Perceptron Mk1.5 is $0.05 cheaper per 1M input tokens (25% lower; 1.33x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
NewPerceptron Mk1.5 vs Mercury 2.5 Preview
Pick Mercury 2.5 Preview when budget and context both matter.
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Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Mercury 2.5 Preview when budget and context both matter.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Mercury 2.5 Preview is estimated at $0.57 vs $0.9 for Perceptron Mk1.5, saving $0.33 (36.1% lower).
Cost-first pickMercury 2.5 Preview
Context-first pickMercury 2.5 Preview
Sample savings$0.3336.1%
10x traffic gap$3.25
Mercury 2.5 Preview is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $3.25. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Mercury 2.5 Preview stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Perceptron Mk1.5 | Mercury 2.5 Preview |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Mercury 2.5 Preview | $1.5 | $1.38 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Mercury 2.5 Preview | $1.65 | $0.95 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Mercury 2.5 Preview | $7.65 | $3.95 |
Mercury 2.5 Preview is $0.75 cheaper per 1M output tokens (50% lower; 2x difference).
Mercury 2.5 Preview has 223.14K more context (7.05x larger).
Mercury 2.5 Preview is $0.33 cheaper on the standard workload (36.1% 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
Perceptron Mk1.5 has the lower input price; Mercury 2.5 Preview has the lower output price; Mercury 2.5 Preview offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Mercury 2.5 Preview is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.9 for Perceptron Mk1.5 and $0.57 for Mercury 2.5 Preview.
Choose Perceptron Mk1.5 when you care most about lower input-token price.
Choose Mercury 2.5 Preview when you care most about lower output-token price, and larger context window.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Mercury 2.5 Preview is estimated at $0.57 vs $0.9 for Perceptron Mk1.5, saving $0.33 (36.1% lower).
- Mercury 2.5 Preview is $0.33 cheaper on the standard workload (36.1% lower).
- Perceptron Mk1.5 is $0.05 cheaper per 1M input tokens (25% lower; 1.33x difference).
- Mercury 2.5 Preview is $0.75 cheaper per 1M output tokens (50% lower; 2x difference).
- Mercury 2.5 Preview has 223.14K more context (7.05x larger).
| Feature | NewPerceptron Mk1.5 (Perceptron) | Mercury 2.5 Preview (Inception) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.15 | $0.2 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $1.5 | $0.75 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.9 | $0.57 |
| Context Window | 36.86K | 260K |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Mercury 2.5 Preview | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Mercury 2.5 Preview is estimated at $0.57 vs $0.9 for Perceptron Mk1.5, saving $0.33 (36.1% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Perceptron Mk1.5 | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Mercury 2.5 Preview | 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
- Mercury 2.5 can replace Mercury 2.5 Preview when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.11.
- GLM 5.3 Flash offers 1.31M context with $0.12 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 offers 1.31M context with $0.19 sample workload cost.
- GLM Flash Latest offers 1.31M context with $0.12 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash Latest offers 1.31M context with $0.19 sample workload cost.
- MiMo-V2.6-Pro · Xiaomi · #1
- GLM 5.3 Flash · Z.ai · #2
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash · DeepSeek · #3
- Hy4 preview · Tencent · #4
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