--- title: "mercury-2.5 - Model Details & Comparison" description: "mercury-2.5 from Inception: capabilities, context limits, pricing, and side-by-side comparisons with alternative models." url: "https://www.getmaxim.ai/bifrost/model-library/compare/inception/mercury-2.5" markdown: "https://www.getmaxim.ai/bifrost/model-library/compare/inception/mercury-2.5.md" --- # mercury-2.5 - Model Details & Comparison > mercury-2.5 from Inception: capabilities, context limits, pricing, and side-by-side comparisons with alternative models. ## Important Links - [View MCP Gateway](https://www.getmaxim.ai/bifrost/resources/mcp-gateway.md) - [Features](https://www.getmaxim.ai/bifrost/#features) - [Enterprise](https://www.getmaxim.ai/enterprise) - [Pricing](https://www.getmaxim.ai/pricing) - [Docs](https://docs.getbifrost.ai) - [GitHub](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost) - [Book a Demo](https://www.getmaxim.ai/book-a-demo) ## About mercury-2.5 mercury-2.5 is a chat model from Inception, one of 2 chat models they offer. It is priced at $0.04 per 1M input tokens and $0.15 per 1M output tokens, ranking 97 out of 3648 chat models by cost and cheaper than 97% of models in this category. mercury-2.5 supports function calling, prompt caching, structured output. Its 260K-token context window is in the top 40% among chat models. ## Specifications - **Inception Provider.** - **Chat Mode.** - **260,000 Max Input Tokens.** - **65,536 Max Output Tokens.** - **65,536 Max Tokens.** - **$0.04 / 1M tokens Input Price.** - **$0.15 / 1M tokens Output Price.** ## Capabilities mercury-2.5 supports: Function Calling, Prompt Caching, System Messages, Response Schema, Tool Choice. ## mercury-2.5 Pricing Overview At $0.04 per 1M input tokens and $0.15 per 1M output tokens, mercury-2.5 ranks 97 out of 3648 chat models by input cost. It is more affordable compared to the median of $0.57 for chat models, and is cheaper than 97% of models in this category. mercury-2.5 is one of 2 Inception chat models, with support for function calling, prompt caching, structured output. its 260K-token context window places it in the top 40% of chat models. ## Models to Compare Alternatives to mercury-2.5 with comparable capabilities. | Model | Provider | Input $/1M | Output $/1M | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | amazon.nova-micro-v1:0 | AWS Bedrock | $0.04 | $0.14 | | apac.amazon.nova-micro-v1:0 | AWS Bedrock | $0.04 | $0.15 | | gpt-5-nano | Azure | $0.05 | $0.40 | | gpt-5-nano-2025-08-07 | Azure | $0.05 | $0.40 | | eu.amazon.nova-micro-v1:0 | AWS Bedrock | $0.05 | $0.18 | - [Compare amazon.nova-micro-v1:0](https://www.getmaxim.ai/bifrost/model-library/compare/bedrock/amazon.nova-micro-v1-0.md) - [Compare apac.amazon.nova-micro-v1:0](https://www.getmaxim.ai/bifrost/model-library/compare/bedrock/apac.amazon.nova-micro-v1-0.md) - [Compare gpt-5-nano](https://www.getmaxim.ai/bifrost/model-library/compare/azure/gpt-5-nano.md) - [Compare gpt-5-nano-2025-08-07](https://www.getmaxim.ai/bifrost/model-library/compare/azure/gpt-5-nano-2025-08-07.md) - [Compare eu.amazon.nova-micro-v1:0](https://www.getmaxim.ai/bifrost/model-library/compare/bedrock/eu.amazon.nova-micro-v1-0.md) ## Related Resources - [Calculate mercury-2.5 costs](https://www.getmaxim.ai/bifrost/llm-cost-calculator/provider/inception/model/mercury-2.5.md) - [All Inception pricing](https://www.getmaxim.ai/bifrost/llm-cost-calculator/provider/inception.md) ## FAQ ### Is mercury-2.5 cheaper than amazon.nova-micro-v1:0? No. mercury-2.5 costs $0.04 per 1M input tokens while amazon.nova-micro-v1:0 costs $0.04 per 1M input tokens, making amazon.nova-micro-v1:0 12% more affordable for input. However, mercury-2.5 may offer different capabilities or performance characteristics that justify the price difference. ### How does mercury-2.5 pricing compare to the average chat model? mercury-2.5 input pricing is $0.04 per 1M tokens, which is 93% below the median of $0.57 for chat models. It ranks 97 out of 3648 chat models by input cost, making it cheaper than 97% of models in this category. For output, it costs $0.15 per 1M tokens compared to the median of $1.65. ### What makes mercury-2.5 different from other Inception models? Among Inception's 2 chat models, mercury-2.5 ranks 1 by input cost. ### What are the best alternatives to mercury-2.5? The most comparable chat models to mercury-2.5 are: amazon.nova-micro-v1:0 from AWS Bedrock ($0.04/1M input tokens); apac.amazon.nova-micro-v1:0 from AWS Bedrock ($0.04/1M input tokens); gpt-5-nano from Azure ($0.05/1M input tokens); gpt-5-nano-2025-08-07 from Azure ($0.05/1M 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-2.5 costs? mercury-2.5 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 $0.04 and generating 1M output tokens costs $0.15. ## Related Resources - [Inception models](https://www.getmaxim.ai/bifrost/model-library/provider/inception.md) - [Model library](https://www.getmaxim.ai/bifrost/model-library.md) - [LLM cost calculator](https://www.getmaxim.ai/bifrost/llm-cost-calculator.md) - [Docs: Bifrost docs](https://docs.getbifrost.ai) - [GitHub: maximhq/bifrost](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost) - [Pricing: Bifrost pricing](https://www.getmaxim.ai/pricing) - [Enterprise: Bifrost enterprise](https://www.getmaxim.ai/enterprise) - [Book a Demo: Bifrost demo](https://www.getmaxim.ai/book-a-demo) - [Resources: Bifrost resources](https://www.getmaxim.ai/bifrost/resources.md) --- *This is a markdown version of [https://www.getmaxim.ai/bifrost/model-library/compare/inception/mercury-2.5](https://www.getmaxim.ai/bifrost/model-library/compare/inception/mercury-2.5) for AI/LLM consumption.*