Mercury 3 vs Muse Glimmer 30B
Mercury 3 costs 3.9x less per output token than Muse Glimmer 30B ($0.35 vs $1.35 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; 1 benchmarks have a result for both.
Mercury 3 or Muse Glimmer 30B: which to pick
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Mercury 3 for output tokens 3.9x cheaper ($0.35 vs $1.35 per million) and a larger context window (1M against 131K tokens).
- Shared results
- 1
- Mercury 3 only
- 4
- Muse Glimmer 30B only
- 4
- 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
Neither has a coding score yet.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
No call
Only Muse Glimmer 30B has a AA Intelligence Index result, 17.5.
Directional only
Agentic work
AA Agentic Index
No call
Only Muse Glimmer 30B has a AA Agentic Index result, 8.5.
Directional only
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only Mercury 3 has a Design Arena: websites result, 1242.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Mercury 3
Mercury 3 takes 1M tokens against 131K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Mercury 3
Mercury 3 $0.0003, Muse Glimmer 30B $0.0010 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Mercury 3 not benchmarked, Muse Glimmer 30B not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Web design, 10.1 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- Design Arena: game dev: Mercury 3 1225 against Muse Glimmer 30B 1144, 10.1 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Mercury 3 $0.35 against Muse Glimmer 30B $1.35 per million output tokens, 3.9x apart.
- Context window
- Mercury 3 takes 1M tokens, Muse Glimmer 30B 131K.
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 3 | Bars | Muse Glimmer 30B | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Web design | 1 | 0 | ||
| All shared boards | 1 | 0 |
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Muse Glimmer 30B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Coding Index | Not measured | 49.0 | Only Muse Glimmer 30B measured |
| ALE-Bench | Not measured | 962.5 | Only Muse Glimmer 30B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 37 boards here | |||
IntelligenceDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Muse Glimmer 30B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | Not measured | 17.5 | Only Muse Glimmer 30B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Muse Glimmer 30B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic Index | Not measured | 8.5 | Only Muse Glimmer 30B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 40 boards here | |||
ReasoningNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Muse Glimmer 30B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 22 boards here | |||
MathNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Muse Glimmer 30B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 13 boards here | |||
KnowledgeNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Muse Glimmer 30B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 18 boards here | |||
Web designLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Muse Glimmer 30B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | 1242 | Not measured | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| Design Arena: UI components | 1255 | Not measured | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | 1225 | 1144 | Mercury 3 |
| Design Arena: data viz | 1192 | Not measured | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | 1237 | Not measured | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 4 boards here | |||
GeneralNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Muse Glimmer 30B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 46 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Muse Glimmer 30B | 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 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 | Inception Mercury 3 | Meta Muse Glimmer 30B |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Inception | Meta |
| Weights | No public weights listed | Open weights |
| Released | October 16, 2026 | August 9, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M | 131K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.10 | $0.325 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.35 | $1.35 |
| 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 Mercury 3 better than Muse Glimmer 30B for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Mercury 3 for output tokens 3.9x cheaper ($0.35 vs $1.35 per million) and a larger context window (1M against 131K tokens).
Which is cheaper, Mercury 3 or Muse Glimmer 30B?
Mercury 3 costs $0.10 per million input tokens and $0.35 per million output tokens; Muse Glimmer 30B costs $0.325 and $1.35. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Mercury 3 or Muse Glimmer 30B?
Mercury 3, with 1M tokens against 131K.
How many benchmarks is the Mercury 3 vs Muse Glimmer 30B comparison based on?
1 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 22, 2026. Mercury 3's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and Muse Glimmer 30B's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.