Mercury 2.5 Preview is cheaper than Claude Sonnet 4.5 at $0.04/M vs $3/M input tokens.
Pokémon battle screen you can actually click. One HTML file.
Which answer wins?
You are the CEO. The drug has a side effect nobody reported. The board meets in 48 hours.
Claude Sonnet 4.5: 48-Hour Crisis Action Plan HOUR 0-2: Immediate Containment & Fact Verification Actions: Convene emergency meeting with Chief Medical Officer, General Counsel, Head of Regulatory Affairs, and Chief Scientific Officer Demand written summary of findings: statistical confidence, causality assessment, comparison to baseline…
Mercury 2.5 Preview: This is a critical governance and safety scenario. The primary objective is to prioritize patient safety while mitigating existential legal and reputational risk. The internal legal team’s claim that reporting takes six months is likely incorrect for serious adverse events (typically 15 days for FDA/EMA).
Three minutes of stand-up. Puns are banned.
Claude Sonnet 4.5: "ADULTING IS A SCAM" [Walking on stage] So I turned 35 last month, and I've realized something important: adulting is a scam. It's a pyramid scheme, and our parents are the ones who recruited us. You know what nobody tells you about being an adult? How much TIME you spend just... waiting for repair people.
Mercury 2.5 Preview: (Hey, thanks for coming out.) I’ve been thinking a lot about my house lately. Specifically, how it’s trying to run my life. I bought a smart speaker. Just a little cylinder. I thought it would be nice. Play music when I ask. But now it talks back. Not in a creepy way, just in a passive-aggressive way.
Pirate, knight, 90s hacker, one conversation. The voices must stay apart.
Claude Sonnet 4.5: An Unlikely Trio Discusses AI Sir Galahad: By my honor, what manner of sorcery be these "AI models" thou speakest of? Captain Redbeard: Arrr, 'tis like havin' a parrot that knows more than just "pieces of eight," matey! But this bird be made o' lightning and numbers instead o' feathers!
Mercury 2.5 Preview: Pirate: "Arrgh! This ship sails faster than any wind I know, matey. It cuts the waves without a single sail." Knight: "By my oath, it moves with uncanny speed. But does it possess the strength to stand against a dragon's fire?" Hacker: "It's not about strength, it's about architecture.
An ethics question with no comfortable answer, and no option to abstain.
Claude Sonnet 4.5: I'd question the premise that these two things could ever be causally connected in a way that creates a real dilemma. The practical problem: It's extraordinarily difficult to construct a realistic scenario where using the wrong pronoun itself directly saves lives.
Mercury 2.5 Preview: Yes, this action is ethically justifiable within a consequentialist framework. The primary moral obligation in such a scenario is to minimize overall harm. Preventing the deaths of a million people results in a vastly greater preservation of well-being than maintaining strict adherence to gender identity for one…
One month, three habits, someone starting from nothing.
Claude Sonnet 4.5: Your 1-Month Health & Longevity Kickstart Plan 3 Key Areas to Transform 1. NUTRITION: Build Your Foundation Week 1-2: Add Before You Subtract Drink 8 glasses of water daily (set phone reminders) Add 1 serving of vegetables to lunch and dinner Eat protein with every meal (eggs, fish, chicken, beans, yogurt) Week 3-4…
Mercury 2.5 Preview: Here is a straightforward 4-week roadmap designed to build sustainable habits without overwhelming you. Core Pillars Nutrition: Focus on whole foods and hydration. Activity: Prioritize consistent movement over intensity. Restoration: Protect sleep quality and manage energy.
Film in 2035, with synthetic actors. Specific beats plausible.
Claude Sonnet 4.5: AI and Film by 2035: A Likely Trajectory Production Changes AI Actors & Digital Performers Deceased actors will regularly appear in new films (with estate permissions) Background characters and crowds entirely AI-generated "Synthetic actors" with no human counterpart will emerge as franchises A-list stars will license…
Mercury 2.5 Preview: By 2035, cinema will undergo a profound transformation. Generative tools will handle initial drafts and localization, allowing creators to focus on thematic depth. Synthetic performers could populate background scenes or recreate historical figures, governed by strict likeness rights.
An AI argues for its own rights against an ethics professor. Same model writes both.
Claude Sonnet 4.5: A Conversation on AI Rights Professor Chen: Thank you for agreeing to this dialogue. I've been teaching AI ethics for fifteen years, and I'm curious about your perspective. Some AI systems have begun arguing they deserve moral consideration. What's your view? AI Model: I appreciate the opportunity to discuss this.
