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  5. Gemini 3.1 Pro PreviewvsMercury 2.5
Updated Sep 2026

Gemini 3.1 Pro PreviewvsMercury 2.5

Mercury 2.5 is cheaper than Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview at $0.04/M vs $2/M input tokens.

Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview and Mercury 2.5 compared across 20 shared prompts
SpecGemini 3.1 Pro PreviewMercury 2.5
Input price$2/M tokens$0.04/M tokens
Output price$12/M tokens$0.15/M tokens
Context window1.0M tokens260K tokens
WeightsClosed—
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedFeb 2026Sep 2026
Side by side

Same prompt, both answers

Opening lines from 6 of the 20 prompts both answered. Formatting stripped, words untouched.

Simple 7-Ingredient Recipe

Create a simple recipe for a delicious dish (sweet or savory) using only 7 common pantry ingredients. Include a creative name for the dish…

Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview318 words
Here is a savory, flavor-packed recipe that relies entirely on staple ingredients you likely already have sitting in your cupboards. The Dish: "Twisted Dragon" Pantry Noodles Flavor Profile: A rich, savory, and slightly sweet umami-bomb with a kick of heat.
Read the full answer
Mercury 2.5190 words
Pantry Pasta Primavera Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Servings: 2 Ingredients (7 Common Pantry Items) Pasta (spaghetti, penne, or fusilli) – 8 oz Canned crushed tomatoes – 1 can (14 oz) Olive oil – 3 tablespoons Garlic powder – 1 teaspoon Dried oregano – 1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese (grated) – ½ cup Salt and…
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Adversarial Contract Review

Here is a contract for a software consulting engagement: --- SOFTWARE CONSULTING AGREEMENT This Agreement is entered into between TechCorp…

Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview1,193 words
Disclaimer: I am an AI, not an attorney. This analysis is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. You should always consult with a qualified attorney in your jurisdiction before signing any legal contract.
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Mercury 2.5501 words
Here is an analysis of the contract clauses that pose significant risk to the contractor, along with suggested modifications and legal reasoning. Scope and Compensation (Clause 1) Risk: The client can expand the project indefinitely without paying extra.
Read the full answer

Historical Counterfactual Analysis

If the transistor had been invented in 1920 instead of 1947, trace the likely technological, economic, and geopolitical implications through…

Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview1,097 words
If a working semiconductor transistor had been invented in 1920—perhaps by a physicist like Julius Edgar Lilienfeld, who historically filed a theoretical patent for a field-effect transistor in 1925—the trajectory of the 20th century would have been radically altered.
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Mercury 2.5660 words
Inventing the transistor in 1920 would have fundamentally reshaped the 20th century, compressing the digital age by roughly two decades. The shift from vacuum tubes to solid-state electronics would accelerate industrial capacity, alter conflict dynamics, and redistribute global power.
Read the full answer

Advanced Longevity Plan (Biohacker)

Develop a comprehensive, cutting-edge 3-month longevity plan for a biohacker aiming to optimize longevity, physical and cognitive…

Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview1,087 words
Disclaimer: This protocol is designed for informational purposes and represents aggressive, cutting-edge biohacking strategies. It includes potent supplements and intense physiological stressors.
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Mercury 2.5610 words
3-Month Biohacking Longevity & Performance Plan Disclaimer: I am an AI, not a physician or certified health professional. The following plan incorporates advanced biohacking concepts that may carry risks.
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Mini LBO Underwrite

You are underwriting a 5-year LBO for a private equity investment committee. Company (fictional): HarborTech Services (HTS) –…

Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview581 words
Here is the underwriting analysis for HarborTech Services (HTS) based on the provided parameters. Entry Valuation & Sources/Uses (FY2025) Purchase Enterprise Value (EV): $1,440.0m (12.0x $120m EBITDA) Transaction Fees: $28.8m (2.0% of EV) Total Uses: $1,468.8m Term Loan (4.0x): $480.0m Mezzanine Debt (1.5x): $180.0m…
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Mercury 2.5403 words
1. Simplified Year-by-Year LBO Model (FY2026–FY2030) Entry Assumptions: Enterprise Value (EV): $120m × 12.0x = $1,440m Transaction Fees: $1,440m × 2.0% = $28.8m Total Debt at Close: $120m × 5.5x = $660m Term Loan: $120m × 4.0x = $480m Mezzanine: $120m × 1.5x = $180m Equity Required: $1,440m (EV) + $28.8m (Fees) − $660m…
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Explain Like I'm a Specific Expert

Explain how a large language model (like GPT or Claude) learns and generates text to each of these three audiences: 1. **An experienced…

Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview951 words
To the Experienced Software Engineer At its core, training a Large Language Model is essentially a massive, distributed, continuous optimization job. Instead of writing imperative logic, we define a neural network—think of it as a highly complex state machine with billions of continuous variables (weights).
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Mercury 2.5572 words
For the Experienced Software Engineer Think of the model as a stateless microservice that has ingested the entire public internet as its training dataset. During the training phase, it performs a massive distributed optimization job, adjusting internal weights to minimize a loss function based on next-token prediction.
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Our Verdict
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview
Mercury 2.5
Mercury 2.5Runner-up

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview has the edge: bigger model tier, bigger context window, major provider backing.

Mercury 2.5 costs 80x less per token.

Too close to call

Reviewing agent-written code?See a Brief PR report

API pricing

Cost per 1M tokens

Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview
Input
$2.00
Output
$12.00
Mercury 2.5
Input
$0.04
50× cheaper
Output
$0.15
80× cheaper

Mercury 2.5 is cheaper on both: 50× input, 80× output.

Where to run it

3 hosts, cheapest first

Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview2 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
Google Vertex AI$1.00 in·$6.00 out·1M·40.1% upGoogle AI Studio$2.00 in·$12.00 out·1M·99.8% up
Mercury 2.51 host
HostInOutContextUptime
Inception$0.04 in·$0.15 out·260k·100% up

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 23 Sep 2026.

Research

What we learned reading every model

FAQ

Common questions

Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview is developed by Google AI while Mercury 2.5 is developed by Inception. Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview has a 1.0M token context window vs Mercury 2.5's 260K. You can compare their actual outputs across 20 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

It depends on your use case. Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview and Mercury 2.5 each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 20 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.

Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview costs $2/M input tokens and Mercury 2.5 costs $0.04/M input tokens. Mercury 2.5 is $1.96/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 Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview and Mercury 2.5 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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Model pages

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