Llama 4 MaverickvsMercury 2
Mercury 2 is cheaper than Llama 4 Maverick at $0.25/M vs $1.5/M input tokens.
| Spec | Llama 4 Maverick | Mercury 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $1.5/M tokens | $0.25/M tokens |
| Output price | $2.5/M tokens | $0.75/M tokens |
| Context window | 1.0M tokens | 128K tokens |
| Weights | Open | — |
| Free API (OpenRouter) | No | No |
| Released | Apr 2025 | Mar 2026 |
Our Verdict
Llama 4 Maverick
Mercury 2Runner-up
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.
Too close to call
API pricing
Cost per 1M tokens
Llama 4 Maverick
Input
$1.50
Output
$2.50
Mercury 2
Input
$0.25
6.0× cheaper
Output
$0.75
3.3× cheaper
Mercury 2 is cheaper on both: 6.0× input, 3.3× output.
Where to run it
6 hosts, cheapest first
Mercury 21 host
Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 9 Sep 2026.
Writing DNA
Style Comparison
Similarity
45%
Mercury 2 uses 8.2x more emoji
Llama 4 Maverick
Mercury 2
49%Vocabulary53%
20wSentence Length22w
0.63Hedging0.40
2.8Bold6.6
3.8Lists2.6
0.00Emoji0.08
0.65Headings0.87
0.09Transitions0.14
Based on 26 + 23 text responses
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FAQ
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