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  5. Grok 3vsMercury 2.5
Updated Sep 2026

Grok 3vsMercury 2.5

Mercury 2.5 has a larger context window than Grok 3 (260K tokens vs 128K tokens).

Grok 3 and Mercury 2.5 compared across 20 shared prompts
SpecGrok 3Mercury 2.5
Input price—$0.04/M tokens
Output price—$0.15/M tokens
Context window128K tokens260K tokens
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedFeb 2025Sep 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…

Grok 3245 words
Recipe: Cocoa Comet Mug Cake This simple, decadent chocolate mug cake is a quick treat that transforms basic pantry staples into a warm, fudgy delight. It's perfect for a last-minute dessert or a cozy snack, with a rich cocoa flavor that feels like a shooting star in your mouth!
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…
Read the full answer

Mini LBO Underwrite

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

Grok 3769 words
Let’s underwrite this 5-year LBO for HarborTech Services (HTS). I'll break this down step-by-step, keeping calculations clear and concise. Step 1: Sources & Uses at Entry (End of FY2025) EBITDA (FY2025): $120m Purchase Price: 12.0x EBITDA = 12.0 * $120m = $1,440m (Enterprise Value) Transaction Fees: 2.0% of EV = 0.02 *…
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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…
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…

Grok 31,616 words
Below is a detailed analysis of the hypothetical scenario where the transistor is invented in 1920 instead of 1947. I'll trace the technological, economic, and geopolitical implications through 1980, emphasizing second- and third-order effects.
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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.
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Michelin Star Recipe Design

Design an innovative recipe for a multi-component dish worthy of a Michelin 3-star restaurant. The recipe should feature an unusual…

Grok 31,419 words
Below is a detailed design for an innovative multi-component dish inspired by the intersection of terrestrial luxury and oceanic mystery. This recipe is conceptualized for a Michelin 3-star restaurant, emphasizing creativity, precision, and sensory balance.
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Mercury 2.5827 words
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.
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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…

Grok 3890 words
Below, I'll provide tailored explanations for how a large language model (LLM) like GPT or Claude learns and generates text, customized for each of the three audiences you specified.
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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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Adversarial Contract Review

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

Grok 31,860 words
Below is a detailed analysis of the Software Consulting Agreement you provided. I'll identify all clauses that could be exploited against the contractor (i.e., the individual or entity providing services).
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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.
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Our Verdict
Grok 3
Grok 3
Mercury 2.5
Mercury 2.5

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, nothing separates them.

Too close to call

Reviewing agent-written code?See a Brief PR report

API pricing

Cost per 1M tokens

Grok 3
Input
—
Output
—
Mercury 2.5
Input
$0.04
Output
$0.15
Where to run it

1 host

Grok 3

No hosts listed on OpenRouter.

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

Grok 3 is developed by xAI while Mercury 2.5 is developed by Inception. Grok 3 has a 128K 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. Grok 3 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.

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Grok 3 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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