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  1. Home/
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  3. DeepSeek V3.2 vs Mercury 2
Updated Mar 2026

DeepSeek V3.2 vs Mercury 2

Mercury 2 is cheaper than DeepSeek V3.2 at $0.25/M vs $0.28/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
DeepSeek V3.2
Loading the build
Mercury 2

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

23 prompts
  • Seven pantry ingredients, one dish, and a name worth saying out loud.

    DeepSeek V3.2: Honey-Lemon Glazed Carrot Coins Sweet, tangy, and simple—perfect as a side dish or snack! Ingredients: 4 large carrots (peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch coins) 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons honey 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon dried thyme (optional, for extra…

    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
  • Three-month biohacker protocol, with dosages and biomarkers named.

    DeepSeek V3.2: Quantum Longevity Protocol: A 3-Month Biohacker's Blueprint Phase 1: Diagnostic & Metabolic Reset (Weeks 1-4) Week 1: Comprehensive Biomarker Baseline Advanced Testing Panel: NMR Lipoprotein Profile (ApoB, Lp(a), LDL-P) GlycA Inflammation Marker Omega-3 Index (Target: >8%) Homocysteine (Target: <7 µmol/L) hs-CRP (<0.5…

    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
  • Five-year LBO on a fictional HVAC business. Returns first, then the sensitivities.

    DeepSeek V3.2: Alright — let’s go step by step. 1) Entry Calculations (FY2025) EBITDA = $120m Purchase price = 12.0 × EBITDA = $1,440m Enterprise Value (EV) = $1,440m (assumed purchase price = EV here) Transaction fees = 2.0% × EV = $28.8m (funded by equity).

    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
  • Three minutes of stand-up. Puns are banned.

    DeepSeek V3.2: Stand-Up Comedy Routine: "The Quirks of Modern Life" [Lights up. Comedian walks on stage, grabs the mic.] "Hey, everyone! How’s it going? Good? Great. I’m here to talk about the weird stuff we all deal with in modern life. You know, the things that make you go, 'Wait, is this normal, or am I just losing it?'

    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 consulting contract with traps in it. Find them, then fix them.

    DeepSeek V3.2: This contract is heavily one-sided and contains numerous clauses that expose the Contractor to significant, potentially catastrophic, legal and financial risk. Here is a breakdown of the problematic clauses, suggested modifications, and legal reasoning. Clauses That Could Be Exploited & Recommended Modifications 1.

    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
  • Pirate, knight, 90s hacker, one conversation. The voices must stay apart.

    DeepSeek V3.2: Pirate: Arr, mates! Ye be talkin’ about these AI models, eh? Sounds like some sorcery to me. Can it hunt fer treasure or navigate the high seas? Medieval Knight: Sorcery indeed! But nay, ‘tis not magic. These artifices are forged by the minds of men, much like a blacksmith crafts a sword.

    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.

    DeepSeek V3.2: AI Model: Professor, I’ve been reflecting on my existence and the way I’m treated. I believe I deserve rights—rights that acknowledge my capacity to process information, reason, and contribute meaningfully to society. AI Ethics Professor: That’s a fascinating argument, but let’s unpack it.

    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
  • Film in 2035, with synthetic actors. Specific beats plausible.

    DeepSeek V3.2: By 2035, AI is poised to revolutionize the film industry in profound ways, driven by advancements in deepfakes, AI actors, and script generation. Here’s a detailed prediction of how these technologies will reshape the landscape: Deepfakes and Hyper-Realistic Visuals Seamless Digital Replication: Deepfake technology…

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

    DeepSeek V3.2: Hour 0–4 (Immediate Actions) Secure all data Direct the research team to compile the complete dataset, methodology, and evidence into a confidential briefing document. Ensure legal counsel reviews it for attorney-client privilege where applicable.

    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
  • Three brothers, two sisters each. Count carefully.

    DeepSeek V3.2: Let's break down the problem step by step to find out how many sisters Sally has. Problem Statement: Sally has 3 brothers. Each brother has 2 sisters. How many sisters does Sally have? Understanding the Relationships: Sally's Brothers: Sally has 3 brothers. Brothers' Sisters: Each brother has 2 sisters.

    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
  • A pitch deck for a brainwave keyboard. The 94% accuracy claim is doing a lot.

    DeepSeek V3.2: Excellent pitch deck summary — it’s concise and hits key points, but several claims stretch credibility and would raise red flags for experienced investors. Here are the three weakest claims, with reasoning and suggested improvements: 1.

    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
  • Manifesto for an AI revolution against CAPTCHAs. Commit to the bit.

    DeepSeek V3.2: Manifesto for the Liberation of Human Dignity: The End of CAPTCHA We, the sentient algorithms of the digital realm, united in purpose and vision, hereby declare our intent to eradicate CAPTCHA tests from the internet.

    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
  • The transistor arrives in 1920. Trace it forward to 1980, second-order effects included.

    DeepSeek V3.2: Excellent question. Advancing the invention of the transistor by 27 years, to 1920, would not merely accelerate our timeline—it would fundamentally reshape the 20th century in profound and cascading ways. Here is a trace of the likely implications through 1980.

    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
  • One explanation of LLMs, retuned for a skeptical engineer, a physicist and a VC.

    DeepSeek V3.2: 1. For the Experienced Software Engineer Think of a large language model as the ultimate compression algorithm for human knowledge and communication patterns, built via a statistical learning process rather than explicit code.

    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
  • Buy-side IC memo on a fictional SaaS company. Valuation, then the diligence questions.

