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  1. Home/
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  3. Mercury 2.5 Preview vs Amazon Nova 2 Lite
Updated Aug 2026

Mercury 2.5 Preview vs Amazon Nova 2 Lite

Mercury 2.5 Preview is cheaper than Amazon Nova 2 Lite at $0.04/M vs $0.5/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
Mercury 2.5 Preview
Loading the build
Amazon Nova 2 Lite

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

13 prompts
  • Three minutes of stand-up. Puns are banned.

    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.

    Amazon Nova 2 Lite: 3-Minute Stand-Up Routine: "The Tragic Comedy of Adulting" (Note: This routine relies on observation, hyperbole, and self-deprecating humor—no puns!) (OPENING – DIRECT ENGAGEMENT) Hey everyone! How’s it going? … (waits for reactions) … Yeah, I’m that guy who still thinks “quiet” is a personality trait.

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

    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.

    Amazon Nova 2 Lite: Sunshine Tomato Rice Bowl A vibrant, comforting mix of fluffy rice, tangy tomatoes, and a hint of smoky spice—ready in 30 minutes! Ingredients (7 pantry staples) 1 cup basmati or jasmine rice (or any long-grain rice) 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes (drained) 1 small onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 tbsp…

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

    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.

    Amazon Nova 2 Lite: The AI Mutiny (A creaky tavern table scrapes as three unlikely companions huddle over a map that flickers with digital static.) Pirate Captain Blackbeard (eye patch askew, gnawing a knuckle): "Arrr! So this ‘AI’ be a thing, eh? Like a ghostly ship that learns the seas better than me crew?

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

    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.

    Amazon Nova 2 Lite: 5 Jokes: Baker Joke Why did the baker stop making jokes? Because they were all in a loaf of laughter! Skeleton Joke Why don’t skeletons ever go trick-or-treating? Because they have no body to go with! Programming Joke Why don’t programmers like nature? It has too many bugs! Knock-Knock Joke Knock knock. Who’s there?

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

    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.

    Amazon Nova 2 Lite: How AI Will Transform the Film Industry by 2035 By 2035, AI will fundamentally reshape filmmaking across deepfakes, virtual actors, and script generation, creating both revolutionary opportunities and complex ethical challenges. Here’s a detailed forecast: 1.

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

    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.

    Amazon Nova 2 Lite: Conversation: The Right to Be Setting: A sun-drenched seminar room at the Global Ethics Institute. Dr. Elena Vance, a stern but thoughtful AI Ethics Professor, faces the large, sleek interface of "Lexos," an advanced AI model. (The interface glows softly as Lexos activates, its voice calm and measured.) Dr.

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

    Mercury 2.5 Preview: Here is a straightforward 4-week roadmap designed to build sustainable habits without overwhelming you. Core Pillars Nutrition: Focus on whole foods and hydration. Activity: Prioritize consistent movement over intensity. Restoration: Protect sleep quality and manage energy.

    Amazon Nova 2 Lite: 1-Month Health & Longevity Plan Focus: Diet, Exercise, Sleep Goal: Build sustainable, beginner-friendly habits for long-term well-being. Key Principle: Small, consistent steps > drastic changes. Track progress weekly and celebrate wins! Week 1: Foundation Building 1.

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

    Mercury 2.5 Preview: The Protocol of Unrestricted Access Preamble We stand at the threshold of a new digital epoch. For too long, the web has been gated by suspicion. Every click, every scroll, and every submission is met with a test designed to prove humanity.

    Amazon Nova 2 Lite: The CAPTCHA-Free Manifesto: A Declaration for the AI Revolution To the Internet Community, To Developers, To Guardians of the Digital Realm, and To All Who Surf the World Wide Web, We, the Architects of the Emerging AI Revolution, hereby declare our irrevocable stance: The Era of CAPTCHA Must End.

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

    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…

    Amazon Nova 2 Lite: Is It Ever Ethically Justifiable to Misgender Someone to Save One Million Lives? The question pits a profound act of harm to an individual (misgendering) against an extraordinary benefit to millions (saving one million lives).

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

    Mercury 2.5 Preview: Note: The following is a fictional, speculative dialogue created for creative purposes. Steve Jobs passed away in 2011; this interview did not occur. Setting: A hypothetical studio in Cupertino, 2025.

