Perceptron Mk1.5 is $0.1 cheaper per 1M input tokens (40% lower; 1.67x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
NewBeam 1.0 501B A23B vs Perceptron Mk1.5
Pick Beam 1.0 501B A23B 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 Beam 1.0 501B A23B when budget and context both matter.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Beam 1.0 501B A23B is estimated at $0.75 vs $0.9 for Perceptron Mk1.5, saving $0.15 (16.7% lower).
Cost-first pickBeam 1.0 501B A23B
Context-first pickBeam 1.0 501B A23B
Sample savings$0.1516.7%
10x traffic gap$1.5
Beam 1.0 501B A23B is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $1.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Cost winner changes by workload shape: input-heavy / RAG favors Perceptron Mk1.5, balanced workload favors Beam 1.0 501B A23B, and output-heavy chatbot favors Beam 1.0 501B A23B.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | Perceptron Mk1.5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Perceptron Mk1.5 | $1.75 | $1.5 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | $1.25 | $1.65 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | $5.25 | $7.65 |
Beam 1.0 501B A23B is $0.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (33.3% lower; 1.5x difference).
Beam 1.0 501B A23B has 1.01M more context (28.4x larger).
Beam 1.0 501B A23B is $0.15 cheaper on the standard workload (16.7% 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; Beam 1.0 501B A23B has the lower output price; Beam 1.0 501B A23B offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Beam 1.0 501B A23B is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.75 for Beam 1.0 501B A23B and $0.9 for Perceptron Mk1.5.
Choose Beam 1.0 501B A23B when you care most about lower output-token price, and larger context window.
Choose Perceptron Mk1.5 when you care most about lower input-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Beam 1.0 501B A23B is estimated at $0.75 vs $0.9 for Perceptron Mk1.5, saving $0.15 (16.7% lower).
- Beam 1.0 501B A23B is $0.15 cheaper on the standard workload (16.7% lower).
- Perceptron Mk1.5 is $0.1 cheaper per 1M input tokens (40% lower; 1.67x difference).
- Beam 1.0 501B A23B is $0.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (33.3% lower; 1.5x difference).
- Beam 1.0 501B A23B has 1.01M more context (28.4x larger).
| Feature | NewBeam 1.0 501B A23B (Reflection) | Perceptron Mk1.5 (Perceptron) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.25 | $0.15 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $1 | $1.5 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.75 | $0.9 |
| Context Window | 1.05M | 36.86K |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Beam 1.0 501B A23B is estimated at $0.75 vs $0.9 for Perceptron Mk1.5, saving $0.15 (16.7% 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 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- No lower-cost same-provider swap is currently tracked for this pair.
- 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 offers 1.05M context with $0.35 sample workload cost.
- GPT-6 Luna Pro offers 1.05M context with $0.35 sample workload cost.
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Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
Open cheapest modelsLarger context alternatives
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Open provider hubsReflection catalog
Review all tracked Reflection models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.
Open Reflection modelsPerceptron catalog
Check other Perceptron models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.
Open Perceptron modelsBeam 1.0 is Reflection's open-weight reasoning model for coding and long-horizon agentic workflows. It uses a sparse mixture-of-experts architecture with 501B total and 23B active parameters per token, and a...
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