---
title: "mercury-2 - Model Details & Comparison"
description: "mercury-2 from Inception: capabilities, context limits, pricing, and side-by-side comparisons with alternative models."
url: "https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/model-library/compare/inception/mercury-2"
markdown: "https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/model-library/compare/inception/mercury-2.md"
---

# mercury-2 - Model Details & Comparison

> mercury-2 from Inception: capabilities, context limits, pricing, and side-by-side comparisons with alternative models.

## Important Links

- [View MCP Gateway](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/resources/mcp-gateway.md)
- [Features](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/#features)
- [Enterprise](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/enterprise)
- [Pricing](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/pricing.md)
- [Docs](https://docs.getbifrost.ai)
- [GitHub](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost)
- [Book a Demo](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/book-a-demo)

## About mercury-2

mercury-2 is a chat model from Inception. It is priced at $0.25 per 1M input tokens and $0.75 per 1M output tokens, ranking 882 out of 2669 chat models by cost and cheaper than 65% of models in this category. mercury-2 supports function calling, prompt caching, structured output. It accepts up to 128K input tokens.

## Specifications

- **Inception Provider.**
- **Chat Mode.**
- **128,000 Max Input Tokens.**
- **50,000 Max Output Tokens.**
- **50,000 Max Tokens.**
- **$0.25 / 1M tokens Input Price.**
- **$0.75 / 1M tokens Output Price.**

## Capabilities

mercury-2 supports: Function Calling, Prompt Caching, System Messages, Response Schema, Tool Choice.

## mercury-2 Pricing Overview

At $0.25 per 1M input tokens and $0.75 per 1M output tokens, mercury-2 ranks 882 out of 2669 chat models by input cost. It is more affordable compared to the median of $0.50 for chat models, and is cheaper than 65% of models in this category.

mercury-2 is a chat model from Inception, with support for function calling, prompt caching, structured output.

## Models to Compare

Alternatives to mercury-2 with comparable capabilities.

| Model | Provider | Input $/1M | Output $/1M |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| amazon.nova-2-lite-v1:0 | AWS Bedrock | $0.30 | $2.50 |
| gpt-5.4-nano | Azure | $0.20 | $1.25 |
| gpt-5.4-nano-2026-03-17 | Azure | $0.20 | $1.25 |
| gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07 | Azure | $0.28 | $2.20 |
| gpt-5-mini | Azure | $0.25 | $2.00 |

- [Compare amazon.nova-2-lite-v1:0](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/model-library/compare/bedrock/amazon.nova-2-lite-v1-0.md)
- [Compare gpt-5.4-nano](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/model-library/compare/azure/gpt-5.4-nano.md)
- [Compare gpt-5.4-nano-2026-03-17](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/model-library/compare/azure/gpt-5.4-nano-2026-03-17.md)
- [Compare gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/model-library/compare/azure/gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07.md)
- [Compare gpt-5-mini](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/model-library/compare/azure/gpt-5-mini.md)

## Related Resources

- [Calculate mercury-2 costs](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/llm-cost-calculator/provider/inception/model/mercury-2.md)
- [All Inception pricing](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/llm-cost-calculator/provider/inception.md)

## FAQ

### Is mercury-2 cheaper than amazon.nova-2-lite-v1:0?

Yes. mercury-2 costs $0.25 per 1M input tokens compared to amazon.nova-2-lite-v1:0's $0.30 per 1M input tokens, making it 20% more affordable. Both are chat models and share support for vision, function calling, reasoning, prompt caching, structured output.

### How does mercury-2 pricing compare to the average chat model?

mercury-2 input pricing is $0.25 per 1M tokens, which is 50% below the median of $0.50 for chat models. It ranks 882 out of 2669 chat models by input cost, making it cheaper than 65% of models in this category. For output, it costs $0.75 per 1M tokens compared to the median of $1.44.

### What are the best alternatives to mercury-2?

The most comparable chat models to mercury-2 are: amazon.nova-2-lite-v1:0 from AWS Bedrock ($0.30/1M input tokens); gpt-5.4-nano from Azure ($0.20/1M input tokens); gpt-5.4-nano-2026-03-17 from Azure ($0.20/1M input tokens); gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07 from Azure ($0.28/1M input tokens). These alternatives were selected based on similar capabilities, pricing, and provider diversity. You can compare any of these models in detail using the Bifrost Model Library.

### How do I calculate mercury-2 costs?

mercury-2 is priced based on input and output tokens. Use the interactive calculator at the top of this page to estimate costs for your specific workload. Enter your expected input and output tokens volume and the calculator will show the total cost breakdown. For reference, processing 1M input tokens costs $0.25 and generating 1M output tokens costs $0.75.

## Related Resources

- [Inception models](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/model-library/provider/inception.md)
- [Model library](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/model-library.md)
- [LLM cost calculator](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/llm-cost-calculator.md)
- [Docs: Bifrost docs](https://docs.getbifrost.ai)
- [GitHub: maximhq/bifrost](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost)
- [Pricing: Bifrost pricing](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/pricing.md)
- [Enterprise: Bifrost enterprise](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/enterprise)
- [Book a Demo: Bifrost demo](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/book-a-demo)
- [Resources: Bifrost resources](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/resources.md)

---

*This is a markdown version of [https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/model-library/compare/inception/mercury-2](https://maxim-root-proxy-preview.getmaxim.workers.dev/bifrost/model-library/compare/inception/mercury-2) for AI/LLM consumption.*