Side-by-side comparison of pricing, 12 benchmarks, and generation speed.
| Metric | Gemini 3 Flash Preview (Reasoning) | Mercury 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Input ($/M tokens) | $0.5 | $0.25 |
| Output ($/M tokens) | $3 | $0.75 |
Data from Artificial Analysis API — 12 benchmarks
Mercury 2 is cheaper overall. Its blended price (3:1 input/output ratio) is $0.38/M tokens vs $1.13/M for Gemini 3 Flash Preview (Reasoning).
Gemini 3 Flash Preview (Reasoning) wins 10 out of 12 benchmarks compared to 0 for Mercury 2. See the detailed benchmark chart above for per-category results.
Mercury 2 generates tokens faster at 1108 tok/s vs 208 tok/s. However, Mercury 2 has lower time-to-first-token (3.08s vs 5.86s).
Choose based on your priorities: Mercury 2 for lower cost, Gemini 3 Flash Preview (Reasoning) for stronger benchmark performance, and Mercury 2 for faster generation. For latency-sensitive apps, check the TTFT comparison above.