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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Perceptron Mk1 vs Mercury Edit 2

Perceptron Mk1 comes out ahead, 45 to 34 on our weighted score, though Mercury Edit 2 is 23% cheaper per token.

  1. Our pick

    Perceptron

    Perceptron Mk1

    Released May 12, 2026

    45/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.15 / $1.50
    • Context33K
  2. Inception

    Mercury Edit 2

    Released Mar 30, 2026

    34/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.25 / $0.75
    • Context32K
  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Perceptron Mk1 is our pick

Perceptron Mk1 is the better all-round choice, scoring 45/100 against Mercury Edit 2 (34). It leads on inputs & features. 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 · Perceptron Mk1 $0.487 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextPerceptron Mk1Perceptron Mk1 32,768 · Mercury Edit 2 32,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsPerceptron Mk1Perceptron Mk1: Text, Images, Video · Mercury Edit 2: Text
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightPerceptron Mk1Mercury Edit 2
Price50%6267
Inputs & features30%450
Context window20%00
Overall100%45/10034/100

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 vs Mercury Edit 2 specifications side by side
SpecificationPerceptron Mk1PerceptronMercury Edit 2Inception
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.15 (best)$0.25
Output$1.50$0.75 (best)
Cached input—$0.025
Blended (3:1)$0.487$0.375 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 3 providersOfficial Inception API
Limits
Context window32,768 tokens (best)32,000 tokens
Max output8,192 tokens8,192 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoYesNo
ReasoningYesNo
Tool callingNoNo
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model ID—mercury-edit-2
API providers3 (best)1
ReleasedMay 12, 2026Mar 30, 2026
Knowledge cutoff——
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$4.50
  • Mercury Edit 2$4.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Perceptron Mk1 or Mercury Edit 2?

Perceptron Mk1 is the better all-round choice, scoring 45/100 against Mercury Edit 2 (34). It leads on inputs & features. 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, Perceptron Mk1 or Mercury Edit 2?

Mercury Edit 2 is cheaper at $0.25 input / $0.75 output per million tokens (official Inception API price). Perceptron Mk1 costs $0.15 input / $1.50 output per million tokens (median across 3 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.375 per million tokens for Mercury Edit 2 versus $0.487 for Perceptron Mk1 (1.3× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Perceptron Mk1 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 Perceptron Mk1 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 Perceptron Mk1 and Mercury Edit 2 does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.

Which has the bigger context window?

Perceptron Mk1 has the largest context window at 32,768 tokens, against 32,000 for Mercury Edit 2. Maximum output per response: Perceptron Mk1 up to 8,192, Mercury Edit 2 up to 8,192 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Perceptron Mk1 accepts text, images and video; Mercury Edit 2 accepts text. Perceptron Mk1 handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

No. Perceptron Mk1 and Mercury Edit 2 are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

Perceptron Mk1 is the newest, released May 12, 2026. Mercury Edit 2 came out Mar 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.