Phi 4 vs Solar Mini 4
Updated October 21, 2026. 3 benchmarks have a result for both. Coding is ranked on the Vibe Coding Index; every other board is shown as published.
Decision reading
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Phi 4 has the edge where output tokens cost 1.4x less, and where what matters is AA Intelligence Index or Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run), where it leads.
- Shared results
- 3
- Phi 4 only
- 42
- Solar Mini 4 only
- 4
- Like-for-like categories
- 3 of 9
Shared results can support a head-to-head reading. Results only one model has describe coverage, not superiority.
Which one for your work
Each card is decided by one number both models carry. Where only one has it, the card says so and makes no call.
Coding
Vibe Coding Index, six public coding benchmarks
No call
Neither has a coding score yet.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
Solar Mini 4
Solar Mini 4 leads, 24.1 against 5.9.
Same board, both measured
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only Solar Mini 4 has a Design Arena: websites result, 1160.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Solar Mini 4
Solar Mini 4 takes 524K tokens against 16K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Phi 4
Phi 4 $0.0001, Solar Mini 4 $0.0001 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Phi 4 not benchmarked, Solar Mini 4 not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- General, 83.3 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- Long context reasoning (AA-LCR): Phi 4 0.0% against Solar Mini 4 83.3%, 83.3 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Phi 4 $0.14 against Solar Mini 4 $0.20 per million output tokens, 1.4x apart.
- Context window
- Phi 4 takes 16K tokens, Solar Mini 4 524K.
Benchmark by benchmark
First the score: boards each model leads, per category, where both have a result. Then every board, a category to a fold; bars are each result on a 0 to 100 scale, so compare the two in a row, not one row with another.
| Category | Phi 4 | Bars | Solar Mini 4 | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | 0 | 1 | ||
| Reasoning | 0 | 1 | ||
| General | 0 | 1 | ||
| All shared boards | 0 | 3 |
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index5 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Phi 4 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) | 23.1% | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| SciCode | Not measured | 47.6% | Only Solar Mini 4 measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | 3.8% | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: coding | 1231 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | 1228 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 33 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Phi 4 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 5.9 | 24.1 | Solar Mini 4 |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | 130.5 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Phi 4 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| τ²-Bench Telecom | 0.0% | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| BALROG | 11.6% | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 37 boards here | |||
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Phi 4 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 57.5% | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 3.8% | 25.8% | Solar Mini 4 |
| GPQA Diamond (Epoch AI run) | 56.1% | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | 1220 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: expert | 1203 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | 1230 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 15 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index6 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Phi 4 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Math Index | 18.0 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| AIME 2025 (Artificial Analysis run) | 18.0% | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| OTIS Mock AIME | 13.8% | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| MATH level 5 | 64.9% | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: math | 1246 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | 1254 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 7 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index6 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Phi 4 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run) | 71.4% | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| MMLU | 84.8% | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: science | 1206 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | 1202 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | 1241 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | 1199 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 11 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index3 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Phi 4 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | Not measured | 1160 | Only Solar Mini 4 measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | Not measured | 1113 | Only Solar Mini 4 measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | Not measured | 1153 | Only Solar Mini 4 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 6 boards here | |||
GeneralLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Phi 4 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBench | 23.5% | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 0.0% | 83.3% | Solar Mini 4 |
| Creative writing (Lech Mazur) | 62.6% | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text | 1217 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | 1201 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | 1181 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: English | 1231 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: non-English | 1197 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: Chinese | 1212 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: German | 1222 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: Japanese | 1158 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: Korean | 1151 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: French | 1224 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: Spanish | 1234 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: Russian | 1209 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | 1206 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | 1217 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | 1198 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | 1162 | Not measured | Only Phi 4 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 27 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Phi 4 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 5 boards here | |||
What each workload costs
Three fixed token mixes at each model's listed price, so per-token rates become a bill.
Chat turn
1K input + 500 output tokens
Phi 4 costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Solar Mini 4 costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Solar Mini 4 costs less
Listed OpenRouter rates, without cache or batch discounts. A workload that does not fit a model's context window would need splitting.
Specification differences
The leading value in a row is marked; a row with a missing value names no leader. Our two rows are marked in red.
| Specification | Microsoft Phi 4 | Upstage Solar Mini 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Microsoft | Upstage |
| Weights | Open weights | No public weights listed |
| Released | January 10, 2025 | September 23, 2026 |
| Context window | 16K | 524K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.07 | $0.05 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.14 | $0.20 |
| Coding index | Not benchmarked | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 0 | 0 |
| Cost per solved task | Not computable | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Phi 4 better than Solar Mini 4 for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Phi 4 has the edge where output tokens cost 1.4x less, and where what matters is AA Intelligence Index or Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run), where it leads.
Which is cheaper, Phi 4 or Solar Mini 4?
Phi 4 costs $0.07 per million input tokens and $0.14 per million output tokens; Solar Mini 4 costs $0.05 and $0.20. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Phi 4 or Solar Mini 4?
Solar Mini 4, with 524K tokens against 16K.
How many benchmarks is the Phi 4 vs Solar Mini 4 comparison based on?
3 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 21, 2026. Phi 4's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and Solar Mini 4's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.