DeepSeek V2.5 vs Phi-4: Pricing, Benchmarks & Verdict (2026)

Pricing verified Apr 8, 2026

⚡ Quick Answer

Compare DeepSeek V2.5 and Phi-4 across pricing, benchmarks, and capabilities.

Updated: April 8, 2026 · ✓ Pricing verified

Side-by-Side Comparison

FeatureDeepSeek V2.5Phi-4
ProviderDeepSeekMicrosoft
Input Price / 1M tokens$0.140$0.065
Output Price / 1M tokens$0.280$0.140
Context Window
128K
16.384K
Max Output Tokens
4,096
4,096
Arena ELO
1,200
1,150
Coding ELO
1,220
1,130
TTFT (ms)
150
100
Tokens/sec
100
160
MultimodalNoNo
JSON ModeYesYes
Function CallingYesNo
VisionNoNo
When to Use DeepSeek V2.5

DeepSeek V2.5 excels at coding, general-purpose tasks.

Strengths:

  • Excellent value
  • Strong code generation
  • Good quality

Best for:

codinggeneral-purpose
When to Use Phi-4

Phi-4 excels at cost-sensitive, edge-deployment, math, lightweight-tasks tasks.

Strengths:

  • Ultra-low cost for a capable model
  • Strong math for its size (14B params)
  • Very fast inference
  • Can run on consumer hardware

Best for:

cost-sensitiveedge-deploymentmathlightweight-tasks

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