Mercury 3 vs Solar Mini 4
Solar Mini 4 costs 1.7x less per output token than Mercury 3 ($0.20 vs $0.35 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; 3 benchmarks have a result for both.
Mercury 3 or Solar Mini 4: which to pick
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Mercury 3 for a larger context window (1M against 524K tokens).
- Shared results
- 3
- Mercury 3 only
- 2
- Solar Mini 4 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 Solar Mini 4 has a AA Intelligence Index result, 24.1.
Directional only
Web design
Design Arena: websites
Mercury 3
Mercury 3 leads, 1242 against 1158.
Same board, both measured
Long documents
Listed context window
Mercury 3
Mercury 3 takes 1M tokens against 524K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Solar Mini 4
Mercury 3 $0.0003, Solar Mini 4 $0.0001 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Mercury 3 not benchmarked, Solar Mini 4 not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Web design, 12.1 points apart on average over 3 shared benchmarks.
- Widest single gap
- Design Arena: game dev: Mercury 3 1225 against Solar Mini 4 1106, 14.9 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Mercury 3 $0.35 against Solar Mini 4 $0.20 per million output tokens, 1.7x apart.
- Context window
- Mercury 3 takes 1M tokens, Solar Mini 4 524K.
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 | Solar Mini 4 | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Web design | 3 | 0 | ||
| All shared boards | 3 | 0 |
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index1 board, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| SciCode | Not measured | 47.6% | Only Solar Mini 4 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 38 boards here | |||
IntelligenceDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | Not measured | 24.1 | Only Solar Mini 4 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 41 boards here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 25.8% | Only Solar Mini 4 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 21 boards here | |||
MathNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Solar Mini 4 | 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 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 18 boards here | |||
Web designLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index30
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | 1242 | 1158 | Mercury 3 |
| Design Arena: UI components | 1255 | Not measured | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | 1225 | 1106 | Mercury 3 |
| Design Arena: data viz | 1192 | Not measured | Only Mercury 3 measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | 1237 | 1150 | Mercury 3 |
| Neither model has a result on the other 4 boards here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | Not measured | 83.3% | Only Solar Mini 4 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 45 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mercury 3 | Solar Mini 4 | 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
Solar Mini 4 costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Solar Mini 4 costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Solar Mini 4 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 | Upstage Solar Mini 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Inception | Upstage |
| Weights | No public weights listed | No public weights listed |
| Released | October 16, 2026 | September 23, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M | 524K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.10 | $0.05 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.35 | $0.20 |
| 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 Solar Mini 4 for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Mercury 3 for a larger context window (1M against 524K tokens).
Which is cheaper, Mercury 3 or Solar Mini 4?
Mercury 3 costs $0.10 per million input tokens and $0.35 per million output tokens; Solar Mini 4 costs $0.05 and $0.20. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Mercury 3 or Solar Mini 4?
Mercury 3, with 1M tokens against 524K.
How many benchmarks is the Mercury 3 vs Solar Mini 4 comparison based on?
3 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 22, 2026. Mercury 3's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and Solar Mini 4's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.