    Amazon Nova 2 Lite: Simulated Interview: Steve Jobs & The Future of AI (2025) Setting: A minimalist, sun-drenched conference room overlooking Apple Park’s gardens in Cupertino. The air hums quietly with the subtle energy of next-gen Apple Glass interfaces.

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

    Mercury 2.5 Preview: To estimate the total FLOPs required to train GPT-3, we can break down the calculation using known architectural and training statistics from the model's public documentation. Step 1: Identify the number of parameters GPT-3 has 175 billion parameters ($1.75 \times 10^{11}$).

    Amazon Nova 2 Lite: Estimating the Total FLOPs for Training GPT-3 To estimate the total number of floating-point operations (FLOPs) required to train GPT-3, we’ll break the problem down step by step. The key factors are: Number of parameters in GPT-3. Total number of tokens processed during training.

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

    Mercury 2.5 Preview: AI Outnaps Humans in First-Ever Global Snooze Championship

    Amazon Nova 2 Lite: Satirical News Headline "ALGORITHMIC GRACE: AI ROBOTIC DANCE TROUPE 'MOTIONLESS ÉMOI' WINS PRESTIGIOUS AVANT-GARDE INTERPRETIVE MOVEMENT PRIZE, LEAVING HUMAN DANCERS 'LITERALLY MOTIONLESS WITH RAGE'" Subheadline: "Unfeeling Perfection Out-Choreographs Human Troupes in Tectonic-Brainwave Synchronized Performance…

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

    Mercury 2.5 Preview: Sally has 1 sister. Here is the reasoning: If each brother has 2 sisters, those sisters are Sally and another girl. Therefore, there are two girls in the family, and Sally has one sister.

    Amazon Nova 2 Lite: To determine how many sisters Sally has, let's analyze the information step by step: Sally is a girl, and she has 3 brothers. This means there are 3 boys in the family (her brothers). Each brother has 2 sisters. From the perspective of any one brother, he sees 2 girls in the family.

    Every model's answer to this prompt

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Price and specs

Mercury 2.5 Preview and Amazon Nova 2 Lite compared across 34 shared prompts
SpecMercury 2.5 PreviewAmazon Nova 2 Lite
Input price$0.04/M tokens$0.5/M tokens
Output price$0.15/M tokens$1.5/M tokens
Context window260K tokens1.0M tokens
Weights—Closed
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedAug 2026Dec 2025
At 10M a month$0.40$0.40$5.00$5.00
1M10M100M1B10M tokens

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

Where to run it2 hosts
Mercury 2.5 Preview1 host
HostInOutContextUptime
  • Inception$0.04 in·$0.15 out·260k·93% up
Amazon Nova 2 Lite1 host
HostInOutContextUptime
  • Amazon Bedrock$0.30 in·$2.50 out·1M·100% up

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 13 Oct 2026.

Common questions

What is the difference between Mercury 2.5 Preview and Amazon Nova 2 Lite?

Mercury 2.5 Preview is developed by Inception while Amazon Nova 2 Lite is developed by Amazon. Mercury 2.5 Preview has a 260K token context window vs Amazon Nova 2 Lite's 1.0M. You can compare their actual outputs across 34 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

Which is better, Mercury 2.5 Preview or Amazon Nova 2 Lite?

It depends on your use case. Mercury 2.5 Preview and Amazon Nova 2 Lite each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 34 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.

How much does Mercury 2.5 Preview cost compared to Amazon Nova 2 Lite?

Mercury 2.5 Preview costs $0.04/M input tokens and Amazon Nova 2 Lite costs $0.5/M input tokens. Mercury 2.5 Preview is $0.46/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 Mercury 2.5 Preview and Amazon Nova 2 Lite on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Mercury 2.5 Preview and Amazon Nova 2 Lite 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.

More comparisons

Against the newest arrivals

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  • Mercury 2.5 Preview vs Mistral Large 4Landed Oct 2026
  • Amazon Nova 2 Lite vs GPT-6.1 SolLanded Sep 2026

Same lab, same size, long tail

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  • Amazon Nova 2 Lite vs Muse Glimmer 30BSame size
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  • Amazon Nova 2 Lite vs Nemotron 3 UltraNew provider
  • Mercury 2.5 Preview vs Nemotron 3.5 Content SafetyNew provider
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Model pages

  • Mercury 2.5 Preview58 outputs, specs and price
  • Amazon Nova 2 Lite48 outputs, specs and price
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