Mercury 2.5 vs Sonar Reasoning Pro
Mercury 2.5 leads Sonar Reasoning Pro on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 12.3 to 11.8, and Mercury 2.5 costs 53.3x less per output token ($0.15 vs $8.00 per million). Updated October 21, 2026; 1 benchmarks have a result for both.
Mercury 2.5 or Sonar Reasoning Pro: which to pick
Only Mercury 2.5 has a coding score, 1.6 on the Vibe Coding Index; Sonar Reasoning Pro has none, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Compare them on price, context and the boards below.
- Shared results
- 1
- Mercury 2.5 only
- 21
- Sonar Reasoning Pro only
- 0
- Like-for-like categories
- 1 of 9
Only benchmarks that tested both models count toward a pick; a result only one model has is shown but not compared.
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
Only Mercury 2.5 has a coding score, so no call is made.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
Mercury 2.5
Mercury 2.5 leads, 12.3 against 11.8.
Same board, both measured
Long documents
Listed context window
Mercury 2.5
Mercury 2.5 takes 260K tokens against 128K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Mercury 2.5
Mercury 2.5 $0.0001, Sonar Reasoning Pro $0.0060 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Mercury 2.5 1.6 from 2 benchmarks, Sonar Reasoning Pro not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Intelligence, 0.5 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- AA Intelligence Index: Mercury 2.5 12.3 against Sonar Reasoning Pro 11.8, 0.5 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Mercury 2.5 $0.15 against Sonar Reasoning Pro $8.00 per million output tokens, 53.3x apart.
- Context window
- Mercury 2.5 takes 260K tokens, Sonar Reasoning Pro 128K.
Benchmark by benchmark
First the score: boards each model leads, per category, where both have a result. Then every board, a category to a fold; bars are each result on a 0 to 100 scale, so compare the two in a row, not one row with another.
| Category | Mercury 2.5 | Bars | Sonar Reasoning Pro | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | 1 | 0 | ||
| All shared boards | 1 | 0 |
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index9 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 2.5 | Sonar Reasoning Pro | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal-Bench 4 (Vals AI) | 0.0% | Not measured | Only Mercury 2.5 measured |
| Vibe Code Bench (Vals AI) | 3.7% | Not measured | Only Mercury 2.5 measured |
| Code migration (Vals AI) | 4.5% | Not measured | Only Mercury 2.5 measured |
| IOI (Vals AI) | 2.4% | Not measured | Only Mercury 2.5 measured |
| Terminal-Bench 2.1 (Vals AI) | 34.5% | Not measured | Only Mercury 2.5 measured |
| SkillsBench (Vals AI) | 18.1% | Not measured | Only Mercury 2.5 measured |
| CyberBench (Vals AI) | 45.5% | Not measured | Only Mercury 2.5 measured |
| SciCode | 38.5% | Not measured | Only Mercury 2.5 measured |
| ALE-Bench | 301.6 | Not measured | Only Mercury 2.5 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 29 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10
| Benchmark | Mercury 2.5 | Sonar Reasoning Pro | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 12.3 | 11.8 | Mercury 2.5 |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index5 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 2.5 | Sonar Reasoning Pro | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance Agent (Vals AI) | 18.9% | Not measured | Only Mercury 2.5 measured |
| Tax Agent Bench (Vals AI) | 2.5% | Not measured | Only Mercury 2.5 measured |
| Legal Research Bench (Vals AI) | 4.3% | Not measured | Only Mercury 2.5 measured |
| Excel Modeling Benchmark (Vals AI) | 8.8% | Not measured | Only Mercury 2.5 measured |
| Terminal-Bench-Science (Vals AI) | 0.0% | Not measured | Only Mercury 2.5 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 34 boards here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 2.5 | Sonar Reasoning Pro | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 11.8% | Not measured | Only Mercury 2.5 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 20 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 2.5 | Sonar Reasoning Pro | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| ProofBench | 3.0% | Not measured | Only Mercury 2.5 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 12 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 2.5 | Sonar Reasoning Pro | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LegalBench (Vals AI) | 83.1% | Not measured | Only Mercury 2.5 measured |
| MedCode (Vals AI) | 31.3% | Not measured | Only Mercury 2.5 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 15 boards here | |||
Web designNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 2.5 | Sonar Reasoning Pro | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 9 boards here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index3 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 2.5 | Sonar Reasoning Pro | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public Benefits Bench (Vals AI) | 45.3% | Not measured | Only Mercury 2.5 measured |
| MedScribe (Vals AI) | 55.1% | Not measured | Only Mercury 2.5 measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 71.7% | Not measured | Only Mercury 2.5 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 43 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 2.5 | Sonar Reasoning Pro | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 5 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 2.5 costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Mercury 2.5 costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Mercury 2.5 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 | Inception Mercury 2.5 | Perplexity Sonar Reasoning Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Inception | Perplexity |
| Weights | No public weights listed | No public weights listed |
| Released | September 8, 2026 | March 7, 2025 |
| Context window | 260K | 128K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.04 | $2.00 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.15 | $8.00 |
| Coding index | 1.6 | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 2 | 0 |
| Cost per solved task | Not computable | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Mercury 2.5 better than Sonar Reasoning Pro for coding?
Only Mercury 2.5 has a coding score, 1.6 on the Vibe Coding Index; Sonar Reasoning Pro has none, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Compare them on price, context and the boards below.
Which is cheaper, Mercury 2.5 or Sonar Reasoning Pro?
Mercury 2.5 costs $0.04 per million input tokens and $0.15 per million output tokens; Sonar Reasoning Pro costs $2.00 and $8.00. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Mercury 2.5 or Sonar Reasoning Pro?
Mercury 2.5, with 260K tokens against 128K.
How many benchmarks is the Mercury 2.5 vs Sonar Reasoning Pro comparison based on?
1 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 21, 2026. Mercury 2.5's coding index rests on 2 independent benchmarks and Sonar Reasoning Pro's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.