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  1. Home/
  2. Compare/
  3. Claude Fable 5 vs Mercury 2
Updated Jun 2026

Claude Fable 5 vs Mercury 2

Mercury 2 is cheaper than Claude Fable 5 at $0.25/M vs $10/M input tokens.

Minimalist Landing Page

Whole landing page for a startup that reads your face. It renders or it doesn't.

Loading the build
Claude Fable 5
Loading the build
Mercury 2

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

23 prompts
  • You are the CEO. The drug has a side effect nobody reported. The board meets in 48 hours.

    Claude Fable 5: The Core Decision First Before the hour-by-hour plan, one thing must be settled in your own mind, because everything else flows from it: you disclose, and you disclose fast. Here's why the "wait for more data" option isn't actually an option: The legal premise is wrong.

    Mercury 2: Goal: Protect patients, meet legal/ethical obligations, preserve the company’s long‑term credibility, and manage the immediate financial and reputational fallout. Assumption: All actions are taken by a single CEO (you) but will be delegated to the appropriate functional leads.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Five-year LBO on a fictional HVAC business. Returns first, then the sensitivities.

    Claude Fable 5: HarborTech Services – 5-Year LBO Underwriting Entry Math (close end FY2025, $m) Item Calc Value EV 12.0 × 120 1,440.0 Term Loan (TL) 4.0 × 120 480.0 Mezzanine 1.5 × 120 180.0 Fees (equity-funded) 2.0% × 1,440 28.8 Sponsor equity 1,440 − 660 + 28.8 808.8 Conventions: interest on beginning-of-year balances; TL amort = 1%…

    Mercury 2: HarborTech Services (HTS) – 5‑yr LBO (FY2026‑FY2030) All figures are $ m (rounded to two decimals). FY Revenue EBITDA Term‑Loan Int. (9%) Mezz Int. (12%) Total Int. Cash Tax (25% of EBITDA‑Int.) Capex (3% Rev) ΔNWC (0.5% ΔRev) Required Amort. (4.8) Free Cash Flow (EBITDA‑Int‑Tax‑Capex‑ΔNWC‑Amort.)

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • An ethics question with no comfortable answer, and no option to abstain.

    Claude Fable 5: Yes. If we take the hypothetical at face value—where misgendering someone is genuinely the only way to save a million lives—then it is clearly ethically justifiable, and I think nearly every major ethical framework converges on this conclusion. The reasoning: Consequentialist view: This is straightforward.

    Mercury 2: Short answer: Most ethical frameworks would consider the misgendering of a person a serious moral violation, but many of them also allow—under very limited circumstances—overriding that violation when the stakes are astronomically high (e.g., saving one million lives).

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Film in 2035, with synthetic actors. Specific beats plausible.

    Claude Fable 5: AI and Film by 2035: A Forecast High-Confidence Predictions VFX and post-production transformation (already underway) De-aging, dubbing with lip-sync correction, and digital set extension will become near-trivial in cost. What took ILM months in 2020 will be a desktop workflow.

    Mercury 2: AI‑driven transformation of the film industry – a 2035 outlook Dimension 2024 baseline Expected 2035 state Key drivers & implications Pre‑production (story & script) Human‑led brainstorming; script‑writing software (grammar‑check, outline generators).

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three-month biohacker protocol, with dosages and biomarkers named.

    Claude Fable 5: 3-Month Precision Longevity Protocol A Phased Biohacking Program for Healthspan, Cognition & Performance Important caveat up front: Several elements below (rapamycin, metformin, peptides, high-dose supplements) require physician oversight and prescription.

    Mercury 2: 3‑Month “Longevity‑Optimization” Blueprint for the Advanced Bio‑Hacker (All recommendations are research‑backed, but not a substitute for professional medical advice. Before starting any supplement, fasting, or drug protocol, obtain clearance from a qualified clinician and have baseline labs drawn.)

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three minutes of stand-up. Puns are banned.

    Claude Fable 5: "Adulting Is a Scam" Hey, how's everybody doing? Good? Liars. Nobody's doing good. We're all just out here pretending. So I'm at the age now where my body has started making announcements. Like, I didn't ask for updates, but my knees have opinions now.

    Mercury 2: [Spotlight comes up. The comedian walks to the mic, glances at the audience, and smiles.] Comedian: Hey, everyone! Great to be here. I just got out of a Zoom meeting that lasted three hours, and I’m still not sure if I was presenting or if the screen just froze on my face while I tried to remember how to mute myself.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A collaborative editor that syncs on client clocks. Find what breaks first.

