Phi-3 Medium 128K vs Together AI Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1
Phi-3 Medium 128K (2024) and Together AI Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1 (2023) are compact production models from Microsoft Research and MistralAI. Phi-3 Medium 128K ships a 128K-token context window, while Together AI Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1 ships a 33K-token context window. On pricing, Together AI Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1 costs $0.4/1M input tokens versus $0.5/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit.
Phi-3 Medium 128K is safer overall; choose Together AI Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1 when provider fit matters.
Specs
| Released | 2024-05-21 | 2023-12-10 |
| Context window | 128K | 33K |
| Parameters | 14B | 56B |
| Architecture | decoder only | decoder only |
| License | Open Source | Open Source |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | 2023-12 |
Pricing and availability
| Phi-3 Medium 128K | Together AI Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.5/1M tokens | $0.4/1M tokens |
| Output price | $1.5/1M tokens | $0.4/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Phi-3 Medium 128K | Together AI Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1 | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 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, Phi-3 Medium 128K lists $0.5/1M input and $1.5/1M output tokens, while Together AI Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1 lists $0.4/1M input and $0.4/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Together AI Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1 lower by about $0.4 per million blended tokens. Availability is 2 providers versus 1, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Phi-3 Medium 128K when long-context analysis, larger context windows, and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Together AI Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1 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. 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, Phi-3 Medium 128K or Together AI Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1?
Phi-3 Medium 128K supports 128K tokens, while Together AI Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1 supports 33K tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Which is cheaper, Phi-3 Medium 128K or Together AI Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1?
Together AI Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1 is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Phi-3 Medium 128K costs $0.5/1M input and $1.5/1M output tokens. Together AI Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1 costs $0.4/1M input and $0.4/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Phi-3 Medium 128K or Together AI Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1 open source?
Phi-3 Medium 128K is listed under Open Source. Together AI Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1 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 Phi-3 Medium 128K and Together AI Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1?
Phi-3 Medium 128K is available on Microsoft Foundry and NVIDIA NIM. Together AI Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1 is available on Together AI. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
When should I pick Phi-3 Medium 128K over Together AI Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1?
Phi-3 Medium 128K is safer overall; choose Together AI Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1 when provider fit matters. If your workload also depends on long-context analysis, start with Phi-3 Medium 128K; if it depends on provider fit, run the same evaluation with Together AI Mixtral-8x7B-Instruct-v0.1.
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Last reviewed: 2026-04-24. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.