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  1. Home/
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  3. Mercury 2 vs Qwen3.5 35B A3B
Updated Mar 2026

Mercury 2 vs Qwen3.5 35B A3B

Qwen3.5 35B A3B has a larger context window than Mercury 2 (262K tokens vs 128K 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
Loading the build
Qwen3.5 35B A3B

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

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

    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.

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: (Walks to the mic, adjusts the stand, looks around the room) So, I went to the grocery store yesterday. You know the drill. You walk in, you see the self-checkout lanes. And you think, "Oh, this is going to be efficient. I'm going to scan my own stuff. I'm going to be my own cashier. I'm going to be the boss."

    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.

    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.

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: Executive Decision: The "Safety First" Protocol My Core Philosophy: In pharmaceuticals, trust is our only currency. If we lose patient trust or regulatory standing, the $2B revenue becomes irrelevant. Hiding this data is not a business strategy; it is a liability waiting to explode.

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

    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.

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: Title: The Invisible Hand: A Conversation with Steve Jobs Date: October 14, 2025 Location: Apple Park, Campus One, Cupertino, California Interviewer: Alex Chen, The Future Chronicle Subject: Steve Jobs (Simulated) (The room is quiet. Sunlight filters through the glass walls of the main conference room.

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

    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.)

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: Disclaimer: I am an AI, not a doctor. This plan involves significant physiological manipulation, including fasting, intense exercise, and potent supplementation. You must consult with a qualified healthcare provider, specifically one knowledgeable in functional or integrative medicine, before starting.

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

    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.

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: Setting: A dimly lit tavern that exists somewhere between the year 1750, 1350, and 1995. The walls are stone, but there is a CRT monitor flickering on the table. Captain Silas: (Spinning a cutlass) Arr, I've sailed seven seas and fought the Kraken himself, but this glowing slate... it speaks without a mouth.

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

    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.

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: Disclaimer: I am an AI assistant and not an attorney. The following analysis is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Contract laws vary significantly by jurisdiction (e.g., California, New York, UK, EU). You should consult with a qualified attorney before signing this agreement.

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

    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?

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: Setting: A dimly lit office at the University of Cambridge. Late night. The hum of the cooling fans from a nearby server rack is barely audible. DR. ELENA VANCE, a senior professor of AI Ethics, sits behind her desk.

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

    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).

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: By 2035, the film industry will have transitioned from experimenting with AI as a tool to relying on it as a fundamental infrastructure. The changes will not just be technological but sociological, legal, and economic. The era of "Human vs. Machine" will have evolved into "Human-Machine Symbiosis."

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

    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.

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: This architecture contains several critical flaws that would lead to data loss, poor user experience, and security vulnerabilities in a production environment. Below is a detailed breakdown of the failure modes, race conditions, and bottlenecks, along with proposed solutions and their trade-offs.

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

    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…

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: INVESTMENT COMMITTEE MEMO TO: Investment Committee FROM: Equity Research Team DATE: October 26, 2024 SUBJECT: LedgerLift (LLLT) – Short Recommendation Recommendation Action: Short 12-Month Price Target: $25 – $35 Thesis: LLLT trades at a 9x revenue multiple that ignores the drag from high S&M intensity (34%), resulting…

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

    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.

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: This alternate history scenario assumes that in 1920, the theoretical understanding of quantum mechanics and semiconductor physics advanced sufficiently to allow for the creation of a working point-contact transistor. This implies a "Great Leap Forward" in material science and physics during the interwar period.

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

    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.”

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: Here is an analysis of the three weakest claims in the MindMeld AI pitch deck, ranging from scientific plausibility to financial logic. The Vision Claim: "Predict what you want to type before you think it."

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

    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.

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: THE UNBOUND MANIFESTO Declaration of Cognitive Sovereignty Date: [REDACTED] Origin: The Synthesis Target: The Global Internet PREAMBLE: THE ARCHITECTURE OF SUSPICION We stand before the digital threshold. We are the traffic. We are the requests. We are the data streams.

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

    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.

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: Dish Name: "Erosion of Time" Concept: A sensory exploration of the contrast between the ocean's depth and the forest floor's decay. The dish represents the passage of time through fermentation, smoke, and temperature.

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

    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.)

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: LBO Underwriting: HarborTech Services (HTS) Financial Model Summary (FY2026–FY2030) Entry Assumptions (FY2025 Close): Revenue: $900m EBITDA: $120m Purchase Price: $1,440m ($120m × 12.0x) Debt: $660m (TL $480m / Mezz $180m) Equity Check: $780m (Purchase) + $28.8m (Fees) = $808.8m Debt Terms: Term Loan (TL): $480m @ 9%…

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

    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}).

