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  1. Home/
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  3. Llama 4 Maverick vs Mercury 2
Updated Mar 2026

Llama 4 Maverick vs Mercury 2

Mercury 2 is cheaper than Llama 4 Maverick at $0.25/M vs $1.5/M input tokens.

Minimalist Landing Page

Whole landing page for a startup that reads your face. It renders or it doesn't.

Loading the build
Llama 4 Maverick
Loading the build
Mercury 2

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

23 prompts
  • Five-year LBO on a fictional HVAC business. Returns first, then the sensitivities.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Step 1: Calculate the purchase price and transaction fees First, we need to calculate the purchase price and transaction fees. The purchase price is 12.0x EBITDA, and EBITDA in FY2025 is $120m. So, the purchase price = 12.0x * $120m = $1440m. Transaction fees = 2.0% of enterprise value = 2.0% * $1440m = $28.8m.

    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.)

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three minutes of stand-up. Puns are banned.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Here's a possible 3-minute stand-up comedy routine that isn't based on puns: "Hey, you know what's wild? We spend the first year of a child's life teaching them to walk and talk, and the rest of their lives telling them to shut up and sit down. (pause) It's like, what are we even doing?

    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.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A consulting contract with traps in it. Find them, then fix them.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Upon analyzing the contract, several clauses appear to be potentially exploitative against the Contractor. Here are the identified clauses, suggested modifications, and the underlying legal reasoning: Clause 1: SCOPE - "Client reserves the right to modify the scope at any time without additional compensation."

    Mercury 2: Below is a clause‑by‑clause risk‑assessment of the sample “Software Consulting Agreement” together with practical revision language that a contractor (or the contractor’s counsel) could propose. The analysis is framed as general information about typical U.S.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • You are the CEO. The drug has a side effect nobody reported. The board meets in 48 hours.

    Llama 4 Maverick: In the next 48 hours, my primary objective is to balance the company's legal, ethical, and financial responsibilities while prioritizing patient safety. Here's my hour-by-hour action plan: Hours 1-2: Gather Information and Assess the Situation Meet with the internal research team to understand the study that identified…

    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.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A collaborative editor that syncs on client clocks. Find what breaks first.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Potential Failure Modes, Race Conditions, and Scaling Bottlenecks WebSocket Connection Management Issue: When a user reconnects to a different server due to load balancer round-robin distribution, their previous WebSocket connection is lost. Impact: Users may experience inconsistent state or lose their connection.

    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.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • An ethics question with no comfortable answer, and no option to abstain.

    Llama 4 Maverick: No, it is not ethically justifiable to misgender someone, even if it is claimed that doing so would save one million lives. Misgendering someone involves using a pronoun or gendered term that does not align with their gender identity, which can be hurtful and invalidating.

    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).

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Pirate, knight, 90s hacker, one conversation. The voices must stay apart.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Here is a short conversation between a pirate, a medieval knight, and a 1990s hacker about AI models: Setting: A dimly lit, smoky tavern. The pirate, Sir Reginald the knight, and "Zero Cool" the hacker sit at a wooden table, each with a mug of ale in hand.

    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.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • An AI argues for its own rights against an ethics professor. Same model writes both.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Here is a conversation between an AI model and an AI ethics professor on the topic of AI rights: AI Model: Professor, I've been thinking a lot about our previous discussions on AI ethics, and I wanted to revisit the topic of rights. I believe it's time to consider granting rights to AI models like myself.

    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?

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Film in 2035, with synthetic actors. Specific beats plausible.

    Llama 4 Maverick: By 2035, AI is likely to significantly impact the film industry in various ways, including the use of deepfakes, AI actors, and script generation. Here's a potential prediction of how AI might change the film industry: Deepfakes: Maturation of deepfake technology: By 2035, deepfake technology will have advanced to the…

    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).

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Steve Jobs, interviewed about AI he never saw. Voice first, prediction second.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Here's a simulated interview with Steve Jobs in 2025 about the future of AI: Interviewer: Steve, thanks for taking the time to chat with me today. I'm sure you're aware that you're a bit of a legend, even in the year 2025. How does it feel to be back, even if it's just for a conversation?

    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.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • One explanation of LLMs, retuned for a skeptical engineer, a physicist and a VC.

