Phi-3 Mini 128K vs Qwen3-235B-A22B
Phi-3 Mini 128K (2024) and Qwen3-235B-A22B (2025) are compact production models from Microsoft Research and Alibaba. Phi-3 Mini 128K ships a 128K-token context window, while Qwen3-235B-A22B ships a 128K-token context window. On MMLU PRO, Qwen3-235B-A22B leads by 38.9 pts. On pricing, Phi-3 Mini 128K costs $0.05/1M input tokens versus $0.4/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit.
Phi-3 Mini 128K is ~700% cheaper at $0.05/1M; pay for Qwen3-235B-A22B only for provider fit.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Phi-3 Mini 128K | Qwen3-235B-A22B |
|---|---|---|
| Decision fit | Coding, Long context, and Classification | Coding, RAG, and Long context |
| Context window | 128K | 128K |
| Cheapest output | $0.25/1M tokens | $1.2/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 5 tracked | 4 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 3 rows | MMLU PRO leader |
Decision tradeoffs
- Phi-3 Mini 128K has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.25/1M tokens.
- Phi-3 Mini 128K has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Local decision data tags Phi-3 Mini 128K for Coding, Long context, and Classification.
- Qwen3-235B-A22B leads the largest shared benchmark signal on MMLU PRO by 38.9 points.
- Qwen3-235B-A22B uniquely exposes Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Qwen3-235B-A22B for Coding, RAG, and Long context.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output prices on this page.
Phi-3 Mini 128K
$103
Cheapest tracked route: Replicate API
Qwen3-235B-A22B
$620
Cheapest tracked route: AWS Bedrock
Estimated monthly gap: $518. Batch, cache, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on Fireworks AI; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Qwen3-235B-A22B is $0.95/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Qwen3-235B-A22B adds Structured outputs in local capability data.
- Provider overlap exists on Fireworks AI; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Phi-3 Mini 128K is $0.95/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-04-23 | 2025-04-29 |
| Context window | 128K | 128K |
| Parameters | 3.8B | 235B |
| Architecture | decoder only | decoder only |
| License | Open Source | Apache 2.0 |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2023-10 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Phi-3 Mini 128K | Qwen3-235B-A22B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.05/1M tokens | $0.4/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.25/1M tokens | $1.2/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Phi-3 Mini 128K | Qwen3-235B-A22B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Function calling | No | No |
| Tool use | No | No |
| Structured outputs | No | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Phi-3 Mini 128K | Qwen3-235B-A22B |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU PRO | 43.9 | 82.8 |
| Google-Proof Q&A | 50.8 | 86.1 |
| HumanEval | 75.9 | 92.7 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, MMLU PRO has Phi-3 Mini 128K at 43.9 and Qwen3-235B-A22B at 82.8, with Qwen3-235B-A22B ahead by 38.9 points; Google-Proof Q&A has Phi-3 Mini 128K at 50.8 and Qwen3-235B-A22B at 86.1, with Qwen3-235B-A22B ahead by 35.3 points; HumanEval has Phi-3 Mini 128K at 75.9 and Qwen3-235B-A22B at 92.7, with Qwen3-235B-A22B ahead by 16.8 points. The largest visible gap is 38.9 points on MMLU PRO, 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 structured outputs: Qwen3-235B-A22B. 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, Phi-3 Mini 128K lists $0.05/1M input and $0.25/1M output tokens, while Qwen3-235B-A22B lists $0.4/1M input and $1.2/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Phi-3 Mini 128K lower by about $0.53 per million blended tokens. Availability is 5 providers versus 4, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Phi-3 Mini 128K when provider fit, lower input-token cost, and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Qwen3-235B-A22B when provider fit 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, Phi-3 Mini 128K or Qwen3-235B-A22B?
Phi-3 Mini 128K supports 128K tokens, while Qwen3-235B-A22B supports 128K 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 Mini 128K or Qwen3-235B-A22B?
Phi-3 Mini 128K is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Phi-3 Mini 128K costs $0.05/1M input and $0.25/1M output tokens. Qwen3-235B-A22B costs $0.4/1M input and $1.2/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Phi-3 Mini 128K or Qwen3-235B-A22B open source?
Phi-3 Mini 128K is listed under Open Source. Qwen3-235B-A22B is listed under Apache 2.0. 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 structured outputs, Phi-3 Mini 128K or Qwen3-235B-A22B?
Qwen3-235B-A22B 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 Phi-3 Mini 128K and Qwen3-235B-A22B?
Phi-3 Mini 128K is available on NVIDIA NIM, Baseten API, Microsoft Foundry, Fireworks AI, and Replicate API. Qwen3-235B-A22B is available on Fireworks AI, AWS Bedrock, OpenRouter, and Venice AI. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
When should I pick Phi-3 Mini 128K over Qwen3-235B-A22B?
Phi-3 Mini 128K is ~700% cheaper at $0.05/1M; pay for Qwen3-235B-A22B only for provider fit. If your workload also depends on provider fit, start with Phi-3 Mini 128K; if it depends on provider fit, run the same evaluation with Qwen3-235B-A22B.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-05-20. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.