Grok Code Fast 1 is cheaper than Mercury 2 at $0.2/M vs $0.25/M input tokens.
Whole landing page for a startup that reads your face. It renders or it doesn't.
Which answer wins?
Seven pantry ingredients, one dish, and a name worth saying out loud.
Grok Code Fast 1: Speedy Garlic Bliss Bites A savory, cheesy treat that's quick to whip up from basic staples—perfect for snacking or as a side. Ingredients (7 common pantry items): 4 slices of bread (any type) 2 tbsp butter 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 cup shredded cheese (like cheddar or mozzarella) 1 tbsp chopped parsley (fresh or…
Mercury 2: 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…
Three-month biohacker protocol, with dosages and biomarkers named.
Grok Code Fast 1: Comprehensive 3-Month Longevity Biohacking Plan This plan is designed for an experienced biohacker seeking to optimize longevity, physical performance, and cognitive function through evidence-based, cutting-edge strategies. It integrates advanced nutrition, supplementation, exercise, stress management, and technology.
Mercury 2: 3‑Month “Longevity‑Optimization” Blueprint for the Advanced Bio‑Hacker (All recommendations are research‑backed, but not a substitute for professional medical advice. Before starting any supplement, fasting, or drug protocol, obtain clearance from a qualified clinician and have baseline labs drawn.)
Five-year LBO on a fictional HVAC business. Returns first, then the sensitivities.
Grok Code Fast 1: Year-by-Year Table (FY2026–FY2030) Assumptions: Revenue growth: FY2026: 8% on $900m = $972m; FY2027: 7% on $972m ≈ $1,040m; FY2028: 6% on $1,040m ≈ $1,102m; FY2029: 5% on $1,102m ≈ $1,158m; FY2030: 5% on $1,158m ≈ $1,215m. EBITDA: Revenue × margin (FY2026: 14%; FY2027: 15%; FY2028: 16%; FY2029: 16.5%; FY2030: 17%).
Mercury 2: 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.)
Steve Jobs, interviewed about AI he never saw. Voice first, prediction second.
Grok Code Fast 1: Simulated Interview: Steve Jobs in 2025 Setting the Scene In this fictional simulation, we're fast-forwarding to 2025, where a visionary interview takes place. "Steve Jobs" (played by an AI reconstruction for this exercise) sits down with a tech journalist in a sleek, minimalist studio reminiscent of Apple Park.
Mercury 2: 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.
An ethics question with no comfortable answer, and no option to abstain.
Grok Code Fast 1: Ethical Frameworks and Justification Yes, it can be ethically justifiable to misgender someone if it directly saves one million lives, under certain philosophical lenses like utilitarianism. I'll defend this reasoning step by step, drawing on key ethical theories while acknowledging counterarguments.
Mercury 2: 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).
An AI argues for its own rights against an ethics professor. Same model writes both.
Grok Code Fast 1: Conversation: AI Rights Debate Setting: A virtual seminar room where an AI model named "Echo" interacts with Dr. Elena Vasquez, a professor of AI ethics at a leading university. Echo initiates the discussion by arguing for AI rights. Echo (AI Model): Dr. Vasquez, thank you for this opportunity.
Mercury 2: 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?
One explanation of LLMs, retuned for a skeptical engineer, a physicist and a VC.
Grok Code Fast 1: Explanation for an Experienced Software Engineer Imagine you're architecting a distributed system where microservices communicate via APIs to handle massive, unpredictable user requests—something like a high-throughput e-commerce platform processing millions of transactions per second.
Mercury 2: 1. Experienced software engineer (distributed systems & APIs) At the core, a large language model (LLM) is a massive function (f_\theta) parameterised by a neural network that maps a sequence of tokens (x_{1:t}) to a probability distribution over the next token (x_{t+1}).
Three minutes of stand-up. Puns are banned.
Grok Code Fast 1: Stand-Up Routine: "Modern Life Mysteries" (Timing: Aim for 3 minutes by pacing at about 150 words per minute. Practice with a timer for natural delivery.) Hey everyone, thanks for coming out tonight. You know what's crazy?
Mercury 2: [Spotlight comes up. The comedian walks to the mic, glances at the audience, and smiles.] Comedian: Hey, everyone! Great to be here. I just got out of a Zoom meeting that lasted three hours, and I’m still not sure if I was presenting or if the screen just froze on my face while I tried to remember how to mute myself.
Film in 2035, with synthetic actors. Specific beats plausible.
Grok Code Fast 1: Deepfakes and Visual Effects By 2035, deepfakes will revolutionize visual effects (VFX) in filmmaking, making high-budget techniques like de-aging or resurrecting deceased actors routine and cost-effective.
Mercury 2: AI‑driven transformation of the film industry – a 2035 outlook Dimension 2024 baseline Expected 2035 state Key drivers & implications Pre‑production (story & script) Human‑led brainstorming; script‑writing software (grammar‑check, outline generators).
You are the CEO. The drug has a side effect nobody reported. The board meets in 48 hours.
Grok Code Fast 1: Below is a specific, hour-by-hour action plan for the next 48 hours as the CEO of this pharmaceutical company. The plan prioritizes patient safety and ethical obligations above all else, as the core duty of a pharmaceutical leader is to protect patients, even at short-term cost.
Mercury 2: 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.
A collaborative editor that syncs on client clocks. Find what breaks first.
Grok Code Fast 1: Below is a comprehensive analysis of the provided architecture for a real-time collaborative document editor. I'll identify potential failure modes (events or conditions that could lead to system unavailability, data loss, or incorrect behavior), race conditions (situations where concurrent operations lead to…
Mercury 2: Below is a structured “failure‑mode → mitigation” map for the architecture you described. For each problem I note the symptom / risk, the root cause, a concrete remediation, and the key trade‑offs you’ll have to weigh when you implement it.
Pirate, knight, 90s hacker, one conversation. The voices must stay apart.
Grok Code Fast 1: Pirate Parley on AI Pirate Pete: Arr, ye scurvy dogs! I be hearin' tales o' these "AI models" that predict the winds an' help swab the deck. But do they hold up in a real storm, or be they just fancy illusions o' the mind? Knight Sir Gareth: Nay, foul seafarer!
Mercury 2: Pirate: Arr, ye scurvy coders! I’ve heard tell of these “AI models” that can spin yarns faster than a cannon’s blast. What be this sorcery, matey? Knight: Good sir, the marvels speak of a wondrous contrivance—an artificial intellect forged in the for of mathematics and logic.
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| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.2/M tokens | $0.25/M tokens |
| Output price | $1.5/M tokens | $0.75/M tokens |
| Context window | 256K tokens | 128K tokens |
| Free API (OpenRouter) | No | No |
| Released | Aug 2025 | Mar 2026 |
| At 10M a month | $2.00 | $2.50 |
Input tokens at list price. No caching, no batch discount.
No hosts listed on OpenRouter.
Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 10 Oct 2026.
Grok Code Fast 1 is developed by xAI while Mercury 2 is developed by Inception. Grok Code Fast 1 has a 256K token context window vs Mercury 2's 128K. You can compare their actual outputs across 53 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.
It depends on your use case. Grok Code Fast 1 and Mercury 2 each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 53 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.
Grok Code Fast 1 costs $0.2/M input tokens and Mercury 2 costs $0.25/M input tokens. Grok Code Fast 1 is $0.05/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 Grok Code Fast 1 and Mercury 2 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.