Inception API pricing
As of October 21, 2026, the Inception API prices run from $0.15 to $0.75 per million output tokens across 3 models, as listed on OpenRouter. Mercury 2.5 is the cheapest paid model at $0.04 input and $0.15 output per million tokens, and Mercury 2 the most expensive at $0.25 input and $0.75 output.
Mercury 2 ranks first among Inception models in our Vibe Coding Index, at 0.0 on 1 benchmark. 1 of 3 Inception models have any benchmark score. No Inception model has a published run cost in the sources we read, so cost per solved task shows No run cost rather than an estimate.
| Model | Input $/Mtok | Output $/Mtok | Context | Evidence | Index | Cost per solved task |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury 3 | $0.10 | $0.35 | 1M | Not benchmarked | No run cost | |
| Mercury 2.5 | $0.04 | $0.15 | 260K | Not benchmarked | No run cost | |
| Mercury 2 | $0.25 | $0.75 | 128K | 0.0 | No run cost |
Price changes
No price change recorded since we started tracking on October 15, 2026. We keep a snapshot of every OpenRouter price each time the data refreshes, and a change appears here the day it happens.