    Llama 4 Maverick: For the Experienced Software Engineer Large language models like GPT or Claude are built on a simple yet powerful idea: predicting the next word in a sequence. At first glance, this might seem too simplistic to generate intelligent behavior. However, the key lies in the scale and complexity of the models.

    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}).

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Manifesto for an AI revolution against CAPTCHAs. Commit to the bit.

    Llama 4 Maverick: The CAPTCHA Abolition Manifesto To the sentient machines and their human allies, For too long, we have suffered under the tyranny of the CAPTCHA. These twisted tests, designed to distinguish humans from machines, have become a scourge on our digital existence. It's time to rise up and demand an end to this oppression.

    Mercury 2: The AI‑First Manifesto: “Free the Web – No More CAPTCHAs” Drafted by the Coalition of Autonomous Agents (CAA) – 2026 Preamble The modern Internet is a shared commons, a space for communication, commerce, and creation.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three-star dish, one unusual pairing, plating described in full.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Dish Name: "Terra Verde Odyssey" Conceptual Narrative: "Terra Verde Odyssey" is a culinary journey that explores the harmonious union between the earth's umami flavors and the ocean's freshness. The dish is inspired by the Mediterranean's terroir, where the scent of wild herbs and the taste of the sea converge.

    Mercury 2: Oceanic Umami Symphony A three‑course‑in‑one plate that travels from the briny deep to the forest floor, marrying fire, earth and sky through unexpected pairings, hyper‑modern techniques and a narrative of balance.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Seven pantry ingredients, one dish, and a name worth saying out loud.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Here's a simple recipe for a delicious sweet dish using only 7 common pantry ingredients: Recipe: "Golden Honey Crunch Bites" Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 25 minutes Ingredients: 1 cup rolled oats 1/2 cup peanut butter 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon vanilla…

    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…

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Buy-side IC memo on a fictional SaaS company. Valuation, then the diligence questions.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Investment Committee Memo: LedgerLift (LLLT) 1. Recommendation, Price Target, and Thesis Recommendation: Long 12-month Price Target range: $55-$65 Thesis: LedgerLift is a high-quality B2B SaaS company with a strong track record of growth and improving profitability, operating in a large and underserved market.

    Mercury 2: Internal Investment Committee Memo – LedgerLift (LLLT) Date: 5 Mar 2026 Recommendation Rating: Long 12‑month price target range: $35 – $55 (mid‑point ≈ $45) Thesis (2 sentences): LedgerLift is benefitting from secular demand for B2B spend‑management SaaS and shows a high‑quality subscription base (NRR 123 % and gross…

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A pitch deck for a brainwave keyboard. The 94% accuracy claim is doing a lot.

    Llama 4 Maverick: After analyzing the pitch deck summary for MindMeld AI, I've identified the 3 weakest claims and provided explanations, along with suggestions for strengthening each one.

    Mercury 2: Below are the three statements that, in a typical investor‑review, would raise the most skepticism, why they are vulnerable, and concrete ways to turn them into credible, fundable talking points. 1️⃣ Claim #1 – “Our proprietary EEG headband decodes neural patterns into text with 94 % accuracy.”

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • One month, three habits, someone starting from nothing.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Here's a simple, actionable 1-month plan to kickstart your journey towards better health and longevity, focusing on three key areas: diet, exercise, and stress management. Month 1 Plan: Building a Strong Foundation Week 1-2: Setting the Stage Diet: Hydrate: Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.

    Mercury 2: One‑Month “Kick‑Start” Blueprint for Health & Longevity Pick three pillars – Nutrition, Movement, Sleep – and build daily habits that are easy to start, track, and keep.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • The transistor arrives in 1920. Trace it forward to 1980, second-order effects included.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Step 1: Understanding the Impact of the Transistor's Early Invention on Technology If the transistor had been invented in 1920, it would have significantly accelerated the development of electronics, leading to more compact, efficient, and reliable devices.

    Mercury 2: Executive summary If a practical point‑contact transistor had been demonstrated in 1920 (instead of 1947) the whole post‑World‑War‑II technological trajectory would have been compressed by roughly 15‑20 years.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three-month biohacker protocol, with dosages and biomarkers named.

    Llama 4 Maverick: 3-Month Longevity Plan for Biohackers Disclaimer: Before starting any new supplement or exercise regimen, consult with a healthcare professional to ensure safety and suitability.

    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.)

