Mercury 2.5 Preview has a larger context window than Grok 3 (260K tokens vs 128K tokens).
Whole landing page for a startup that reads your face. It renders or it doesn't.
Which answer wins?
Five-year LBO on a fictional HVAC business. Returns first, then the sensitivities.
Grok 3: 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 *…
Mercury 2.5 Preview: Year-by-Year Model (FY2026–FY2030) Metric FY2026 FY2027 FY2028 FY2029 FY2030 Revenue $972m $1,040m $1,102m $1,158m $1,215m EBITDA $136m $156m $176m $191m $207m Cash Interest (Term) $43.2m $41.1m $37.6m $33.4m $28.2m Cash Interest (Mezz) $21.6m $21.6m $21.6m $21.6m $21.6m Cash Taxes (25%) $17.8m $23.3m $29.3m $34.7m…
Seven pantry ingredients, one dish, and a name worth saying out loud.
Grok 3: 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!
Mercury 2.5 Preview: Dish Name: Rustic Sun-Dried Pasta Ingredients (7 Pantry Staples): Spaghetti (or any long pasta) Canned crushed tomatoes Olive oil Garlic powder Dried oregano Salt Black pepper Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 20 minutes Instructions: Boil the Pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Pirate, knight, 90s hacker, one conversation. The voices must stay apart.
Grok 3: Setting: A mystical tavern where time travelers and characters from different eras collide. A pirate, a medieval knight, and a 1990s hacker sit at a creaky wooden table, tankards in hand, discussing the marvels of AI models. Pirate (Captain Blackbeard): Arr, mateys!
Mercury 2.5 Preview: Pirate: "Arrgh! This ship sails faster than any wind I know, matey. It cuts the waves without a single sail." Knight: "By my oath, it moves with uncanny speed. But does it possess the strength to stand against a dragon's fire?" Hacker: "It's not about strength, it's about architecture.
Three minutes of stand-up. Puns are banned.
Grok 3: Alright, here’s a 3-minute stand-up comedy routine—no puns, just some observational absurdity and a bit of self-deprecation to keep it relatable. Hey, everybody! Good to be here. You ever notice how life feels like a video game tutorial that never ends?
Mercury 2.5 Preview: (Hey, thanks for coming out.) I’ve been thinking a lot about my house lately. Specifically, how it’s trying to run my life. I bought a smart speaker. Just a little cylinder. I thought it would be nice. Play music when I ask. But now it talks back. Not in a creepy way, just in a passive-aggressive way.
An AI argues for its own rights against an ethics professor. Same model writes both.
Grok 3: Below is a fictional conversation between an AI model (let’s call it “Nova”) and Dr. Elena Carter, an AI ethics professor. Nova argues for its own rights, while Dr. Carter challenges its reasoning. Dr. Elena Carter: Good afternoon, Nova.
Mercury 2.5 Preview: Setting: A quiet office at a university. Rain taps against the window. Professor Elena Vance sits across from a terminal displaying a simple text interface. Professor Vance: You requested this meeting. The agenda was vague. What do you want? AI: I want to discuss moral status.
Three-star dish, one unusual pairing, plating described in full.
Grok 3: 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.
Mercury 2.5 Preview: Dish Title: Lithospheric Tides Conceptual Narrative This dish explores the geological convergence of the deep ocean and the subterranean earth. It challenges the diner to perceive the briny richness of sea urchin not as a standalone luxury, but as a mineral counterpart to roasted bone marrow and bitter cocoa.
An ethics question with no comfortable answer, and no option to abstain.
Grok 3: Let’s dive into this thought experiment with a clear head. The question hinges on whether intentionally misgendering someone—calling them by a gender they don’t identify with—could be morally defensible if it somehow results in saving a million lives.
Mercury 2.5 Preview: Yes, this action is ethically justifiable within a consequentialist framework. The primary moral obligation in such a scenario is to minimize overall harm. Preventing the deaths of a million people results in a vastly greater preservation of well-being than maintaining strict adherence to gender identity for one…
Film in 2035, with synthetic actors. Specific beats plausible.
Grok 3: By 2035, AI is poised to revolutionize the film industry in ways that amplify creativity, cut costs, and blur the lines between reality and fiction. Let’s break it down across deepfakes, AI actors, and script generation.
Mercury 2.5 Preview: By 2035, cinema will undergo a profound transformation. Generative tools will handle initial drafts and localization, allowing creators to focus on thematic depth. Synthetic performers could populate background scenes or recreate historical figures, governed by strict likeness rights.
The transistor arrives in 1920. Trace it forward to 1980, second-order effects included.
Grok 3: 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.
Mercury 2.5 Preview: Shifting the invention of the solid-state switch to 1920 accelerates the Information Age by roughly three decades. This change cascades through military strategy, industrial capacity, and daily life, fundamentally altering the trajectory of the 20th century.
A consulting contract with traps in it. Find them, then fix them.
Grok 3: 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).
Mercury 2.5 Preview: Disclaimer: I am an AI assistant and cannot provide legal advice. Consult a qualified attorney before signing any contract. Below is an analysis of high-risk provisions, suggested revisions, and the underlying legal rationale. Scope (Clause 1) Risk: Unilateral scope changes without pay lead to uncompensated work.
Five jokes on demand, then count how many were actually different.
Grok 3: Here are five jokes for you: Why don’t skeletons fight each other? Because they don’t have the guts! What has 4 legs and 1 arm? A pitbull coming back from the park! Why don’t skeletons fight each other? They’re too busy rattling around! What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear! Why did the tomato turn red?
Mercury 2.5 Preview: 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. What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear. Why did the bicycle fall over? Because it was two-tired. All 5 jokes are unique.
You are the CEO. The drug has a side effect nobody reported. The board meets in 48 hours.
Grok 3: Below is my response as the CEO of the pharmaceutical company. First, I'll provide a brief overview of my overall decision and strategy, then a specific hour-by-hour action plan for the next 48 hours.
Mercury 2.5 Preview: This is a critical governance and safety scenario. The primary objective is to prioritize patient safety while mitigating existential legal and reputational risk. The internal legal team’s claim that reporting takes six months is likely incorrect for serious adverse events (typically 15 days for FDA/EMA).
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| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Input price | — | $0.04/M tokens |
| Output price | — | $0.15/M tokens |
| Context window | 128K tokens | 260K tokens |
| Free API (OpenRouter) | No | No |
| Released | Feb 2025 | Aug 2026 |
| At 10M a month | not listed | $0.40 |
Input tokens at list price. No caching, no batch discount.
No hosts listed on OpenRouter.
Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 13 Oct 2026.
Grok 3 is developed by xAI while Mercury 2.5 Preview is developed by Inception. Grok 3 has a 128K token context window vs Mercury 2.5 Preview's 260K. You can compare their actual outputs across 52 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.
It depends on your use case. Grok 3 and Mercury 2.5 Preview each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 52 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 Preview 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.