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Head-to-head comparison

R1 Distill Llama 70B vs Phi 4

R1 Distill Llama 70B (DeepSeek) 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 3 September 2026

As of 3 September 2026, R1 Distill Llama 70B holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#196 vs #198); Phi 4 is 5.7× cheaper per output token ($0.14/1M vs $0.80/1M); and Phi 4 offers the longer context window (16K vs 8K tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose R1 Distill Llama 70B if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #196 against #198 (9.8 vs 8.1 points).
  • AA Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 9.8 against 4.6.
  • AA τ²-Bench Telecom is your yardstick — 21.9% against 0.0%.
  • AA Humanity's Last Exam is your yardstick — 5.1% against 3.8%.
  • you want the more recently listed model — R1 Distill Llama 70B was listed 23 January 2025, Phi 4 10 January 2025.

Choose Phi 4 if…

  • API cost matters — $0.14/1M output tokens against $0.80/1M, about 5.7× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.07/1M against $0.80/1M.
  • you need the longer context window — 16K tokens against 8K.

R1 Distill Llama 70B vs Phi 4: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of R1 Distill Llama 70B and Phi 4
FieldR1 Distill Llama 70BDeepSeekPhi 4Microsoft
ModelCap Index position#196#198
Index score9.88.1
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.80$0.07
Output price / 1M tokens$0.80$0.14
Context window8K tokens16K tokens
Max output tokens7K15K
API providers listed11
Weight accessOpen weightsOpen weights
Input modalitiesTextText
First listed23 January 202510 January 2025
PublisherDeepSeekMicrosoft

Evidence: 1 public benchmark observation across 1 board · 3 public benchmark observations across 3 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: R1 Distill Llama 70B vs Phi 4

Public benchmark boards where R1 Distill Llama 70B or Phi 4 has a published result
BoardR1 Distill Llama 70BPhi 4Leads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)—13061296–1316Only one result
BFCL V4UC Berkeley (Gorilla)—28.8PromptOnly one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis9.8intelligence-index4.6intelligence-indexR1 Distill Llama 70B
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis21.9%tau2-bench-telecom0.0%tau2-bench-telecomR1 Distill Llama 70B
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis5.1%humanitys-last-exam3.8%humanitys-last-examR1 Distill Llama 70B

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.

R1 Distill Llama 70B vs Phi 4: common questions

Is R1 Distill Llama 70B better than Phi 4?

R1 Distill Llama 70B ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 3 September 2026: #196 against #198. 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 R1 Distill Llama 70B cheaper than Phi 4?

Phi 4 is cheaper on output tokens: $0.14/1M against $0.80/1M. Input tokens are $0.80/1M for R1 Distill Llama 70B and $0.07/1M for Phi 4. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, R1 Distill Llama 70B or Phi 4?

Phi 4 has the larger context window: 16K tokens against 8K.

Which is better for coding, R1 Distill Llama 70B or Phi 4?

The two models do not share a coding benchmark board on ModelCap yet, so no head-to-head coding score is published; the ModelCap Index position is the closest overall signal.

Are R1 Distill Llama 70B and Phi 4 open-weight models?

R1 Distill Llama 70B: Open weights. 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 R1 Distill Llama 70B and Phi 4?

ModelCap currently lists 1 API provider for R1 Distill Llama 70B 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 R1 Distill Llama 70B vs Phi 4 comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 3 September 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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