DeepSeek-V3.1 vs Mercury 2 Comparison

Comparing DeepSeek-V3.1 and Mercury 2 across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

3 benchmarks

DeepSeek-V3.1 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Mercury 2 is better at 2 benchmarks (AIME 2025, LiveCodeBench).

Mercury 2 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Mon Mar 16 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Mercury 2 costs less

For input processing, DeepSeek-V3.1 ($0.27/1M tokens) is 1.1x more expensive than Mercury 2 ($0.25/1M tokens).

For output processing, DeepSeek-V3.1 ($1.00/1M tokens) is 1.3x more expensive than Mercury 2 ($0.75/1M tokens).

In conclusion, DeepSeek-V3.1 is more expensive than Mercury 2.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers

Mon Mar 16 2026 • llm-stats.com

DeepSeek-V3.1

Input tokens$0.27

Output tokens$1.00

Best providerDeepinfra

Mercury 2

Input tokens$0.25

Output tokens$0.75

Best providerInception

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Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

DeepSeek-V3.1 accepts 163,840 input tokens compared to Mercury 2's 128,000 tokens. DeepSeek-V3.1 can generate longer responses up to 163,840 tokens, while Mercury 2 is limited to 8,192 tokens.

DeepSeek-V3.1

Input163,840 tokens

Output163,840 tokens

Mercury 2

Input128,000 tokens

Output8,192 tokens

Mon Mar 16 2026 • llm-stats.com

License

Usage and distribution terms

DeepSeek-V3.1 is licensed under MIT, while Mercury 2 uses a proprietary license.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

DeepSeek-V3.1

MIT

Open weights

Mercury 2

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

DeepSeek-V3.1 was released on 2025-01-10, while Mercury 2 was released on 2026-02-24.

Mercury 2 is 14 months newer than DeepSeek-V3.1.

DeepSeek-V3.1

Jan 10, 2025

1.2 years ago

Mercury 2

Feb 24, 2026

2 weeks ago

1.1yr newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Provider Availability

DeepSeek-V3.1 is available from DeepInfra, Novita. Mercury 2 is available from Inception. The availability of providers can affect quality of the model and reliability.