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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview vs Mercury Edit 2

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview comes out ahead, 50 to 35 on our weighted score, though Mercury Edit 2 is 5.3× cheaper per token.

  1. Our pick

    Google

    Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview

    Released Apr 14, 2026

    50/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$1.00 / $5.00
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview

  2. Inception

    Mercury Edit 2

    Released Mar 30, 2026

    35/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.25 / $0.75
    • Context32K
    Full specs Remove Mercury Edit 2

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview is our pick

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 50/100 against Mercury Edit 2 (35). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Mercury Edit 2 wins on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

  • CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
  • Lowest priceMercury Edit 2Mercury Edit 2 $0.375 · Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview $2.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGemini Robotics-ER 1.6 PreviewGemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview 131,072 · Mercury Edit 2 32,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsGemini Robotics-ER 1.6 PreviewGemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview: Text, Images, Audio, Video · Mercury Edit 2: Text
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGemini Robotics-ER 1.6 PreviewMercury Edit 2
Price50%3670
Inputs & features30%900
Context window20%240
Overall100%50/10035/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview vs Mercury Edit 2 specifications side by side
SpecificationGemini Robotics-ER 1.6 PreviewGoogleMercury Edit 2Inception
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$1.00$0.25 (best)
Output$5.00$0.75 (best)
Cached input—$0.025
Blended (3:1)$2.00$0.375 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 1 providersOfficial Inception API
Limits
Context window131,072 tokens (best)32,000 tokens
Max output65,536 tokens (best)8,192 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioYesNo
VideoYesNo
ReasoningYesNo
Tool callingYesNo
Structured outputYesNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model ID—mercury-edit-2
API providers11
ReleasedApr 14, 2026Mar 30, 2026
Knowledge cutoffJan 2025—
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview$20.00
  • Mercury Edit 2$4.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview or Mercury Edit 2?

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 50/100 against Mercury Edit 2 (35). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Mercury Edit 2 wins on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

Which is cheaper, Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview or Mercury Edit 2?

Mercury Edit 2 is cheaper at $0.25 input / $0.75 output per million tokens (official Inception API price). Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview costs $1.00 input / $5.00 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.375 per million tokens for Mercury Edit 2 versus $2.00 for Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview (5.3× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview has not been scored yet and Mercury Edit 2 has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview and Mercury Edit 2 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that Mercury Edit 2 does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.

Which has the bigger context window?

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview has the largest context window at 131,072 tokens, against 32,000 for Mercury Edit 2. Maximum output per response: Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview up to 65,536, Mercury Edit 2 up to 8,192 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview accepts text, images, audio and video; Mercury Edit 2 accepts text. Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

No. Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview and Mercury Edit 2 are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview is the newest, released Apr 14, 2026. Mercury Edit 2 came out Mar 30, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 Preview Jan 2025.

How do you decide the winner?

Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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