Mercury 3 vs Hy3 preview
Mercury 3 costs 1.7x less per output token than Hy3 preview ($0.35 vs $0.60 per million). Updated October 23, 2026; no benchmark has tested both models yet.
- Coding
- 29.3
- Overall
- No data
- Output $/M
- $0.35
- Coding
- No data
- Overall
- No data
- Output $/M
- $0.60
Mercury 3 or Hy3 preview: which to pick
Only Mercury 3 has a coding score, 29.3 on the Vibe Coding Index; Hy3 preview has none, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Compare them on price, context and the boards below.
No benchmark has tested both yet. Mercury 3 has results on Terminal-Bench 4 (Vals AI), Vibe Code Bench (Vals AI) and Tax Agent Bench (Vals AI); Hy3 preview on LMArena WebDev, AA Coding Index and Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run). 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
Only Mercury 3 has a coding score, so no call is made.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
No call
Only Hy3 preview has a AA Intelligence Index result, 25.3.
Directional only
Agentic work
AA Agentic Index
No call
Only Hy3 preview has a AA Agentic Index result, 24.1.
Directional only
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only Mercury 3 has a Design Arena: websites result, 1226.
Directional only
General
Vals Index
No call
Only Mercury 3 has a Vals Index result, 43.7%.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Mercury 3
Mercury 3 takes 1M tokens against 262K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Mercury 3
Mercury 3 $0.0003, Hy3 preview $0.0005 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Mercury 3 29.3 from 2 benchmarks, Hy3 preview 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
- Mercury 3 $0.35 against Hy3 preview $0.60 per million output tokens, 1.7x apart.
- Context window
- Mercury 3 takes 1M tokens, Hy3 preview 262K.
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 Index9 boards measured
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Hy3 preview | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena WebDev | Not measured | 1357 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| AA Coding Index | Not measured | 58.8 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| Terminal-Bench 4 (Vals AI) | 3.0% | Not measured | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| Vibe Code Bench (Vals AI) | 60.9% | Not measured | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 34.1% | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena Text: coding | Not measured | 1421 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | Not measured | 1423 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena WebDev: React | Not measured | 1349 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena WebDev: HTML | Not measured | 1354 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 34 boards here | |||
IntelligenceDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board measured
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Hy3 preview | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | Not measured | 25.3 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index5 boards measured
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Hy3 preview | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic Index | Not measured | 24.1 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| Tax Agent Bench (Vals AI) | 18.2% | Not measured | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| Legal Research Bench (Vals AI) | 28.9% | Not measured | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| Harvey's Legal Agent Benchmark (Vals AI) | 5.0% | Not measured | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| τ²-Bench Telecom | Not measured | 92.7% | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 37 boards here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index5 boards measured
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Hy3 preview | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 86.7% | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 27.8% | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | Not measured | 1413 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena Text: expert | Not measured | 1423 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | Not measured | 1416 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 18 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards measured
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Hy3 preview | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: math | Not measured | 1424 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | Not measured | 1442 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 12 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards measured
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Hy3 preview | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: science | Not measured | 1416 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | Not measured | 1405 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | Not measured | 1431 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | Not measured | 1398 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 16 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index6 boards measured
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Hy3 preview | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | 1226 | Not measured | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| Design Arena: UI components | 1247 | Not measured | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | 1227 | Not measured | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| Design Arena: data viz | 1201 | Not measured | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | 1231 | Not measured | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| Design Arena: SVG | 1174 | Not measured | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 3 boards here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index16 boards measured
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Hy3 preview | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vals Index | 43.7% | Not measured | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| IFBench | Not measured | 63.1% | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | Not measured | 64.7% | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena Text | Not measured | 1401 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | Not measured | 1383 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | Not measured | 1340 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena Text: English | Not measured | 1410 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena Text: non-English | Not measured | 1390 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena Text: Chinese | Not measured | 1435 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena Text: French | Not measured | 1425 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena Text: Spanish | Not measured | 1399 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena Text: Russian | Not measured | 1398 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | Not measured | 1411 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | Not measured | 1402 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | Not measured | 1371 | Only Hy3 preview measured |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | Not measured | 1352 | Only Hy3 preview 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 | Inception Mercury 3 | Tencent Hy3 preview |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Inception | Tencent |
| Weights | No public weights listed | Open weights |
| Released | October 16, 2026 | April 22, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M | 262K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.10 | $0.18 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.35 | $0.60 |
| Coding index | 29.3 | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 2 | 1 |
| Cost per solved task | Not computable | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Mercury 3 better than Hy3 preview for coding?
Only Mercury 3 has a coding score, 29.3 on the Vibe Coding Index; Hy3 preview has none, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Compare them on price, context and the boards below.
Which is cheaper, Mercury 3 or Hy3 preview?
Mercury 3 costs $0.10 per million input tokens and $0.35 per million output tokens; Hy3 preview costs $0.18 and $0.60. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Mercury 3 or Hy3 preview?
Mercury 3, with 1M tokens against 262K.
Has any benchmark tested both Mercury 3 and Hy3 preview?
No benchmark has tested both yet. Mercury 3 has results on Terminal-Bench 4 (Vals AI), Vibe Code Bench (Vals AI) and Tax Agent Bench (Vals AI); Hy3 preview on LMArena WebDev, AA Coding Index and Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run). Compare them on price and context instead. Data as of October 23, 2026.