Ling 3.0 Flash VL is $0.14 cheaper per 1M input tokens (70% lower; 3.33x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
NewLing 3.0 Flash VL vs Mercury 2.5 Preview
Pick Ling 3.0 Flash VL for lower cost; pick Mercury 2.5 Preview only if the larger context window matters more.
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Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Ling 3.0 Flash VL for lower cost; pick Mercury 2.5 Preview only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Ling 3.0 Flash VL is estimated at $0.15 vs $0.57 for Mercury 2.5 Preview, saving $0.42 (73.9% lower).
Cost-first pickLing 3.0 Flash VL
Context-first pickMercury 2.5 Preview
Sample savings$0.4273.9%
10x traffic gap$4.25
Mercury 2.5 Preview has more context, but Ling 3.0 Flash VL saves $0.42 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $4.25. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Ling 3.0 Flash VL stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Ling 3.0 Flash VL | Mercury 2.5 Preview |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Ling 3.0 Flash VL | $0.39 | $1.38 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Ling 3.0 Flash VL | $0.24 | $0.95 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Ling 3.0 Flash VL | $0.96 | $3.95 |
Ling 3.0 Flash VL is $0.57 cheaper per 1M output tokens (76% lower; 4.17x difference).
Mercury 2.5 Preview has 128.93K more context (1.98x larger).
Ling 3.0 Flash VL is $0.42 cheaper on the standard workload (73.9% lower).
Estimate your workload cost
Your Workload Cost
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
Ling 3.0 Flash VL has the lower input price; Ling 3.0 Flash VL has the lower output price; Mercury 2.5 Preview offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Ling 3.0 Flash VL is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.15 for Ling 3.0 Flash VL and $0.57 for Mercury 2.5 Preview.
Choose Ling 3.0 Flash VL when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
Choose Mercury 2.5 Preview when you care most about larger context window.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Ling 3.0 Flash VL is estimated at $0.15 vs $0.57 for Mercury 2.5 Preview, saving $0.42 (73.9% lower).
- Ling 3.0 Flash VL is $0.42 cheaper on the standard workload (73.9% lower).
- Ling 3.0 Flash VL is $0.14 cheaper per 1M input tokens (70% lower; 3.33x difference).
- Ling 3.0 Flash VL is $0.57 cheaper per 1M output tokens (76% lower; 4.17x difference).
- Mercury 2.5 Preview has 128.93K more context (1.98x larger).
| Feature | NewLing 3.0 Flash VL (inclusionAI) | Mercury 2.5 Preview (Inception) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.06 | $0.2 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $0.18 | $0.75 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.15 | $0.57 |
| Context Window | 131.07K | 260K |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Ling 3.0 Flash VL | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Ling 3.0 Flash VL is estimated at $0.15 vs $0.57 for Mercury 2.5 Preview, saving $0.42 (73.9% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Ling 3.0 Flash VL | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Ling 3.0 Flash VL | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Mercury 2.5 Preview | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- Ling 3.0 Flash VL (free) can replace Ling 3.0 Flash VL when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Ling 3.0 Flash Sante (free) can replace Ling 3.0 Flash VL when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Ling 3.0 Flash Fin (free) can replace Ling 3.0 Flash VL when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Ling 3.0 Tiny (free) can replace Ling 3.0 Flash VL when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- GLM 5.3 Flash offers 1.31M context with $0.4 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 offers 1.31M context with $0.08 sample workload cost.
- GLM Flash Latest offers 1.31M context with $0.2 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash Latest offers 1.31M context with $0.08 sample workload cost.
- Hy4 preview · Tencent · #1
- GPT-5.6 Luna · OpenAI · #2
- GLM 5.3 Flash · Z.ai · #3
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 · DeepSeek · #4
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