GPT-6 Astra vs Mercury 3
GPT-6 Astra leads the LLM Stats Score 58.2 to 36.1. Mercury 3 is 123.1x cheaper per token.
OpenAI · Inception · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
GPT-6 Astra leads the overall LLM Stats Score 58.2 to 36.1, ranking #3 overall.
In the 1 individual benchmarks reported for both models, GPT-6 Astra wins 1; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Mercury 3 is roughly 123.1x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
GPT-6 Astra also accepts a larger context window (1,050,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose GPT-6 Astra
- overall performance matters — it scores 58.2 and ranks #3 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning and agents — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 1 of 1 exact shared results
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,050,000 token context window
Choose Mercury 3
- cost matters — it's about 123.1x cheaper per token
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Oct 2026
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Individual benchmarks
22 reported for GPT-6 Astra · 12 for Mercury 3
GPT-6 Astra outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Mercury 3 is better at 0 benchmarks.
GPT-6 Astra significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, GPT-6 Astra ($10.00/1M tokens) is 100.0x more expensive than Mercury 3 ($0.10/1M tokens).
For output processing, GPT-6 Astra ($50.00/1M tokens) is 142.9x more expensive than Mercury 3 ($0.35/1M tokens).
In conclusion, GPT-6 Astra is more expensive than Mercury 3.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
GPT-6 Astra accepts 1,050,000 input tokens compared to Mercury 3's 1,000,000 tokens. Mercury 3 can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while GPT-6 Astra is limited to 128,000 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
GPT-6 Astra supports multimodal inputs, whereas Mercury 3 does not.
GPT-6 Astra can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
GPT-6 Astra
Mercury 3
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
GPT-6 Astra was released on 2026-09-04, while Mercury 3 was released on 2026-10-19.
Mercury 3 is 2 months newer than GPT-6 Astra.
Sep 4, 2026
1 months ago
Oct 19, 2026
0 days ago
1mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
GPT-6 Astra has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2026-04-30, while Mercury 3's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm GPT-6 Astra's training data extends to 2026-04-30, but cannot make a direct comparison without Mercury 3's cutoff date.
Apr 2026
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Provider Availability
GPT-6 Astra is available from OpenAI. Mercury 3 is available from Inception.
GPT-6 Astra
Mercury 3
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against GPT-6 Astra and Mercury 3 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about GPT-6 Astra vs Mercury 3.