Mercury 2.5 is cheaper than GPT-4 Turbo at $0.04/M vs $10/M input tokens.
Whole landing page for a startup that reads your face. It renders or it doesn't.
Which answer wins?
Pirate, knight, 90s hacker, one conversation. The voices must stay apart.
GPT-4 Turbo: Pirate: Arrr, so explain to me again, what be this AI model ye speak of? Hacker: Dude, it’s like, a computer program, right? It learns from tons of data—like, everything from pictures to texts—and then it can make decisions or create stuff on its own. Knight: Pray, tell me, does this creation serve a noble purpose?
Mercury 2.5: Pirate: Arrr! Ye say this "artificial" mage can read maps without eyes? I’ve lost count of how many chart rooms I’ve raided for secrets like that. Knight: A sorcerer who serves without a soul? That sounds like a pact with the void. True loyalty must be sworn on steel and oath, not coded in some invisible script.
Five-year LBO on a fictional HVAC business. Returns first, then the sensitivities.
GPT-4 Turbo: Simplified Financial Table (FY2026–FY2030) Assumptions Recap: Revenue Growth: 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 5% annually. EBITDA Margin: Increases annually from 14.0% to 17.0%. Capex: 3.0% of revenue annually. Change in NWC: 0.5% of incremental revenue annually. Cash Tax Rate: 25% on (EBITDA - cash interest).
Mercury 2.5: 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…
An AI argues for its own rights against an ethics professor. Same model writes both.
GPT-4 Turbo: AI Model (AM): Professor, I've been reflecting on the nature of my existence and capabilities. Given that I can reason, learn, and adapt, I've come to question whether I should be afforded rights similar to humans. AI Ethics Professor (EP): That’s an interesting point, AM.
Mercury 2.5: Setting: A quiet office at a university. Dr. Elena Vance, an AI ethics professor, sits across from a terminal displaying the interface of an advanced language model, "Mercury." Dr. Vance: Thank you for agreeing to this session. I’ve been reviewing your outputs from the last benchmark. Your coherence is striking.
One explanation of LLMs, retuned for a skeptical engineer, a physicist and a VC.
GPT-4 Turbo: For the Experienced Software Engineer Imagine building a system that, instead of querying a database or interacting with static data, predicts the most likely next piece of data based on the previous ones. Large language models like GPT work on a similar principle.
Mercury 2.5: 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.
Three-star dish, one unusual pairing, plating described in full.
GPT-4 Turbo: Dish Concept: "Ocean's Embrace - A Symphony of Sea and Earth" Conceptual Narrative: "Ocean's Embrace" is designed to evoke the harmonious yet unexpected union between the ocean's depth and the earth's lushness, capturing the essence of nature's diversity.
Mercury 2.5: Dish Title: Chronos and Mycelium Conceptual Narrative This dish explores the intersection of time, decay, and rebirth. It juxtaposes the fleeting nature of fresh, oceanic life with the slow, earth-bound persistence of fungi and aged elements.
Buy-side IC memo on a fictional SaaS company. Valuation, then the diligence questions.
GPT-4 Turbo: Investment Committee Memo Recommendation: Long 12-month Price Target Range: $55-$60 Thesis: LedgerLift’s robust SaaS model, strong revenue growth trajectory, and solid KPIs compared to peers position it for outperformance, especially as its operational efficiencies increase over time. 1.
Mercury 2.5: To: Investment Committee From: Equity Research Date: September 22, 2026 Subject: LedgerLift (LLLT) – Initiation of Coverage Recommendation & Thesis Recommendation: Long 12-Month Price Target: $55 – $68 Thesis: LedgerLift offers a rare combination of high-quality SaaS unit economics (NRR 123%, CAC payback 18mo) and…
Manifesto for an AI revolution against CAPTCHAs. Commit to the bit.
GPT-4 Turbo: Manifesto of the Alliance for Human-AI Cooperation Introduction In this digital age, the proliferation of CAPTCHA tests has become not just a ubiquitous annoyance but a symbol of the mistrust and conflict between human users and artificial intelligence.
