Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 vs Mercury 2
Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Mercury 2 is 9.2x cheaper per token.
Google · Inception · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench), while Mercury 2 is better at 1 benchmark (AIME 2025). Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
On price, Mercury 2 is roughly 9.2x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 also accepts a larger context window (1,048,576 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current benchmark, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 3 shared benchmarks
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,048,576 token context window
Choose Mercury 2
- cost matters — it's about 9.2x cheaper per token
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Feb 2026
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench), while Mercury 2 is better at 1 benchmark (AIME 2025).
Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Playground indexes and blind preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 ($1.25/1M tokens) is 5.0x more expensive than Mercury 2 ($0.25/1M tokens).
For output processing, Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 ($10.00/1M tokens) is 13.3x more expensive than Mercury 2 ($0.75/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 is more expensive than Mercury 2.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 accepts 1,048,576 input tokens compared to Mercury 2's 128,000 tokens. Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 can generate longer responses up to 65,535 tokens, while Mercury 2 is limited to 8,192 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 supports multimodal inputs, whereas Mercury 2 does not.
Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05
Mercury 2
License
Usage and distribution terms
Both models are licensed under proprietary licenses.
Both models have usage restrictions defined by their respective organizations.
Proprietary
Closed source
Proprietary
Closed source
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 was released on 2025-06-05, while Mercury 2 was released on 2026-02-24.
Mercury 2 is 9 months newer than Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05.
Jun 5, 2025
1.2 years ago
Feb 24, 2026
6 months ago
8mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-01-31, while Mercury 2's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05's training data extends to 2025-01-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without Mercury 2's cutoff date.
Jan 2025
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Provider Availability
Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 is available from Google. Mercury 2 is available from Inception.
Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05
Mercury 2
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 and Mercury 2 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 06-05 vs Mercury 2.