Compare

GPT-4o vs Mercury 2.5 Preview

Pricing is only the shared seller matrix below. Best rates and catalog map are separate sections, so no chart is embedded in pricing. Open the calculator for the same workload on each side.

OpenAI

Model

GPT-4o

Image inputTool calling

Best $2.50 in · $10.00 out

Context window 128K

Pricing
Inception

Model

Mercury 2.5 Preview

Tool calling

Best $0.040 in · $0.150 out

Context window 260K

Pricing

Mercury 2.5 Preview is cheaper across the board — 98% cheaper on input and 98% cheaper on output.

Pricing matrix

Shared sellers only. Each row is a host that lists both models. Dollar amounts are per 1M tokens. Lowest in each pair of columns is emphasized.

ProviderGPT-4o inGPT-4o outMercury 2.5 Preview inMercury 2.5 Preview out
Azure$2.50$10.00N/AN/A
Github CopilotN/AN/AN/AN/A
Gmi$2.50$10.00N/AN/A
OpenAI$2.50$10.00N/AN/A
Openrouter$2.50$10.00$0.040$0.150
Replicate$2.50$10.00N/AN/A
Vercel Ai Gateway$2.50$10.00N/AN/A

Best listed rates (this pair)

Same "best row in current pricing" logic as model pages: a compact view of the lowest input and output we show for each side. This is not the seller matrix.

Catalog map · OpenAI · Inception

Each chart uses real catalog rows that include both list input and list output ($/1M). Larger green dots are the models on this comparison page; accent dots are other active models from that provider.

OpenAI · input vs output

Scatter chart: X = input $/M, Y = output $/M. This page's models are labeled on the green dots; hover others for detail.

ListedoutputUSD/1M

One dot per catalog row that has both list prices. Green dots are labeled with the models on this page; hover any dot for name and prices. Upper-right means higher cost on both axes ($/1M).

Inception · input vs output

ListedoutputUSD/1M

One dot per catalog row that has both list prices. Green dots are labeled with the models on this page; hover any dot for name and prices. Upper-right means higher cost on both axes ($/1M).

Specifications

Each column header is the full model name. Tint marks the favorable value where we compute a winner.

Spec
GPT-4o
Mercury 2.5 Preview
Context window
128,000 tokens
260,000 tokens
Max output tokens
16,384 tokens
65,536 tokens
Vision
Yes
No
Function calling
Yes
Yes
Streaming
Yes
Yes
Release date
May 2024
Aug 2026

Cost calculator

Same requests, input tokens, and output tokens for both columns. Pick the provider row that matches how you buy.

GPT-4o
Monthly
$2.3K
Annual
$27.4K
Mercury 2.5 Preview
Monthly
$35
Annual
$420
Save $2.2K/month with Mercury 2.5 Preview

When to pick which

Short takeaways: no cards, just the points. Validate with your own workloads.

  • Long-context tasks

    Use Mercury 2.5 Preview. Its 260K context window handles large codebases and documents better than 128K.

  • High-volume text generation

    Use Mercury 2.5 Preview. Output tokens are 98% cheaper, which compounds significantly at scale.

  • Long output (reports, code files)

    Use Mercury 2.5 Preview. Its 65K max output limit reduces the need to split requests.

Frequently asked questions

Mercury 2.5 Preview is cheaper on both input and output tokens.

More comparisons

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