Mercury 3 vs Step3-VL-10B
Mercury 3 leads the LLM Stats Score 36.1 to 25.2.
Inception · StepFun · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Mercury 3 leads the overall LLM Stats Score 36.1 to 25.2, ranking #98 overall.
In the 1 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Step3-VL-10B wins 1; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Mercury 3
- overall performance matters — it scores 36.1 and ranks #98 on LLM Stats
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Oct 2026
Choose Step3-VL-10B
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 1 of 1 exact shared results
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Individual benchmarks
12 reported for Mercury 3 · 6 for Step3-VL-10B
Mercury 3 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Step3-VL-10B is better at 1 benchmark (Multi-Challenge).
Step3-VL-10B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only Mercury 3 specifies input context (1,000,000 tokens). Only Mercury 3 specifies output context (131,072 tokens).
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Step3-VL-10B supports multimodal inputs, whereas Mercury 3 does not.
Step3-VL-10B can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Mercury 3
Step3-VL-10B
License
Usage and distribution terms
Mercury 3 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Step3-VL-10B uses Apache 2.0.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Mercury 3 was released on 2026-10-19, while Step3-VL-10B was released on 2026-01-15.
Mercury 3 is 9 months newer than Step3-VL-10B.
Oct 19, 2026
3 days ago
9mo newerJan 15, 2026
9 months ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Mercury 3 and Step3-VL-10B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Mercury 3 vs Step3-VL-10B.