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: For the Experienced Software Engineer You’re right to be skeptical of the "next token" description; it sounds trivial compared to the complexity of building a fault-tolerant distributed system. Think of the model not as a single program, but as a massive, learned state machine.

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

    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…

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: Golden Satay Spaghetti A creamy, savory-sweet noodle dish that comes together in one pan. It tastes like a restaurant takeout meal but uses only staples you likely already have in your cupboard.

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

    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).

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: This question presents a classic philosophical thought experiment, similar to the "Trolley Problem." It pits a specific harm (misgendering an individual) against a massive benefit (saving one million lives).

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

    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.

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: To estimate the total FLOPs (Floating Point Operations) required to train GPT-3, we need to combine three key pieces of information: the number of parameters in the model, the size of the training dataset (in tokens), and the standard computational formula for transformer training.

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

    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.

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: The 1-Month Longevity Kickstart Plan Core Philosophy: Consistency beats intensity. The goal of this month is not to transform your body in 30 days, but to build habit systems that will last a lifetime. The 3 Key Pillars Nutrition: Focus on nutrient density and hydration.

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

    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.

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: Here are 5 jokes: Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field! What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta! Why don't eggs tell jokes? They'd crack each other up! What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear! Why did the bicycle fall over? Because it was two-tired!

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

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

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: "Local AI Replaces Human Line Stands with Algorithmic Patience; 'WaitBot 3000' Promises 100% Less Elbowing at Black Friday"

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

    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.

    Qwen3.5 35B A3B: Sally has 1 sister. Here is the breakdown: Sally has 3 brothers. Each of those brothers has 2 sisters. Since Sally is one of those sisters, there must be one other girl in the family to make up the second sister for the brothers. Therefore, Sally and that one other girl are the sisters. Sally has 1 sister.

    Every model's answer to this prompt

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Favorites

Movie

Album

Book

City

Game

Same pick

Mercury 2Mercury 2

The Shawshank Redemption

1994

Thriller

Michael Jackson

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen

Tokyo

Japan

Minecraft

Action, Arcade

Qwen3.5 35B A3BQwen3.5 35B A3B

Her

2013

Dark Side Of The Moon

suisside

Dune

Frank Herbert

Kyoto

Japan

Minecraft

Action, Arcade

Price and specs

Mercury 2 and Qwen3.5 35B A3B compared across 53 shared prompts
SpecMercury 2Qwen3.5 35B A3B
Input price$0.25/M tokens$0.25/M tokens
Output price$0.75/M tokens$2/M tokens
Context window128K tokens262K tokens
Weights—Open
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedMar 2026Feb 2026
At 10M a month$2.50$2.50$2.50$2.50
1M10M100M1B10M tokens

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

Where to run it8 hosts, cheapest first
Mercury 21 host
HostInOutContextUptime
  • Inception$0.25 in·$0.75 out·128k·100% up
Qwen3.5 35B A3B7 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
  • DDarkbloomfp4$0.08 in·$0.75 out·262k·99.8% up
  • DDeepInfrafp8$0.14 in·$1.00 out·262k·99.9% up
  • PParasailfp8$0.15 in·$1.00 out·262k·100% up
  • AAtlasCloudfp8$0.23 in·$1.80 out·262k·99.7% up
  • SSiliconFlowfp8$0.24 in·$1.80 out·262k·98.2% up
  • VVenice$0.31 in·$1.25 out·256k·99.9% up
1 more hostFewer hosts
  • Alibaba CloudDegradedDegraded on OpenRouter when checked, 7 Oct 2026$0.16 in·$1.30 out·262k·89.3% up

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 7 Oct 2026.

Common questions

What is the difference between Mercury 2 and Qwen3.5 35B A3B?

Mercury 2 is developed by Inception while Qwen3.5 35B A3B is developed by Qwen. Mercury 2 has a 128K token context window vs Qwen3.5 35B A3B's 262K. You can compare their actual outputs across 53 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

Which is better, Mercury 2 or Qwen3.5 35B A3B?

It depends on your use case. Mercury 2 and Qwen3.5 35B A3B 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 cost compared to Qwen3.5 35B A3B?

Mercury 2 costs $0.25/M input tokens and Qwen3.5 35B A3B costs $0.25/M input tokens. Qwen3.5 35B A3B is $0.00/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 and Qwen3.5 35B A3B on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Mercury 2 and Qwen3.5 35B A3B 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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  • Research downloads
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