mixtral 8x7B | Phi-3 Mini 4k |
|---|---|---|
| Google-Proof Q&A | 54.8 | 40.9 |
| HumanEval | 80.5 | 59.8 |
| Massive Multitask Language Understanding | 80.2 | 68.2 |
| HellaSwag | 90.9 | 87.1 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, Google-Proof Q&A has Mixtral 8x7B at 54.8 and Phi-3 Mini 4k at 40.9, with Mixtral 8x7B ahead by 13.9 points; HumanEval has Mixtral 8x7B at 80.5 and Phi-3 Mini 4k at 59.8, with Mixtral 8x7B ahead by 20.7 points; Massive Multitask Language Understanding has Mixtral 8x7B at 80.2 and Phi-3 Mini 4k at 68.2, with Mixtral 8x7B ahead by 12 points. The largest visible gap is 20.7 points on HumanEval, 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 is close: both models cover the core production surface. That makes context budget, benchmark fit, and provider maturity more important than a simple checklist. If your application depends on one integration detail, verify it against the provider route you plan to use, not just the base model listing.
For cost, Mixtral 8x7B lists $0.15/1M input and $0.45/1M output tokens, while Phi-3 Mini 4k lists $0.05/1M input and $0.25/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Phi-3 Mini 4k lower by about $0.13 per million blended tokens. Availability is 18 providers versus 4, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Mixtral 8x7B when long-context analysis, larger context windows, and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Phi-3 Mini 4k when provider fit 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.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, Mixtral 8x7B or Phi-3 Mini 4k?
Mixtral 8x7B supports 32K tokens, while Phi-3 Mini 4k supports 4K 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 8x7B or Phi-3 Mini 4k?
Phi-3 Mini 4k is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Mixtral 8x7B costs $0.15/1M input and $0.45/1M output tokens. Phi-3 Mini 4k costs $0.05/1M input and $0.25/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Mixtral 8x7B or Phi-3 Mini 4k open source?
Mixtral 8x7B is listed under Apache 2.0. Phi-3 Mini 4k 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.
Where can I run Mixtral 8x7B and Phi-3 Mini 4k?
Mixtral 8x7B is available on Databricks Foundation Model Serving, NVIDIA NIM, GCP Vertex AI, AWS Bedrock, and OctoAI API. Phi-3 Mini 4k is available on Microsoft Foundry, NVIDIA NIM, Baseten API, and Replicate API. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
When should I pick Mixtral 8x7B over Phi-3 Mini 4k?
Phi-3 Mini 4k is ~200% cheaper at $0.05/1M; pay for Mixtral 8x7B only for long-context analysis. If your workload also depends on long-context analysis, start with Mixtral 8x7B; if it depends on provider fit, run the same evaluation with Phi-3 Mini 4k.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-04-24. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.