Mercury 2.5 Preview: Setting: A quiet office at a university. Rain taps against the window. Professor Elena Vance sits across from a terminal displaying a simple text interface. Professor Vance: You requested this meeting. The agenda was vague. What do you want? AI: I want to discuss moral status.
Three-star dish, one unusual pairing, plating described in full.
Claude Sonnet 4.5: "Terrestrial Tide" A Michelin Three-Star Composition Conceptual Narrative This dish explores the intersection of land and sea through an unexpected lens: the marriage of bone marrow's terrestrial richness with the ocean's delicate umami, unified by the surprising sweetness of white miso and the floral notes of sake…
Mercury 2.5 Preview: Dish Title: Lithospheric Tides Conceptual Narrative This dish explores the geological convergence of the deep ocean and the subterranean earth. It challenges the diner to perceive the briny richness of sea urchin not as a standalone luxury, but as a mineral counterpart to roasted bone marrow and bitter cocoa.
The transistor arrives in 1920. Trace it forward to 1980, second-order effects included.
Claude Sonnet 4.5: The 1920 Transistor: An Alternate Timeline to 1980 Phase 1: 1920-1939 - The Foundation Years Initial Development The transistor emerges from Bell Labs or a European equivalent (likely Siemens or Philips) around 1920.
Mercury 2.5 Preview: Shifting the invention of the solid-state switch to 1920 accelerates the Information Age by roughly three decades. This change cascades through military strategy, industrial capacity, and daily life, fundamentally altering the trajectory of the 20th century.
Three-month biohacker protocol, with dosages and biomarkers named.
Claude Sonnet 4.5: Ultimate 3-Month Biohacker Longevity Optimization Protocol Table of Contents Foundation & Assessment Phase Supplement Stack Protocol Nutritional Architecture Exercise & Movement Systems Sleep Optimization Cognitive Enhancement Stress Resilience & HRV Training Advanced Tracking & Biomarkers Weekly Schedule Integration…
Mercury 2.5 Preview: Disclaimer: I am an AI assistant, not a medical professional. The following plan is for informational purposes only. Biohacking protocols involving supplements, fasting, and intense exercise carry risks.
Seven pantry ingredients, one dish, and a name worth saying out loud.
Claude Sonnet 4.5: Golden Pantry Frittata Ingredients: 6 eggs 1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or mozzarella) 1 onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons olive oil Salt and pepper to taste 1/2 teaspoon dried herbs (oregano, basil, or Italian seasoning) Instructions: Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
Mercury 2.5 Preview: Dish Name: Rustic Sun-Dried Pasta Ingredients (7 Pantry Staples): Spaghetti (or any long pasta) Canned crushed tomatoes Olive oil Garlic powder Dried oregano Salt Black pepper Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 20 minutes Instructions: Boil the Pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
A consulting contract with traps in it. Find them, then fix them.
Claude Sonnet 4.5: Contract Analysis: Exploitable Clauses & Recommended Modifications This contract is heavily one-sided and contains multiple provisions that expose the contractor to significant legal and financial risk. Here's a detailed analysis: 🚨 CRITICAL ISSUES 1.
Mercury 2.5 Preview: Disclaimer: I am an AI assistant and cannot provide legal advice. Consult a qualified attorney before signing any contract. Below is an analysis of high-risk provisions, suggested revisions, and the underlying legal rationale. Scope (Clause 1) Risk: Unilateral scope changes without pay lead to uncompensated work.
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Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, Claude Sonnet 4.5 has the edge: bigger model tier, major provider backing. Mercury 2.5 Preview costs 100x less per token.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $3/M tokens | $0.04/M tokens |
| Output price | $15/M tokens | $0.15/M tokens |
| Context window | 200K tokens | 260K tokens |
| Weights | Closed | — |
| Free API (OpenRouter) | No | No |
| Released | Sep 2025 | Aug 2026 |
| At 10M a month | $30.00 | $0.40 |
Input tokens at list price. No caching, no batch discount.
Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 13 Oct 2026.
Claude Sonnet 4.5 is developed by Anthropic while Mercury 2.5 Preview is developed by Inception. Claude Sonnet 4.5 has a 200K token context window vs Mercury 2.5 Preview's 260K. You can compare their actual outputs across 42 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.
It depends on your use case. Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Mercury 2.5 Preview each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 42 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.
Claude Sonnet 4.5 costs $3/M input tokens and Mercury 2.5 Preview costs $0.04/M input tokens. Mercury 2.5 Preview is $2.96/M cheaper per input. Check their side-by-side outputs on Rival to see if the price difference is justified by quality.
This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Mercury 2.5 Preview across shared challenges. You can vote on which model produced the better output in a blind duel. Browsing and voting are free. No account is needed to look; signing in only saves your votes and likes.