API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewMercury 3 vs NewTernary Bonsai 2 9B

Pick Ternary Bonsai 2 9B for lower cost; pick Mercury 3 only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-10-27T20:08:11Z Data confirmed: 2026-10-28T05:08:04Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Ternary Bonsai 2 9B for lower cost; pick Mercury 3 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Ternary Bonsai 2 9B is estimated at $0.15 vs $0.28 for Mercury 3, saving $0.13 (47.3% lower).

Cost-first pickTernary Bonsai 2 9B

Context-first pickMercury 3

Sample savings$0.1347.3%

10x traffic gap$1.3

Mercury 3 has more context, but Ternary Bonsai 2 9B saves $0.13 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $1.3. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Ternary Bonsai 2 9B stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Mercury 3	Ternary Bonsai 2 9B
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Ternary Bonsai 2 9B	$0.68	$0.47
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Ternary Bonsai 2 9B	$0.45	$0.21
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Ternary Bonsai 2 9B	$1.85	$0.73

Cheaper input Ternary Bonsai 2 9B $0.1 vs $0.08 / 1M

Ternary Bonsai 2 9B is $0.02 cheaper per 1M input tokens (20% lower; 1.25x difference).

Cheaper output Ternary Bonsai 2 9B $0.35 vs $0.13 / 1M

Ternary Bonsai 2 9B is $0.22 cheaper per 1M output tokens (62.9% lower; 2.69x difference).

Larger context Mercury 3 1M vs 262.14K

Mercury 3 has 737.86K more context (3.81x larger).

Sample workload Ternary Bonsai 2 9B $0.28 vs $0.15

Ternary Bonsai 2 9B is $0.13 cheaper on the standard workload (47.3% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Mercury 3 Calculating… Estimated API cost

Ternary Bonsai 2 9B Calculating… Estimated API cost

Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.

Quick Decision

Verdict

Ternary Bonsai 2 9B has the lower input price; Ternary Bonsai 2 9B has the lower output price; Mercury 3 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Ternary Bonsai 2 9B is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.28 for Mercury 3 and $0.15 for Ternary Bonsai 2 9B.

Best Fit

Choose Mercury 3 when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Ternary Bonsai 2 9B when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Ternary Bonsai 2 9B is estimated at $0.15 vs $0.28 for Mercury 3, saving $0.13 (47.3% lower).
Ternary Bonsai 2 9B is $0.13 cheaper on the standard workload (47.3% lower).
Ternary Bonsai 2 9B is $0.02 cheaper per 1M input tokens (20% lower; 1.25x difference).
Ternary Bonsai 2 9B is $0.22 cheaper per 1M output tokens (62.9% lower; 2.69x difference).
Mercury 3 has 737.86K more context (3.81x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	NewMercury 3 (Inception)	NewTernary Bonsai 2 9B (PrismML)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.1	$0.08
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0.35	$0.13
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0.28	$0.15
Context Window	1M	262.14K
Release Date	2026-10-16	2026-10-16

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Ternary Bonsai 2 9B	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Ternary Bonsai 2 9B is estimated at $0.15 vs $0.28 for Mercury 3, saving $0.13 (47.3% lower).
High-volume input processing	Ternary Bonsai 2 9B	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Ternary Bonsai 2 9B	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Mercury 3	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Mercury 2.5 can replace Mercury 3 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.11.

Larger context near this budget

Llama 4 Scout offers 1.31M context with $0.25 sample workload cost.
MiMo-V2.6-Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.28 sample workload cost.
GPT-6 Luna Pro (batch) offers 1.05M context with $0.17 sample workload cost.
GPT-6 Luna (batch) offers 1.05M context with $0.17 sample workload cost.

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Inception catalog

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PrismML catalog

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