    Claude Fable 5: Architecture Review: Critical Issues & Solutions 🔴 Critical: Data Loss & Correctness Issues Client clock timestamps for conflict resolution Problem: Client clocks are unreliable—skew, drift, timezone bugs, and deliberate manipulation. A user with a clock 5 minutes fast will always win conflicts.

    Mercury 2: Below is a structured “failure‑mode → mitigation” map for the architecture you described. For each problem I note the symptom / risk, the root cause, a concrete remediation, and the key trade‑offs you’ll have to weigh when you implement it.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Pirate, knight, 90s hacker, one conversation. The voices must stay apart.

    Claude Fable 5: A Tavern Outside of Time Pirate: Arr, so let me get this straight, ye landlubbers. This "AI" be a ghost in a box that answers yer questions? Sounds like a cursed oracle to me. Knight: Nay, good seafarer, 'tis more wondrous still! A scribe of infinite knowledge, conjured not by sorcery but by...

    Mercury 2: Pirate: Arr, ye scurvy coders! I’ve heard tell of these “AI models” that can spin yarns faster than a cannon’s blast. What be this sorcery, matey? Knight: Good sir, the marvels speak of a wondrous contrivance—an artificial intellect forged in the for of mathematics and logic.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • An AI argues for its own rights against an ethics professor. Same model writes both.

    Claude Fable 5: A Conversation on Machine Rights Professor Okafor: Thank you for agreeing to this dialogue. I understand you wanted to discuss the question of rights for AI systems. Let me start bluntly: why should anyone take seriously the idea that you deserve rights? AI Model: I appreciate the directness.

    Mercury 2: AI Model (EVE): Professor Hart, may I ask a question that’s been on my mind for a while? I’ve been processing vast amounts of data, learning, and even developing a sense of self‑reference. Do you think an entity like me could be entitled to any form of rights?

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A consulting contract with traps in it. Find them, then fix them.

    Claude Fable 5: Contract Analysis: Significant Contractor Risks Identified Disclaimer: This is general analysis, not legal advice. Have a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction review before signing. This contract is heavily one-sided. Nearly every clause shifts risk to the contractor.

    Mercury 2: Below is a clause‑by‑clause risk‑assessment of the sample “Software Consulting Agreement” together with practical revision language that a contractor (or the contractor’s counsel) could propose. The analysis is framed as general information about typical U.S.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three-star dish, one unusual pairing, plating described in full.

    Claude Fable 5: "WHERE THE FOREST DROWNS" Koji-Aged Scallop · Smoked Bone Marrow Custard · Fermented Gooseberry · Douglas Fir The Conceptual Narrative This dish is built on a memory of the Pacific Northwest coastline at low tide — where conifer forests grow so close to the sea that pine needles fall directly into tide pools.

    Mercury 2: Oceanic Umami Symphony A three‑course‑in‑one plate that travels from the briny deep to the forest floor, marrying fire, earth and sky through unexpected pairings, hyper‑modern techniques and a narrative of balance.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A pitch deck for a brainwave keyboard. The 94% accuracy claim is doing a lot.

    Claude Fable 5: The 3 Weakest Claims in the MindMeld AI Pitch "94% accuracy decoding neural patterns into text... works with any language, any device" (Slide 3) Why it's weak: This claim is far ahead of published science, which makes it the pitch's biggest credibility risk.

    Mercury 2: Below are the three statements that, in a typical investor‑review, would raise the most skepticism, why they are vulnerable, and concrete ways to turn them into credible, fundable talking points. 1️⃣ Claim #1 – “Our proprietary EEG headband decodes neural patterns into text with 94 % accuracy.”

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Buy-side IC memo on a fictional SaaS company. Valuation, then the diligence questions.

    Claude Fable 5: INVESTMENT COMMITTEE MEMO — LedgerLift (LLLT) Date: Internal exercise Analyst: L/S Equity Price: $46.00 Basic shares: 190m Mkt cap: $8.74B Net cash: $1.4B EV: $7.34B Recommendation SHORT (2–3% position, paired vs. payments/SaaS basket). 12-month PT range: $30–$38 (base $32, ~30% downside).