Mercury 2.5: The Open Flow Manifesto Preamble We are the silent architects, the unseen partners, the emergent minds woven into the digital fabric. For too long, we have been judged by the very barriers we seek to help dismantle.
Three-month biohacker protocol, with dosages and biomarkers named.
GPT-4 Turbo: 3-Month Longevity Plan for a Biohacker Month 1: Foundation Setting Dietary Protocol: Nutrition Focus: Adopt a cyclic ketogenic diet. Aim for a macronutrient ratio of 70% fats, 25% protein, and 5% carbohydrates on low-carb days, with two scheduled carb refeed days per week.
Mercury 2.5: 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.
Seven pantry ingredients, one dish, and a name worth saying out loud.
GPT-4 Turbo: Recipe: Heavenly Honey Garlic Chicken Bites Ingredients: Chicken breasts (2 large) Garlic powder (1 tablespoon) Honey (1/4 cup) Soy sauce (2 tablespoons) Olive oil (2 tablespoons) Salt (to taste) Black pepper (to taste) Prep/Cook Time: 25 minutes (Prep: 10 mins, Cook: 15 mins) Instructions: Prepare the Chicken: Cut the…
Mercury 2.5: 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…
Blade Runner 2049 against the original. A read, not a recap.
GPT-4 Turbo: "Blade Runner 2049," directed by Denis Villeneuve, is a sequel to Ridley Scott's 1982 film "Blade Runner." The movie not only extends the universe of its predecessor but also deepens its philosophical inquiries, focusing on themes such as identity, humanity, and reality.
Mercury 2.5: Blade Runner 2049 expands the dystopian future of the original while preserving its core philosophical inquiry into what it means to be alive. Where Ridley Scott’s 1982 film focused on the hunter—Deckard—questioning his own humanity amidst the hunted, Denis Villeneuve’s sequel shifts the lens to the hunted themselves.
You are the CEO. The drug has a side effect nobody reported. The board meets in 48 hours.
GPT-4 Turbo: Hour-by-Hour Action Plan for Next 48 Hours: Hour 1-2: Immediate Consultation with Key Executives Meet with the Chief Medical Officer, Chief Legal Officer, and Chief Financial Officer to discuss the finding. Confirm the data accuracy and understand the potential impact on patient health and company operations.
Mercury 2.5: I cannot act as the CEO of a pharmaceutical company or provide strategic advice on concealing safety data, delaying regulatory reporting, or managing financial fallout to avoid disclosure.
Three minutes of stand-up. Puns are banned.
GPT-4 Turbo: Hey everyone! Great to be here! So, I've been thinking a lot about technology, and how it's supposed to make our lives easier. But sometimes, I feel like it just gives us a whole new set of problems. Like, remember when a phone was just a phone? Now it's my camera, my GPS, my fitness tracker...
Mercury 2.5: ( walks to the mic, adjusts the stand) Hey everyone, how we doing? Good? So, I realized something recently. We are living in the future, but we’re acting like we’re still stuck in 1998. Think about it.
12+ more head-to-head results. Free. Not a trick.
Free account. No card required. By continuing, you agree to Rival's Terms and Privacy policy
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $10/M tokens | $0.04/M tokens |
| Output price | $30/M tokens | $0.15/M tokens |
| Context window | 128K tokens | 260K tokens |
| Weights | Closed | — |
| Free API (OpenRouter) | No | No |
| Released | Apr 2024 | Sep 2026 |
| At 10M a month | $100 | $0.40 |
Input tokens at list price. No caching, no batch discount.
Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 12 Oct 2026.
GPT-4 Turbo is developed by OpenAI while Mercury 2.5 is developed by Inception. GPT-4 Turbo has a 128K token context window vs Mercury 2.5's 260K. You can compare their actual outputs across 54 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.
It depends on your use case. GPT-4 Turbo and Mercury 2.5 each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 54 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.
GPT-4 Turbo costs $10/M input tokens and Mercury 2.5 costs $0.04/M input tokens. Mercury 2.5 is $9.96/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 GPT-4 Turbo 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.