Phi-3 Mini 4k vs Qwen3.5-397B-A17B
Phi-3 Mini 4k (2024) and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B (2026) are compact production models from Microsoft Research and Alibaba. Phi-3 Mini 4k ships a 4K-token context window, while Qwen3.5-397B-A17B ships a 262K-token context window. On MMLU PRO, Qwen3.5-397B-A17B leads by 42.1 pts. On pricing, Phi-3 Mini 4k costs $0.05/1M input tokens versus $0.39/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit.
Phi-3 Mini 4k is ~680% cheaper at $0.05/1M; pay for Qwen3.5-397B-A17B only for long-context analysis.
Specs
| Released | 2024-04-23 | 2026-02-16 |
| Context window | 4K | 262K |
| Parameters | 3.8B | 397B |
| Architecture | decoder only | MoE |
| License | Open Source | Apache 2.0 |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | - |
Pricing and availability
| Phi-3 Mini 4k | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B | |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.05/1M tokens | $0.39/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.25/1M tokens | $2.34/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Phi-3 Mini 4k | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B | |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | ||
| Multimodal | ||
| Reasoning | ||
| Function calling | ||
| Tool use | ||
| Structured outputs | ||
| Code execution |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Phi-3 Mini 4k | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU PRO | 45.7 | 87.8 |
| Google-Proof Q&A | 40.9 | 89.3 |
| Instruction-Following Evaluation | 45.0 | 92.6 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, MMLU PRO has Phi-3 Mini 4k at 45.7 and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B at 87.8, with Qwen3.5-397B-A17B ahead by 42.1 points; Google-Proof Q&A has Phi-3 Mini 4k at 40.9 and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B at 89.3, with Qwen3.5-397B-A17B ahead by 48.4 points; Instruction-Following Evaluation has Phi-3 Mini 4k at 45.0 and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B at 92.6, with Qwen3.5-397B-A17B ahead by 47.6 points. The largest visible gap is 48.4 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 multimodal input: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B and structured outputs: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B. 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 4k lists $0.05/1M input and $0.25/1M output tokens, while Qwen3.5-397B-A17B lists $0.39/1M input and $2.34/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Phi-3 Mini 4k lower by about $0.86 per million blended tokens. Availability is 4 providers versus 1, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Phi-3 Mini 4k when provider fit, lower input-token cost, and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Qwen3.5-397B-A17B when long-context analysis 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, Phi-3 Mini 4k or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B supports 262K 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, Phi-3 Mini 4k or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Phi-3 Mini 4k is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Phi-3 Mini 4k costs $0.05/1M input and $0.25/1M output tokens. Qwen3.5-397B-A17B costs $0.39/1M input and $2.34/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Phi-3 Mini 4k or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B open source?
Phi-3 Mini 4k is listed under Open Source. Qwen3.5-397B-A17B 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 multimodal input, Phi-3 Mini 4k or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B has the clearer documented multimodal input signal in this comparison. If multimodal input 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, Phi-3 Mini 4k or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B 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 4k and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Phi-3 Mini 4k is available on Microsoft Foundry, NVIDIA NIM, Baseten API, and Replicate API. Qwen3.5-397B-A17B is available on OpenRouter. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
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Last reviewed: 2026-04-24. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.