Command R (08-2024) vs Mercury 3
Mercury 3 costs 1.7x less per output token than Command R (08-2024) ($0.35 vs $0.60 per million). Updated October 21, 2026; no benchmark has tested both models yet.
- Coding
- No data
- Overall
- No data
- Output $/M
- $0.60
- Coding
- No data
- Overall
- No data
- Output $/M
- $0.35
Command R (08-2024) or Mercury 3: which to pick
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Compare them on price, context and the boards below.
No benchmark has tested both yet. Command R (08-2024) has results on LMArena Text: coding, LMArena Text: software and IT and LMArena Text: hard prompts; Mercury 3 on Design Arena: websites, Design Arena: UI components and Design Arena: game dev. Compare them on price and context instead.
Which one for your work
Each card is decided by one number both models carry. Where only one has it, the card says so and makes no call.
Coding
Vibe Coding Index, six public coding benchmarks
No call
Neither has a coding score yet.
One side not measured
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only Mercury 3 has a Design Arena: websites result, 1244.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Mercury 3
Mercury 3 takes 1M tokens against 128K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Mercury 3
Command R (08-2024) $0.0004, Mercury 3 $0.0003 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Command R (08-2024) not benchmarked, Mercury 3 not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- None yet: no category has been tested on both models.
- Widest single gap
- None yet: no benchmark has tested both models.
- Output price
- Command R (08-2024) $0.60 against Mercury 3 $0.35 per million output tokens, 1.7x apart.
- Context window
- Command R (08-2024) takes 128K tokens, Mercury 3 1M.
Benchmark by benchmark
Every board either model has a result on, a category to a fold; bars are each result on a 0 to 100 scale. Only one model is measured on each, so no row names a leader.
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index2 boards measured
| Benchmark | Command R (08-2024) | Mercury 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: coding | 1187 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | 1197 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 37 boards here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index3 boards measured
| Benchmark | Command R (08-2024) | Mercury 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | 1186 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| LMArena Text: expert | 1173 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | 1194 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 19 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards measured
| Benchmark | Command R (08-2024) | Mercury 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: math | 1188 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | 1198 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 11 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards measured
| Benchmark | Command R (08-2024) | Mercury 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: science | 1252 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | 1238 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | 1268 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | 1215 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 14 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index5 boards measured
| Benchmark | Command R (08-2024) | Mercury 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | Not measured | 1244 | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| Design Arena: UI components | Not measured | 1270 | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | Not measured | 1227 | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| Design Arena: data viz | Not measured | 1207 | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | Not measured | 1240 | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 4 boards here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index14 boards measured
| Benchmark | Command R (08-2024) | Mercury 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1229 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | 1197 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | 1234 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| LMArena Text: English | 1238 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| LMArena Text: non-English | 1216 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| LMArena Text: Chinese | 1227 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| LMArena Text: German | 1216 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| LMArena Text: Japanese | 1166 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| LMArena Text: Korean | 1162 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| LMArena Text: Russian | 1227 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | 1213 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | 1230 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | 1241 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | 1223 | Not measured | Only Command R (08-2024) measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 32 boards here | |||
What each workload costs
Three fixed token mixes at each model's listed price, so per-token rates become a bill.
Chat turn
1K input + 500 output tokens
Mercury 3 costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Mercury 3 costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Mercury 3 costs less
Listed OpenRouter rates, without cache or batch discounts. A workload that does not fit a model's context window would need splitting.
Specification differences
The leading value in a row is marked; a row with a missing value names no leader. Our two rows are marked in red.
| Specification | Cohere Command R (08-2024) | Inception Mercury 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Cohere | Inception |
| Weights | No public weights listed | No public weights listed |
| Released | August 30, 2024 | October 16, 2026 |
| Context window | 128K | 1M |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.15 | $0.10 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.60 | $0.35 |
| Coding index | Not benchmarked | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 0 | 0 |
| Cost per solved task | Not computable | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Command R (08-2024) better than Mercury 3 for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Compare them on price, context and the boards below.
Which is cheaper, Command R (08-2024) or Mercury 3?
Command R (08-2024) costs $0.15 per million input tokens and $0.60 per million output tokens; Mercury 3 costs $0.10 and $0.35. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Command R (08-2024) or Mercury 3?
Mercury 3, with 1M tokens against 128K.
Has any benchmark tested both Command R (08-2024) and Mercury 3?
No benchmark has tested both yet. Command R (08-2024) has results on LMArena Text: coding, LMArena Text: software and IT and LMArena Text: hard prompts; Mercury 3 on Design Arena: websites, Design Arena: UI components and Design Arena: game dev. Compare them on price and context instead. Data as of October 21, 2026.