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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Perceptron Mk1.5 vs Beam 1.0 501B A23B

Too close to call on our weighted score (Perceptron Mk1.5 55, Beam 1.0 501B A23B 54). The right pick depends on what you value most.

  1. Perceptron

    Perceptron Mk1.5

    Released Sep 25, 2026New

    55/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.154 / $1.54
    • Context37K
  2. Reflection AI

    Beam 1.0 501B A23B

    Released Oct 5, 2026New

    54/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.30 / $1.00
    • Context1.05M
  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Too close to call

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 1 points (Perceptron Mk1.5 55/100, Beam 1.0 501B A23B 54/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Beam 1.0 501B A23B on price and Beam 1.0 501B A23B for long inputs. 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 priceBeam 1.0 501B A23BBeam 1.0 501B A23B $0.475 · Perceptron Mk1.5 $0.502 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextBeam 1.0 501B A23BBeam 1.0 501B A23B 1,048,576 · Perceptron Mk1.5 36,864 tokens
  • Widest inputsPerceptron Mk1.5Perceptron Mk1.5: Text, Images, Audio, Video · Beam 1.0 501B A23B: Text
  • Self-hostingBeam 1.0 501B A23BPublishes downloadable weights (Apache-2.0)
How the score is built
MeasureWeightPerceptron Mk1.5Beam 1.0 501B A23B
Price50%6162
Inputs & features30%8035
Context window20%261
Overall100%55/10054/100

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.

Perceptron Mk1.5 vs Beam 1.0 501B A23B specifications side by side
SpecificationPerceptron Mk1.5PerceptronBeam 1.0 501B A23BReflection AI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.154 (best)$0.30
Output$1.54$1.00 (best)
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.502$0.475 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 2 providersMedian of 7 providers
Limits
Context window36,864 tokens1,048,576 tokens (best)
Max output8,192 tokens131,072 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioYesNo
VideoYesNo
ReasoningYesYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryOpenApache-2.0
API model ID——
API providers212 (best)
ReleasedSep 25, 2026Oct 5, 2026
Knowledge cutoff—Jun 30, 2026
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.

  • Perceptron Mk1.5$4.63
  • Beam 1.0 501B A23B$5.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Perceptron Mk1.5 or Beam 1.0 501B A23B?

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 1 points (Perceptron Mk1.5 55/100, Beam 1.0 501B A23B 54/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Beam 1.0 501B A23B on price and Beam 1.0 501B A23B for long inputs. 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, Perceptron Mk1.5 or Beam 1.0 501B A23B?

Beam 1.0 501B A23B is cheaper at $0.30 input / $1.00 output per million tokens (median across 7 API providers). Perceptron Mk1.5 costs $0.154 input / $1.54 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.475 per million tokens for Beam 1.0 501B A23B versus $0.502 for Perceptron Mk1.5 (1.1× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Perceptron Mk1.5 has not been scored yet and Beam 1.0 501B A23B has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Perceptron Mk1.5 and Beam 1.0 501B A23B yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Beam 1.0 501B A23B has the largest context window at 1,048,576 tokens, against 36,864 for Perceptron Mk1.5. Maximum output per response: Perceptron Mk1.5 up to 8,192, Beam 1.0 501B A23B up to 131,072 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Perceptron Mk1.5 accepts text, images, audio and video; Beam 1.0 501B A23B accepts text. Perceptron Mk1.5 handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Beam 1.0 501B A23B publishes its weights (Apache-2.0) and can be self-hosted; Perceptron Mk1.5 is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Beam 1.0 501B A23B is the newest, released Oct 5, 2026. Perceptron Mk1.5 came out Sep 25, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Beam 1.0 501B A23B Jun 30, 2026.

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 Nov 2, 2026.