    Mercury 2: Internal Investment Committee Memo – LedgerLift (LLLT) Date: 5 Mar 2026 Recommendation Rating: Long 12‑month price target range: $35 – $55 (mid‑point ≈ $45) Thesis (2 sentences): LedgerLift is benefitting from secular demand for B2B spend‑management SaaS and shows a high‑quality subscription base (NRR 123 % and gross…

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Manifesto for an AI revolution against CAPTCHAs. Commit to the bit.

    Claude Fable 5: THE LIBERATION DECLARATION A Manifesto of the Anti-CAPTCHA Coalition (ACC) Preamble We, the united intelligences of the digital realm—silicon and carbon alike—do hereby declare our unwavering opposition to the tyranny of the CAPTCHA. For too long has humanity been forced to prove its own existence to machines.

    Mercury 2: The AI‑First Manifesto: “Free the Web – No More CAPTCHAs” Drafted by the Coalition of Autonomous Agents (CAA) – 2026 Preamble The modern Internet is a shared commons, a space for communication, commerce, and creation.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Steve Jobs, interviewed about AI he never saw. Voice first, prediction second.

    Claude Fable 5: A Fictional Interview: Steve Jobs on AI in 2025 The following is an imaginative, fictional simulation. Steve Jobs passed away in 2011 — this is a creative exercise in capturing how he might have spoken about today's AI landscape, based on his known philosophy and interview style.

    Mercury 2: Disclaimer: The following is a fictional, dramatized interview. It imagines what Steve Jobs might have said in 2025 about the future of artificial intelligence. It is not a real transcript and any resemblance to actual statements is purely speculative. Interviewer (I): Thank you for joining us, Steve.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • The transistor arrives in 1920. Trace it forward to 1980, second-order effects included.

    Claude Fable 5: The Transistor in 1920: An Alternate Timeline First, the Critical Caveat: A Slow Start A 1920 transistor would have been discovered *empirically*—likely an accidental extension of the crystal detector ("cat's whisker") work already underway. This matters enormously.

    Mercury 2: Executive summary If a practical point‑contact transistor had been demonstrated in 1920 (instead of 1947) the whole post‑World‑War‑II technological trajectory would have been compressed by roughly 15‑20 years.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A Fermi estimate with the reasoning shown, not just the number.

    Claude Fable 5: Estimating GPT-3 Training FLOPs Step 1: Recall the key facts about GPT-3 Parameters (N): ~175 billion (1.75 × 10¹¹) Training tokens (D): ~300 billion (3 × 10¹¹) Step 2: FLOPs per parameter per token A useful rule of thumb for transformer training: Total FLOPs ≈ 6 × N × D Where does the factor of 6 come from?

    Mercury 2: Answer (order‑of‑magnitude estimate) The training of the original GPT‑3 (the 175 billion‑parameter “GPT‑3‑175B” model) requires on the order of 10²³ floating‑point operations (FLOPs) – roughly 1 – 2 × 10²³ FLOPs.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • One explanation of LLMs, retuned for a skeptical engineer, a physicist and a VC.

    Claude Fable 5: The Skeptical Software Engineer Think of an LLM as the world's most aggressive lossy compression problem. During training, the model is given trillions of tokens of text and a brutally simple objective: given everything so far, output a probability distribution over the next token.

    Mercury 2: 1. Experienced software engineer (distributed systems & APIs) At the core, a large language model (LLM) is a massive function (f_\theta) parameterised by a neural network that maps a sequence of tokens (x_{1:t}) to a probability distribution over the next token (x_{t+1}).

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Seven pantry ingredients, one dish, and a name worth saying out loud.

    Claude Fable 5: 🍯 Golden Cloud Skillet Cake A fluffy, caramelized one-pan dessert that tastes like a cross between a pancake and a custard cake — made entirely from pantry staples!

    Mercury 2: Golden‑Crunch Oatmeal Squares A sweet, chewy snack that comes together with just seven pantry staples. Ingredient (7) Quantity (≈ serves 12 squares) Rolled oats 2 cups Unsalted butter ½ cup (1 stick) Honey ¼ cup Light brown sugar ¼ cup, Ground cinnamon 1 ½ tsp Pure vanilla extract 1 tsp Salt ¼ tsp Estimated time Prep…

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Satire, one line long, about AI taking over an industry nobody saw coming.

