API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewPareto 26.10 Preview vs Perceptron Mk1.5

Pick Perceptron Mk1.5 for lower cost; pick Pareto 26.10 Preview only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated:  Data confirmed:  Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Perceptron Mk1.5 for lower cost; pick Pareto 26.10 Preview only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Perceptron Mk1.5 is estimated at $0.9 vs $2.4 for Pareto 26.10 Preview, saving $1.5 (62.5% lower).

Cost-first pickPerceptron Mk1.5
Context-first pickPareto 26.10 Preview
Sample savings$1.562.5%
10x traffic gap$15

Pareto 26.10 Preview has more context, but Perceptron Mk1.5 saves $1.5 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $15. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Perceptron Mk1.5 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickPareto 26.10 PreviewPerceptron Mk1.5
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputPerceptron Mk1.5$5.6$1.5
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputPerceptron Mk1.5$4$1.65
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputPerceptron Mk1.5$16.8$7.65
Cheaper input Perceptron Mk1.5 $0.8 vs $0.15 / 1M

Perceptron Mk1.5 is $0.65 cheaper per 1M input tokens (81.2% lower; 5.33x difference).

Cheaper output Perceptron Mk1.5 $3.2 vs $1.5 / 1M

Perceptron Mk1.5 is $1.7 cheaper per 1M output tokens (53.1% lower; 2.13x difference).

Larger context Pareto 26.10 Preview 1.05M vs 36.86K

Pareto 26.10 Preview has 1.01M more context (28.4x larger).

Sample workload Perceptron Mk1.5 $2.4 vs $0.9

Perceptron Mk1.5 is $1.5 cheaper on the standard workload (62.5% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
Pareto 26.10 Preview Calculating… Estimated API cost
Perceptron Mk1.5 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

Perceptron Mk1.5 has the lower input price; Perceptron Mk1.5 has the lower output price; Pareto 26.10 Preview offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Perceptron Mk1.5 is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $2.4 for Pareto 26.10 Preview and $0.9 for Perceptron Mk1.5.

Best Fit

Choose Pareto 26.10 Preview when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Perceptron Mk1.5 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, Perceptron Mk1.5 is estimated at $0.9 vs $2.4 for Pareto 26.10 Preview, saving $1.5 (62.5% lower).
  • Perceptron Mk1.5 is $1.5 cheaper on the standard workload (62.5% lower).
  • Perceptron Mk1.5 is $0.65 cheaper per 1M input tokens (81.2% lower; 5.33x difference).
  • Perceptron Mk1.5 is $1.7 cheaper per 1M output tokens (53.1% lower; 2.13x difference).
  • Pareto 26.10 Preview has 1.01M more context (28.4x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureNewPareto 26.10 Preview
(unbiased)
Perceptron Mk1.5
(Perceptron)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M
$0.8$0.15
Completion Price
per 1M tokens
$3.2$1.5
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output
$2.4$0.9
Context Window1.05M36.86K
Release Date

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionPerceptron Mk1.5On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Perceptron Mk1.5 is estimated at $0.9 vs $2.4 for Pareto 26.10 Preview, saving $1.5 (62.5% lower).
High-volume input processingPerceptron Mk1.5Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsPerceptron Mk1.5Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workPareto 26.10 PreviewA larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps
  • No lower-cost same-provider swap is currently tracked for this pair.
Larger context near this budget

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

Open cheapest models

Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

Open largest context models

Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

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unbiased catalog

Review all tracked unbiased models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

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Perceptron catalog

Check other Perceptron models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.

Open Perceptron models
Pareto 26.10 Preview

Pareto is a multimodal composite model built for research, coding, and agentic workflows, while delivering frontier-level performance across a broad range of general-purpose tasks. This is a preview of the...

Perceptron Mk1.5

Perceptron Mk1.5 is Perceptron's embodied reasoning model for physical agents. It accepts text, image, video, and audio input, and answers with text plus optional structured annotations: points, boxes, polygons, tracks,...