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Head-to-head comparison

Nova Micro 1.0 vs Phi 4

Nova Micro 1.0 (Amazon) and Phi 4 (Microsoft) compared on the ModelCap Index, API price, context window, provider availability, weight access and every public benchmark board they share. Figures are the same ones shown on the live rankings; nothing here is a hidden score.

Snapshot as of 17 August 2026

As of 17 August 2026, Phi 4 holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#197 vs #200); Nova Micro 1.0 offers the longer context window (128K vs 16K tokens); and Phi 4 ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose Nova Micro 1.0 if…

  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.035/1M against $0.07/1M.
  • you need the longer context window — 128K tokens against 16K.

Choose Phi 4 if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #197 against #200 (9.0 vs 7.5 points).
  • you want to self-host: Phi 4 ships open weights while Nova Micro 1.0 is api only.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1306 against 1289.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Phi 4 was listed 10 January 2025, Nova Micro 1.0 5 December 2024.

Nova Micro 1.0 vs Phi 4: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Nova Micro 1.0 and Phi 4
FieldNova Micro 1.0AmazonPhi 4Microsoft
ModelCap Index position#200#197
Index score7.59.0
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.035$0.07
Output price / 1M tokens$0.14$0.14
Context window128K tokens16K tokens
Max output tokens5K16K
API providers listed11
Weight accessAPI onlyOpen weights
Input modalitiesTextText
First listed5 December 202410 January 2025
PublisherAmazonMicrosoft

Evidence: 2 public benchmark observations across 2 boards · 3 public benchmark observations across 3 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Nova Micro 1.0 vs Phi 4

Public benchmark boards where Nova Micro 1.0 or Phi 4 has a published result
BoardNova Micro 1.0Phi 4Leads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)12891278–129913061296–1316Phi 4
BFCL V4UC Berkeley (Gorilla)—28.8PromptOnly one result
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis—4.6intelligence-indexOnly one result

Scores are the sources' own published figures for each model's best evaluated configuration; ModelCap never re-runs a benchmark.

Want a different pairing? Open the interactive comparison tool to swap either model for any current ranked language model.

Nova Micro 1.0 vs Phi 4: common questions

Is Nova Micro 1.0 better than Phi 4?

Phi 4 ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 17 August 2026: #197 against #200. That is a capability ranking built from public benchmark evidence with published uncertainty; whether it is "better" for you also depends on price, context and where you can run it.

Is Nova Micro 1.0 cheaper than Phi 4?

Both list the same output price, $0.14/1M tokens, with input at $0.035/1M and $0.07/1M respectively.

Which has the bigger context window, Nova Micro 1.0 or Phi 4?

Nova Micro 1.0 has the larger context window: 128K tokens against 16K.

Which is better for coding, Nova Micro 1.0 or Phi 4?

Arena coding: Nova Micro 1.0 1289, Phi 4 1306 — Phi 4 leads.

Are Nova Micro 1.0 and Phi 4 open-weight models?

Nova Micro 1.0: API only. Phi 4: Open weights. Open weights mean the checkpoint can be downloaded and self-hosted under its licence; API-only models are available solely through hosted endpoints.

Where can I run Nova Micro 1.0 and Phi 4?

ModelCap currently lists 1 API provider for Nova Micro 1.0 and 1 for Phi 4, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Nova Micro 1.0 vs Phi 4 comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 17 August 2026; the page re-renders within a minute of each data refresh, and the ModelCap Index positions are the same ones shown on the live rankings.

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