// Inception
Mercury 3
A Inception model. 2 prices across 2 channels side by side, each with its source and check date – plus specs, licence, speed and benchmarks.
- Official in/out per 1M
- $0.1 / $0.35
- Lowest (official)
- $0.1 / $0.35
- Context
- 1M
- Prices listed
- 2
Prices checked 2026-10-20Official sources linked on every rowNo estimates
01Specs at a glance
Official values first; gaps filled from OpenRouter’s API where the vendor page is silent.
| Vendor | Inception |
|---|---|
| Context window | 1M (1,000,000 tokens) |
| Max output | 131K |
| Input | Text |
| Output | Text |
| Tool calling / JSON | Yes / Yes |
| Weights & licence | Closed · Proprietary (API only) |
| Released | Oct 16, 2026 |
| Model IDs | mercury-3 · inception/mercury-3 |
02Prices on 2 channels
Per 1M tokens, in the currency each source publishes (1 USD = 6.7 CNY for the blended column). Sorted: official first, then cheapest.
| Channel | Source | Input | Output | Cache hit | Blended $ | Context | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Official Vendor API, billed in USD | Official 10-20 | $0.1 | $0.35 | $0.01 | 0.163 | 1M | regular price (after launch promo; end date not announced): 0.2/0.7 Diffusion LLM. 50% launch discount (regular $0.20/$0.70, cached $0.02); no end date published. 1,068 tok/s self-reported. Mercury 2 / 2.5 closed to new users; existing users keep access until 2026-11-15. |
| inception · unknown Via OpenRouter / provider listed there | OpenRouter 10-20 | $0.1 | $0.35 | $0.01 | 0.163 | 1M | Inception price as listed on OpenRouter (pass-through; quantization=unknown; discount field=0.5); not checked against Inception's own page |
“Official” = vendor pricing page; “Platform” = the platform’s own pricing page; “OpenRouter” = price listed on OpenRouter, not checked on the platform’s site. Click a source tag to open the original page.
03Where you can use it
Derived only from the price sources above. Country restrictions are set by each vendor – check their terms before you sign up.
- Vendor API, billed in USD
Official - Via OpenRouter / provider listed there
inception
05Price changes we recorded
All price changes →From our daily re-checks of the sources above.
- 2026-10-20 · official · new listing
- 2026-10-20 · inception · new listing
06More from Inception
FAQ
How much does the Mercury 3 API cost?
On the official pricing page: $0.1 / $0.35 per 1M input / output tokens, cached input $0.01 (checked 2026-10-20).
What is the context window of Mercury 3?
1M tokens of context, up to 131K output tokens. Platforms may cap it lower – see the table.
Is Mercury 3 open source?
No. It is only available through APIs and the vendor’s apps.