Mercury 3 vs Beam 1.0 501B A23B
Mercury 3 costs 3.1x less per output token than Beam 1.0 501B A23B ($0.35 vs $1.10 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; 2 benchmarks have a result for both.
Mercury 3 or Beam 1.0 501B A23B: which to pick
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Mercury 3 for output tokens 3.1x cheaper ($0.35 vs $1.10 per million) and work measured by Design Arena: websites, where it leads.
- Shared results
- 2
- Mercury 3 only
- 3
- Beam 1.0 501B A23B only
- 26
- 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
Web design
Design Arena: websites
Beam 1.0 501B A23B
Beam 1.0 501B A23B leads, 1250 against 1242.
Same board, both measured
Long documents
Listed context window
Beam 1.0 501B A23B
Beam 1.0 501B A23B takes 1.05M tokens against 1M.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Mercury 3
Mercury 3 $0.0003, Beam 1.0 501B A23B $0.0009 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Mercury 3 not benchmarked, Beam 1.0 501B A23B not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Web design, 0.6 points apart on average over 2 shared benchmarks.
- Widest single gap
- Design Arena: websites: Mercury 3 1242 against Beam 1.0 501B A23B 1250, 1.0 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Mercury 3 $0.35 against Beam 1.0 501B A23B $1.10 per million output tokens, 3.1x apart.
- Context window
- Mercury 3 takes 1M tokens, Beam 1.0 501B A23B 1.05M.
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 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Web design | 1 | 1 | ||
| All shared boards | 1 | 1 |
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index5 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena WebDev | Not measured | 1437 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena Text: coding | Not measured | 1473 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | Not measured | 1461 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena WebDev: React | Not measured | 1443 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena WebDev: HTML | Not measured | 1436 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 34 boards here | |||
IntelligenceNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 2 boards here | |||
Agentic workNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 41 boards here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index3 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | Not measured | 1442 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena Text: expert | Not measured | 1447 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | Not measured | 1451 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 19 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: math | Not measured | 1459 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | Not measured | 1475 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 11 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: science | Not measured | 1430 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | Not measured | 1376 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | Not measured | 1433 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | Not measured | 1430 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 14 boards here | |||
Web designLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index11
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | 1242 | 1250 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
| Design Arena: UI components | 1255 | Not measured | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | 1225 | 1224 | 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 | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index12 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | Not measured | 1425 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | Not measured | 1430 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | Not measured | 1390 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena Text: English | Not measured | 1436 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena Text: non-English | Not measured | 1413 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena Text: Chinese | Not measured | 1424 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena Text: French | Not measured | 1461 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena Text: Russian | Not measured | 1412 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | Not measured | 1414 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | Not measured | 1429 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | Not measured | 1400 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | Not measured | 1399 | Only Beam 1.0 501B A23B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 34 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Beam 1.0 501B A23B | 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 | Reflection Beam 1.0 501B A23B |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Inception | Reflection |
| Weights | No public weights listed | Open weights |
| Released | October 16, 2026 | October 16, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M | 1.05M |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.10 | $0.35 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.35 | $1.10 |
| Coding index | Not benchmarked | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 0 | 1 |
| Cost per solved task | Not computable | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Mercury 3 better than Beam 1.0 501B A23B for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Mercury 3 for output tokens 3.1x cheaper ($0.35 vs $1.10 per million) and work measured by Design Arena: websites, where it leads.
Which is cheaper, Mercury 3 or Beam 1.0 501B A23B?
Mercury 3 costs $0.10 per million input tokens and $0.35 per million output tokens; Beam 1.0 501B A23B costs $0.35 and $1.10. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Mercury 3 or Beam 1.0 501B A23B?
Beam 1.0 501B A23B, with 1.05M tokens against 1M.
How many benchmarks is the Mercury 3 vs Beam 1.0 501B A23B comparison based on?
2 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 22, 2026. Mercury 3's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and Beam 1.0 501B A23B's on 1. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.