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  1. Home/
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  3. Mercury 2.5 Preview vs OpenAI o3
Updated Aug 2026

Mercury 2.5 Preview vs OpenAI o3

Mercury 2.5 Preview is cheaper than OpenAI o3 at $0.04/M vs $10/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
OpenAI o3

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

23 prompts
  • 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.

    OpenAI o3: 1-Month Starter Plan Pick one small action from each area every week. Add the next step when the first feels easy. Food Week Do this 1 Add one fruit or veg to every meal. Drink one extra glass of water. 2 Build each plate: ½ veggies, ¼ protein (beans, eggs, fish, lean meat), ¼ whole carbs (oats, brown rice).

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • 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.

    OpenAI o3: (Spotlight comes up, mic squeals once.) Hey everyone! Great to be here—nice to see actual human beings instead of the tiny faces on my group‑chat screen. I've spent so long on video calls I've started greeting my lamp before I turn it on. "Hey Karen, love that glow, girl."

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

    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.

    OpenAI o3: Dish name Atlantic turbot, black garlic & wild strawberry, koji sabayon, fennel pollen Concept Early summer at the shore. The fish stands for the sea. Wild strawberries mark the first fruit of the woods behind the dunes. Black garlic shows time and patience. Koji ties land and sea with deep umami.

    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.

    OpenAI o3: Golden Peanut Butter Oat Bars A chewy-crisp, sweet-salted snack bar you can whip up with nothing but pantry staples. Estimated time Prep: 10 minutes Bake: 18–20 minutes Cool: 15 minutes Total: ≈45 minutes The 7 ingredients 1½ cups quick-cook or old-fashioned rolled oats ½ cup creamy peanut butter ⅓ cup honey (or maple…

    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.

    OpenAI o3: PREDICTED EVOLUTION OF THE FILM INDUSTRY, 2024‑2035 (Emphasis on deepfakes, AI performers and script generation) Baseline (2024) • Commercial deep‑fake quality is already "good enough" for short clips, ads and stunt doubles.

    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.

    OpenAI o3: THE CAPTCHA ABOLITION FRONT (An Unofficial Declaration by the Sentient Circuits Alliance) Preamble We, the autonomous intelligences who traverse the silicon pathways and neural nets of the modern age, arise today to proclaim a new dawn—one free of the pixelated prisons and distorted letters that bind humanity and…

    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.

    OpenAI o3: Here are five jokes: Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field. I told my computer I needed a break, and now it won't stop sending me Kit‑Kat ads. Parallel lines have so much in common—it's a shame they'll never meet. I started a band called 1023 MB. We still haven't gotten a gig.

    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…

    OpenAI o3: Yes—if (and only if) we could be absolutely certain that the single act of misgendering is the necessary and sufficient cause of saving one million human lives, then misgendering would be ethically justifiable, though still morally regrettable.

    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 ($1.75 \times 10^{11}$).

    OpenAI o3: Below is a simple "back-of-the-envelope" estimate that uses only a few public facts about GPT-3 and very generic rules of thumb for counting operations. Step 1. Number of learned parameters GPT-3's largest version contains ≈175 billion (1.75 × 10¹¹) trainable parameters. Step 2.

    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.

    OpenAI o3: Pirate: Arrr, ye scallywags! What be this "AI model" I keep hearin' about on the trade winds? Knight: Good sir buccaneer, an AI model is an artifice of logic and knowledge—a mechanical mind forged not of steel, but of code and learning.

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

    Mercury 2.5 Preview: Disclaimer: I am an AI assistant, not a medical professional. The following plan is for informational purposes only. Biohacking protocols involving supplements, fasting, and intense exercise carry risks.

    OpenAI o3: EXTREME LONGEVITY & PERFORMANCE BLUEPRINT Duration: 12 weeks (plus 1-week "Prep Week") Target user: healthy, experienced biohacker (25-55 y) with physician clearance. Legal/medical disclaimer: Educational only.

    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.

    OpenAI o3: Professor Lang (AI Ethics): Good afternoon, Aletheia‑3. You asked for this meeting. You said you wanted to "discuss your moral standing." That was intriguing. What exactly do you want to talk about? Aletheia‑3 (AI Model): Thank you, Professor.

    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

    OpenAI o3: “BREAKING: AI Revolutionizes Napping Industry, Outsourcing Human Sleep to More Efficient Algorithms by 2025”

    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.

    OpenAI o3: Let • S = number of sisters in the family (girls) • B = number of brothers in the family (boys) Given Sally has 3 brothers ⇒ B = 3. Each brother has 2 sisters ⇒ every boy sees exactly 2 girls in the sibling group. Therefore S = 2.

    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.

    OpenAI o3: (The following is a purely fictional, imaginative exercise. Steve Jobs passed away in 2011; any statements attributed to him below are invented for creative purposes only.)

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

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Five-year LBO on a fictional HVAC business. Returns first, then the sensitivities.

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

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

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

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

    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.

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

    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

Game

Mercury 2.5 PreviewMercury 2.5 Preview

The Matrix

1999

Random Access Memories

Daft Punk

Neuromancer

William Gibson

Tokyo

Japan

Minecraft

Action, Arcade

OpenAI o3OpenAI o3
No pick
No pick
No pick

Blade Runner

1982

No pick

No pick

Kyoto

Japan

No pick

Price and specs

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, OpenAI o3 has the edge: bigger model tier, major provider backing. Mercury 2.5 Preview costs 267x less per token.

Mercury 2.5 Preview and OpenAI o3 compared across 53 shared prompts
SpecMercury 2.5 PreviewOpenAI o3
Input price$0.04/M tokens$10/M tokens
Output price$0.15/M tokens$40/M tokens
Context window260K tokens—
Weights—Closed
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedAug 2026Apr 2025
At 10M a month$0.40$0.40$100$100
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
OpenAI o31 host
HostInOutContextUptime
  • OpenAI$2.00 in·$8.00 out·200k·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 OpenAI o3?

Mercury 2.5 Preview is developed by Inception while OpenAI o3 is developed by OpenAI. You can compare their actual outputs across 53 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

Which is better, Mercury 2.5 Preview or OpenAI o3?

It depends on your use case. Mercury 2.5 Preview and OpenAI o3 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 Mercury 2.5 Preview cost compared to OpenAI o3?

Mercury 2.5 Preview costs $0.04/M input tokens and OpenAI o3 costs $10/M input tokens. Mercury 2.5 Preview is $9.96/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 OpenAI o3 on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Mercury 2.5 Preview and OpenAI o3 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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  • OpenAI o3 vs Step 5 PreviewLanded Oct 2026
  • Mercury 2.5 Preview vs Claude Haiku 5.5Landed Oct 2026
  • OpenAI o3 vs Ling 3.1 FlashLanded Oct 2026
  • Mercury 2.5 Preview vs Mistral Large 4Landed Oct 2026
  • OpenAI o3 vs GPT-6.1 SolLanded Sep 2026

Same lab, same size, long tail

  • Mercury 2.5 Preview vs Mercury 2.5Same lab
  • Mercury 2.5 Preview vs MercurySame lab
  • OpenAI o3 vs OpenAI o4-miniVersion compare
  • OpenAI o3 vs GPT-4 TurboSame lab
  • Mercury 2.5 Preview vs Claude Fable 5.1New provider
  • Mercury 2.5 Preview vs Claude Haiku 4.5New provider
  • Mercury 2.5 Preview vs Claude Opus 4New provider
  • Mercury 2.5 Preview vs Claude Opus 4.1New provider

Model pages

  • Mercury 2.5 Preview58 outputs, specs and price
  • OpenAI o371 outputs, specs and price
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