GPT-4.1 vs Phi-4

Side-by-side benchmark comparison across knowledge, coding, math, and reasoning.

GPT-4.1 is clearly ahead on the aggregate, 43 to 39. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.

GPT-4.1's sharpest advantage is in knowledge, where it averages 78.3 against 70.5. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is GPQA, 66.3 to 56.1. Phi-4 does hit back in coding, so the answer changes if that is the part of the workload you care about most.

GPT-4.1 is also the more expensive model on tokens at $2.00 input / $8.00 output per 1M tokens, versus $0.00 input / $0.00 output per 1M tokens for Phi-4. That is roughly Infinityx on output cost alone. GPT-4.1 gives you the larger context window at 1M, compared with 16K for Phi-4.

Quick Verdict

Pick GPT-4.1 if you want the stronger benchmark profile. Phi-4 only becomes the better choice if coding is the priority or you want the cheaper token bill.

Knowledge

GPT-4.1

GPT-4.1

78.3

Phi-4

70.5

90.2
MMLU
84.8
66.3
GPQA
56.1

Coding

Phi-4

GPT-4.1

54.6

Phi-4

82.6

54.6
SWE-bench Verified
-
-
HumanEval
82.6

Mathematics

GPT-4.1
26.4
AIME 2024
-

Reasoning

Tie

Instruction Following

GPT-4.1
87.4
IFEval
-

Multilingual

Phi-4
-
MGSM
80.6

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, GPT-4.1 or Phi-4?

GPT-4.1 is ahead overall, 43 to 39. The biggest single separator in this matchup is GPQA, where the scores are 66.3 and 56.1.

Which is better for knowledge tasks, GPT-4.1 or Phi-4?

GPT-4.1 has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 78.3 versus 70.5. Inside this category, GPQA is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for coding, GPT-4.1 or Phi-4?

Phi-4 has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 82.6 versus 54.6. GPT-4.1 stays close enough that the answer can still flip depending on your workload.

Last updated: March 9, 2026

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