GPT-6.1 Terra (Xhigh) vs Mercury 2.5
Which is better for the money: GPT-6.1 Terra (Xhigh) by OpenAI or Mercury 2.5 by Inception? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-10-27.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
GPT-6.1 Terra (Xhigh) scores 33.1 points higher (45.4 vs 12.3) but costs 1.9× as much to run the benchmark ($365 vs $189; both mid-range class). Pick GPT-6.1 Terra (Xhigh) when the extra intelligence is worth the premium, otherwise Mercury 2.5.
| Metric | GPT-6.1 Terra (Xhigh) | Mercury 2.5 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 45.4 | 12.3 | −72.9% Mercury 2.5 is 72.9% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $364.95 | $189.17 | −48.2% Mercury 2.5 is 48.2% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 18.82s | 4.13s | −78.1% Mercury 2.5 is 78.1% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $1.00 / $5.00 | $0.25 / $0.75 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text |
Mercury 2.5 vs GPT-6.1 Terra (Xhigh): 72.9% less intelligence, 48.2% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 78.1% faster end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- GPT-6.1 Terra (Xhigh) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Medium) scores 47.80 for $361.
- Mercury 2.5 is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Terra (Medium) scores 41.30 for $175.
GPT-6.1 Terra (Xhigh)Mercury 2.5Today's Pareto frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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