Mercury 2 is $0.08 cheaper per 1M input tokens (23.1% lower; 1.3x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
Qwen3.6 Plus vs Mercury 2
Pick Mercury 2 for lower cost; pick Qwen3.6 Plus only if the larger context window matters more.
Pricing data updated:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Mercury 2 for lower cost; pick Qwen3.6 Plus only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Mercury 2 is estimated at $0.62 vs $1.3 for Qwen3.6 Plus, saving $0.68 (51.9% lower).
Cost-first pickMercury 2
Context-first pickQwen3.6 Plus
Sample savings$0.6851.9%
10x traffic gap$6.75
Qwen3.6 Plus has more context, but Mercury 2 saves $0.68 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $6.75. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Mercury 2 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Qwen3.6 Plus | Mercury 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Mercury 2 | $2.6 | $1.62 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Mercury 2 | $2.27 | $1 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Mercury 2 | $10.07 | $4 |
Mercury 2 is $1.2 cheaper per 1M output tokens (61.5% lower; 2.6x difference).
Qwen3.6 Plus has 872K more context (7.81x larger).
Mercury 2 is $0.68 cheaper on the standard workload (51.9% 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
Mercury 2 has the lower input price; Mercury 2 has the lower output price; Qwen3.6 Plus offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Mercury 2 is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $1.3 for Qwen3.6 Plus and $0.62 for Mercury 2.
Choose Qwen3.6 Plus when you care most about larger context window.
Choose Mercury 2 when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Mercury 2 is estimated at $0.62 vs $1.3 for Qwen3.6 Plus, saving $0.68 (51.9% lower).
- Mercury 2 is $0.68 cheaper on the standard workload (51.9% lower).
- Mercury 2 is $0.08 cheaper per 1M input tokens (23.1% lower; 1.3x difference).
- Mercury 2 is $1.2 cheaper per 1M output tokens (61.5% lower; 2.6x difference).
- Qwen3.6 Plus has 872K more context (7.81x larger).
| Feature | Qwen3.6 Plus (Qwen) | Mercury 2 (Inception) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.325 | $0.25 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $1.95 | $0.75 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $1.3 | $0.62 |
| Context Window | 1M | 128K |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Mercury 2 | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Mercury 2 is estimated at $0.62 vs $1.3 for Qwen3.6 Plus, saving $0.68 (51.9% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Mercury 2 | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Mercury 2 | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Qwen3.6 Plus | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free) can replace Qwen3.6 Plus when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B (free) can replace Qwen3.6 Plus when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen2.5 7B Instruct can replace Qwen3.6 Plus when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.09.
- Qwen3.5-9B can replace Qwen3.6 Plus when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.11.
- Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
- Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
- Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite offers 1.05M context with $1 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Pro offers 1.05M context with $0.87 sample workload cost.
- No popular competitor is currently available.
Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
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