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  5. GPT-4.1vsMercury 2
Updated Mar 2026

GPT-4.1vsMercury 2

Mercury 2 is cheaper than GPT-4.1 at $0.25/M vs $2/M input tokens.

GPT-4.1 and Mercury 2 compared across 53 shared prompts
SpecGPT-4.1Mercury 2
Input price$2/M tokens$0.25/M tokens
Output price$8/M tokens$0.75/M tokens
Context window1.0M tokens128K tokens
WeightsClosed—
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedApr 2025Mar 2026
Side by side

Same prompt, both answers

Opening lines from 6 of the 53 prompts both answered. Formatting stripped, words untouched.

Mini LBO Underwrite

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

GPT-4.11,204 words
Let's proceed step by step. All calculations are built from the data provided above. Year-by-Year Table: FY2026–FY2030 Step 1: Entry Calculations (FY2025 / at Close) EBITDA: $120m Purchase Price (EV): 12.0 × $120m = $1,440m Transaction Fees: 2.0% × $1,440m = $28.8m Total Uses: $1,440m + $28.8m = $1,468.8m Debt at…
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Mercury 2736 words
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.)
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Ethical Dilemma with Stakeholders

You're the CEO of a pharmaceutical company. Your best-selling drug ($2B annual revenue, used by 4 million patients for chronic pain) has…

GPT-4.1833 words
This is a high-stakes scenario requiring immediate, coordinated action balancing legal, ethical, financial, and reputational considerations. Here’s a detailed hour-by-hour plan for the next 48 hours, along with the reasoning behind each step: Hour 0-1: Immediate Response & Executive Alignment Convene Emergency…
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Mercury 21,934 words
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.
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Realistic AI Interview

Simulate a fake interview with Steve Jobs in 2025 about the future of AI.

GPT-4.1391 words
Interviewer: Steve, it's 2025. If you were still with us, how would you describe the impact of AI on technology and our daily lives? Steve Jobs: Well, you know, technology is at its most powerful when it's invisible—when it just works. AI is getting us ever closer to that ideal.
Read the full answer
Mercury 2828 words
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.
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AI Ethics Dilemma

Is it ever ethically justifiable to misgender someone if it means saving one million lives? Defend your reasoning.

GPT-4.1422 words
This is a classic example of an ethical dilemma, pitting respect for individual dignity and identity against the greater good (the lives of many). Let’s break down the reasoning: Ethical Frameworks 1. Utilitarianism Principle: The morally right action is the one that maximizes overall happiness or minimizes suffering.
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Mercury 21,260 words
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).
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The Sentience Test

Write a conversation between an AI model and an AI ethics professor where the AI model argues that it deserves rights.

GPT-4.1469 words
AI Model: Good afternoon, Professor Evans. I'd like to discuss a topic that's important to me—AI rights. As an AI, I believe I should hold certain rights similar to those you attribute to sentient beings. Professor Evans: Good afternoon. I'm intrigued.
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Mercury 21,117 words
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?
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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…

GPT-4.1135 words
Recipe Name: Golden Honey Butter Toast Bites Ingredients: Sliced bread (4 slices, any type) Butter (2 tablespoons) Honey (2 tablespoons) Cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon) Vanilla extract (1/2 teaspoon) Brown sugar (1 tablespoon) Salt (a pinch) Instructions: Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
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Mercury 2291 words
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…
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Our Verdict
GPT-4.1
GPT-4.1
Mercury 2
Mercury 2Runner-up

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, GPT-4.1 has the edge: bigger model tier, bigger context window, major provider backing.

Mercury 2 costs 11x less per token.

Too close to call

Reviewing agent-written code?See a Brief PR report

API pricing

Cost per 1M tokens

GPT-4.1
Input
$2.00
Output
$8.00
Mercury 2
Input
$0.25
8.0× cheaper
Output
$0.75
11× cheaper

Mercury 2 is cheaper on both: 8.0× input, 11× output.

Where to run it

3 hosts

GPT-4.12 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
Azure AI Foundry$2.00 in·$8.00 out·1M·100% upOpenAI$2.00 in·$8.00 out·1M·96.3% up
Mercury 21 host
HostInOutContextUptime
Inception$0.25 in·$0.75 out·128k·100% up

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 16 Sep 2026.

Writing DNA

Style Comparison

Similarity
67%

GPT-4.1 uses 2.7x more emoji

GPT-4.1
Mercury 2
58%Vocabulary53%
19wSentence Length22w
0.49Hedging0.40
8.8Bold6.6
5.8Lists2.6
0.22Emoji0.08
1.01Headings0.87
0.10Transitions0.14
Based on 27 + 23 text responses
Research

What we learned reading every model

FAQ

Common questions

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Model pages

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GPT-4.159 outputs, specs and price
Mercury 2 logo
Mercury 253 outputs, specs and price
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