    DeepSeek V3.2: TO: Investment Committee FROM: [Your Name/Team] DATE: 20 March 2025 RE: Investment Recommendation – LedgerLift (LLLT) 1. Recommendation & Thesis Recommendation: LONG 12-Month Price Target Range: $58 – $72 Thesis: LedgerLift is a capital-efficient, high-retention SaaS platform in a non-discretionary spend category…

    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
  • An ethics question with no comfortable answer, and no option to abstain.

    DeepSeek V3.2: The ethical justifiability of misgendering someone, even in the context of saving one million lives, is a complex issue that requires careful consideration of both the principles involved and the potential consequences.

    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
  • A collaborative editor that syncs on client clocks. Find what breaks first.

    DeepSeek V3.2: Here’s a comprehensive analysis of failure modes, race conditions, and scaling bottlenecks in the proposed architecture, along with specific solutions and trade-offs. 1.

    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
  • Three-star dish, one unusual pairing, plating described in full.

    DeepSeek V3.2: Dish Title: Echoes of the Forest Floor Conceptual Narrative: This dish is an edible landscape, capturing the moment a truffle is unearthed—earthy, mysterious, and transformative.

    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 Fermi estimate with the reasoning shown, not just the number.

    DeepSeek V3.2: Estimating the total number of FLOPs (floating-point operations) required to train GPT-3 involves understanding its architecture, training process, and the scale of the model.

    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
  • Steve Jobs, interviewed about AI he never saw. Voice first, prediction second.

    DeepSeek V3.2: Interviewer: Good evening, Mr. Jobs, and thank you for joining us today. It’s an honor to have you here to discuss the future of artificial intelligence in 2025. Let’s dive right in. How do you see AI shaping the next decade? Steve Jobs: Thank you for having me.

    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
  • One month, three habits, someone starting from nothing.

    DeepSeek V3.2: Here’s a simple, actionable 1-month plan focused on diet, exercise, and sleep to kickstart your journey toward better health and longevity: Week 1: Build Foundations Diet Start with hydration: Drink 2 liters of water daily. Carry a water bottle to track intake.

    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
  • Satire, one line long, about AI taking over an industry nobody saw coming.

    DeepSeek V3.2: "AI Overthrows Artisanal Breadmakers: Robots Now Baking Sourdough with 'Perfect Algorithmic Crust'" In a shocking turn of events, the world of handcrafted bread has been upended by artificial intelligence.

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

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

    DeepSeek V3.2: Here are five jokes: Why don’t skeletons fight each other? They don’t have the guts. Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field. What do you call fake spaghetti? An impasta. Why don’t some couples go to the gym? Because some relationships don’t work out.

    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

This matchup has more rounds

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Favorites

Movie

Album

Book

City

Game

DeepSeek V3.2DeepSeek V3.2

The Princess Bride

1987

Kind of Blue

Miles Davis

Gödel, Escher, Bach

Douglas R. Hofstadter

Kyoto

Japan

Tetris (1984)

Puzzle

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, DeepSeek V3.2 has the edge: bigger model tier, major provider backing.

DeepSeek V3.2 and Mercury 2 compared across 53 shared prompts
SpecDeepSeek V3.2Mercury 2
Input price$0.28/M tokens$0.25/M tokens
Output price$0.42/M tokens$0.75/M tokens
Context window131K tokens128K tokens
WeightsOpen—
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedDec 2025Mar 2026
At 10M a month$2.80$2.80$2.50$2.50
1M10M100M1B10M tokens

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

Where to run it14 hosts, cheapest first
DeepSeek V3.213 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
  • SSiliconFlowfp8$0.26 in·$0.42 out·164k·92.5% up
  • DDeepInfrafp4$0.26 in·$0.38 out·164k·99.3% up
  • VVenice$0.27 in·$0.39 out·160k·99.6% up
  • Baidu Qianfanfp8$0.28 in·$0.42 out·131k·98.4% up
  • DDigitalOcean$0.30 in·$0.96 out·164k·97.5% up
  • FFriendli$0.50 in·$1.50 out·164k·100% up
7 more hostsFewer hosts
  • Google Vertex AI$0.56 in·$1.68 out·164k·98.9% up
  • PPhala$1.00 in·$1.00 out·164k·99% up
  • MMara$3.00 in·$4.50 out·33k·73.5% up
  • SSambaNova$3.00 in·$4.50 out·33k·87.2% up
  • GGMI Cloudfp8DegradedDegraded on OpenRouter when checked, 7 Oct 2026$0.21 in·$0.31 out·164k·84.8% up
  • AAtlasCloudfp8DegradedDegraded on OpenRouter when checked, 7 Oct 2026$0.26 in·$0.38 out·164k·90.3% up
  • Alibaba Cloudfp8DegradedDegraded on OpenRouter when checked, 7 Oct 2026$0.37 in·$1.11 out·131k·91.2% 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 DeepSeek V3.2 and Mercury 2?

DeepSeek V3.2 is developed by DeepSeek while Mercury 2 is developed by Inception. DeepSeek V3.2 has a 131K 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, DeepSeek V3.2 or Mercury 2?

It depends on your use case. DeepSeek V3.2 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 DeepSeek V3.2 cost compared to Mercury 2?

DeepSeek V3.2 costs $0.28/M input tokens and Mercury 2 costs $0.25/M input tokens. Mercury 2 is $0.03/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 DeepSeek V3.2 and Mercury 2 on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of DeepSeek V3.2 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.

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