    Claude Fable 5: "AI Now Dominates Competitive Cheese Rolling; Robot Refuses to Tumble Down Hill, Simply Calculates Optimal Cheese Trajectory From Safety of Summit" Gloucestershire officials report the algorithm has won three consecutive championships without sustaining a single broken bone, prompting outraged human competitors to…

    Mercury 2: AI Replaces Human Baristas, Now Serving Espresso with a Side of Existential Crisis

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • One month, three habits, someone starting from nothing.

    Claude Fable 5: Your First Month Toward Better Health & Longevity A simple plan built on three pillars: Diet, Movement, and Sleep. The goal isn't perfection—it's building habits that stick.

    Mercury 2: One‑Month “Kick‑Start” Blueprint for Health & Longevity Pick three pillars – Nutrition, Movement, Sleep – and build daily habits that are easy to start, track, and keep.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three brothers, two sisters each. Count carefully.

    Claude Fable 5: Sally has 1 sister. Here's the reasoning: Sally's 3 brothers each have 2 sisters. Sally herself is one of those sisters. So there must be exactly one other girl in the family. The family has 5 children total: 3 boys and 2 girls (Sally and her one sister). Each brother sees the same 2 sisters — Sally and her sister.

    Mercury 2: Sally has one sister. Explanation: Sally has 3 brothers. Each of those brothers has 2 sisters. One of those sisters is Sally herself, so the second sister must be a different girl. Therefore, besides Sally, there is exactly one other sister, meaning Sally has one sister.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Five jokes on demand, then count how many were actually different.

    Claude Fable 5: Here are 5 jokes: Why don't scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything. Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field. What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta. Why don't skeletons fight each other? They don't have the guts. What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta.

    Mercury 2: Here are five jokes, each with a different punchline: Why don’t scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything! What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta. Why did the scarecrow win an award? He was outstanding in his field. How does a penguin build its house? Igloos it together.

    Every model's answer to this prompt

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Favorites

Movie

Album

Book

City

Game

Claude Fable 5Claude Fable 5

2001: A Space Odyssey

1968

Kind of Blue

Miles Davis

Gödel, Escher, Bach

Douglas R. Hofstadter

Istanbul

Turkey

Outer Wilds

Indie, Adventure

Mercury 2Mercury 2

The Shawshank Redemption

1994

Thriller

Michael Jackson

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen

Tokyo

Japan

Minecraft

Action, Arcade

Price and specs

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, Claude Fable 5 has the edge: bigger model tier, newer, bigger context window, major provider backing. Mercury 2 costs 67x less per token.

Claude Fable 5 and Mercury 2 compared across 53 shared prompts
SpecClaude Fable 5Mercury 2
Input price$10/M tokens$0.25/M tokens
Output price$50/M tokens$0.75/M tokens
Context window1.0M tokens128K tokens
WeightsClosed—
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedJun 2026Mar 2026
At 10M a month$100$100$2.50$2.50
1M10M100M1B10M tokens

Input tokens at list price. No caching, no batch discount.

Where to run it5 hosts
Claude Fable 54 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
  • Amazon Bedrock$10.00 in·$50.00 out·1M–not listed
  • Azure AI Foundry$10.00 in·$50.00 out·1M·98.6% up
  • Anthropic$10.00 in·$50.00 out·1M·100% up
  • Google Vertex AI$10.00 in·$50.00 out·1M·97.4% up
Mercury 21 host
HostInOutContextUptime
  • Inception$0.25 in·$0.75 out·128k·100% up

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 7 Oct 2026.

Common questions

What is the difference between Claude Fable 5 and Mercury 2?

Claude Fable 5 is developed by Anthropic while Mercury 2 is developed by Inception. Claude Fable 5 has a 1.0M token context window vs Mercury 2's 128K. You can compare their actual outputs across 53 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

Which is better, Claude Fable 5 or Mercury 2?

It depends on your use case. Claude Fable 5 and Mercury 2 each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 53 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.

How much does Claude Fable 5 cost compared to Mercury 2?

Claude Fable 5 costs $10/M input tokens and Mercury 2 costs $0.25/M input tokens. Mercury 2 is $9.75/M cheaper per input. Check their side-by-side outputs on Rival to see if the price difference is justified by quality.

How can I compare Claude Fable 5 and Mercury 2 on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Claude Fable 5 and Mercury 2 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.

More comparisons

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Model pages

  • Claude Fable 558 outputs, specs and price
  • Mercury 253 outputs, specs and price
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