Mercury Models by Inception Labs
Inception LabsProprietary
Inception Labs releases · 1 in the last 12 monthsChangelog →
2 models2026Up to 256K ctxFrom $0.200/1M input
Last refreshed 2026-09-23. Next refresh: weekly.
Details
ResearcherInception Labs
LicenseProprietary
Commercial useCommercial use: conditional
Models2
Released2026
Max context256K
Capabilities
Reasoning1 of 2 models
JSON / Tool use1 of 2 models
Structured OutputsAll models
Links
WebsiteAbout
Inception Labs' Mercury series of diffusion-based large language models (dLLMs). Mercury uses a fundamentally different architecture from autoregressive models, enabling faster generation speeds. Mercury 2 is a commercial-scale reasoning model optimized for code and analysis tasks.
Decision facts
- Best fit
- agenticcodingreasoning
- Capability starting point
- Mercury 2.5 Preview with 256K context and reasoning, JSON / Tool use, and structured outputs
- Lowest tracked input
- Mercury 2.5 Preview · $0.200/1M · OpenRouter
- Closest related family
- 360Zhinao
Current Variants
Use-when guidance is based on each model's tracked capabilities, context window, release date, and replacement status.
2 in view
Mercury 2Current
Use when the workload needs 128K context and structured outputs.
2026-02128K contextstructured outputs
Mercury 2.5 PreviewCurrent
Use when the workload needs agentic, 256K context, and reasoning.
Unknown releaseagentic256K contextreasoning
| Model | Use when | Released | Signals | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury 2 | Use when the workload needs 128K context and structured outputs. | 2026-02 | 128K contextstructured outputs | Current |
| Mercury 2.5 Preview | Use when the workload needs agentic, 256K context, and reasoning. | Unknown release | agentic256K contextreasoning | Current |
Release Timeline
2 release groups2026-02
1 current
Mercury 2
Current128K contextstructured outputs
Unknown release
1 current
Mercury 2.5 Preview
Currentagentic256K contextreasoning
Specifications(2 models)
| Model | Released | Context | Reasoning | JSON / Tool use | Structured Outputs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury 2 | 2026-02 | 128K | No | No | Yes |
| Mercury 2.5 Preview | — | 256K | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Available From(2 providers)
Pricing
| Model | Provider | Input / 1M | Output / 1M | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury 2.5 Preview | OpenRouter | $0.2 | $0.75 | Serverless |
| Mercury 2 | OpenRouter | $0.25 | $0.75 | Serverless |
| Mercury 2 | Vercel AI Gateway | $0.25 | $0.75 | Serverless |