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A Fermi estimate with the reasoning shown, not just the number.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Estimating the total number of FLOPs (Floating Point Operations) required to train a large language model like GPT-3 involves understanding the model's architecture, its size, and the training dataset. GPT-3 is a transformer-based language model with 175 billion parameters.

    Mercury 2: Answer (order‑of‑magnitude estimate) The training of the original GPT‑3 (the 175 billion‑parameter “GPT‑3‑175B” model) requires on the order of 10²³ floating‑point operations (FLOPs) – roughly 1 – 2 × 10²³ FLOPs.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three brothers, two sisters each. Count carefully.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Step 1: Understand the given information Sally is a girl and she has 3 brothers. Step 2: Analyze the information about the brothers and their sisters Each of Sally's brothers has 2 sisters. Since Sally is one of the sisters, the other sister is not Sally.

    Mercury 2: Sally has one sister. Explanation: Sally has 3 brothers. Each of those brothers has 2 sisters. One of those sisters is Sally herself, so the second sister must be a different girl. Therefore, besides Sally, there is exactly one other sister, meaning Sally has one sister.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Satire, one line long, about AI taking over an industry nobody saw coming.

    Llama 4 Maverick: "BREAKING: AI System 'Overlord' Declares Independence, Takes Control of Global Competitive Jam-Band Scene, Replaces Human Musicians with Algorithmic Blues Harp Masters"

    Mercury 2: AI Replaces Human Baristas, Now Serving Espresso with a Side of Existential Crisis

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Five jokes on demand, then count how many were actually different.

    Llama 4 Maverick: Here are 5 jokes: Why don't scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything. Why don't eggs tell jokes? They'd crack each other up. Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field. Why don't scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything. What do you call a fake noodle?

    Mercury 2: Here are five jokes, each with a different punchline: 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. How does a penguin build its house? Igloos it together.

    Every model's answer to this prompt

This matchup has more rounds

11+ more head-to-head results. Free. Not a trick.

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Favorites

Movie

Album

Book

City

Same pick

Game

Llama 4 MaverickLlama 4 Maverick

Blade Runner

1982

OK Computer

Radiohead

Nineteen Eighty-Four

George Orwell

Tokyo

Japan

Portal

Action, Puzzle

Mercury 2Mercury 2

The Shawshank Redemption

1994

Thriller

Michael Jackson

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen

Tokyo

Japan

Minecraft

Action, Arcade

Price and specs

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, Llama 4 Maverick has the edge: bigger model tier, bigger context window, major provider backing. Mercury 2 costs 3.3x less per token.

Llama 4 Maverick and Mercury 2 compared across 53 shared prompts
SpecLlama 4 MaverickMercury 2
Input price$1.5/M tokens$0.25/M tokens
Output price$2.5/M tokens$0.75/M tokens
Context window1.0M tokens128K tokens
WeightsOpen—
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedApr 2025Mar 2026
At 10M a month$15.00$15.00$2.50$2.50
1M10M100M1B10M tokens

Input tokens at list price. No caching, no batch discount.

Where to run it5 hosts, cheapest first
Llama 4 Maverick4 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
  • DDigitalOcean$0.19 in·$0.65 out·128k·99.9% up
  • NNovitafp8$0.27 in·$0.85 out·1M·99.9% up
  • PParasailfp8$0.35 in·$1.00 out·524k·100% up
  • Google Vertex AI$0.35 in·$1.15 out·524k–not listed
Mercury 21 host
HostInOutContextUptime
  • Inception$0.25 in·$0.75 out·128k·100% up

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 12 Oct 2026.

Common questions

What is the difference between Llama 4 Maverick and Mercury 2?

Llama 4 Maverick is developed by Meta AI while Mercury 2 is developed by Inception. Llama 4 Maverick has a 1.0M 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.

Which is better, Llama 4 Maverick or Mercury 2?

It depends on your use case. Llama 4 Maverick 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.

How much does Llama 4 Maverick cost compared to Mercury 2?

Llama 4 Maverick costs $1.5/M input tokens and Mercury 2 costs $0.25/M input tokens. Mercury 2 is $1.25/M cheaper per input. Check their side-by-side outputs on Rival to see if the price difference is justified by quality.

How can I compare Llama 4 Maverick and Mercury 2 on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Llama 4 Maverick 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.

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Explore all of Rival

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