# Inception Mercury — AI Compare Ninja

> Diffusion language models (dLLM) via API: Mercury 3 generates many tokens in parallel, over 1,000 tokens per second, 1M-token context, OpenAI-compatible.

## Overview
- **Category:** Development & Code (Coding assistants & IDEs)
- **Status:** Active · checked
- **Paid from:** $0.20 / $0.70 / pay as you go (Developer)
- **Free access:** One-off free allowance
- **Website:** https://www.inceptionlabs.ai/
- **Canonical URL:** https://www.aicompare.ninja/en/tool/inception-mercury

## What it does
- Diffusion language models (dLLM) via API: Mercury 3 generates many tokens in parallel, over 1,000 tokens per second, 1M-token context, OpenAI-compatible.
- 100 million free tokens for new API keys; Mercury 3 at a launch price of $0.10 / $0.35 per 1M tokens (list $0.20 / $0.70).

## In brief
Diffusion language models (dLLM) via API: Mercury 3 generates many tokens in parallel, over 1,000 tokens per second, 1M-token context, OpenAI-compatible.

Inception (Inception AI, Inc.) offers Mercury models through an OpenAI-compatible API. Mercury 3 (since 2026-10-19) runs at 1,068 tokens per second per the vendor, with a 1M-token context. List prices per 1M tokens: Mercury 3 input $0.20, cached input $0.02, output $0.70; Mercury Voice $0.40 / $1.50; Mercury Decide $0.04 input. A 50% launch discount applies to these models (Mercury 3: $0.10 / $0.01 / $0.35). New API keys get 100 million free tokens once. Mercury 2 and 2.5 are no longer available to new users. Enterprise with volume pricing on request. Prices in US dollars as listed by the vendor, without currency conversion.


## Limits
Inception (Inception AI, Inc.) offers Mercury models through an OpenAI-compatible API. Mercury 3 (since 2026-10-19) runs at 1,068 tokens per second per the vendor, with a 1M-token context. List prices per 1M tokens: Mercury 3 input $0.20, cached input $0.02, output $0.70; Mercury Voice $0.40 / $1.50; Mercury Decide $0.04 input. A 50% launch discount applies to these models (Mercury 3: $0.10 / $0.01 / $0.35). New API keys get 100 million free tokens once. Mercury 2 and 2.5 are no longer available to new users. Enterprise with volume pricing on request. Prices in US dollars as listed by the vendor, without currency conversion.

## Pricing tiers
| Tier | Price | Period | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Free | free | one-time starter credit | 100 million free tokens per new API key, access to all models. |
| Developer | $0.20 / $0.70 | pay as you go | Mercury 3 per 1M tokens: input $0.20, cached input $0.02, output $0.70; launch price at 50% off: $0.10 / $0.01 / $0.35. Mercury Voice $0.40 / $1.50 (launch price $0.20 / $0.75). |
| Enterprise | contact sales | on request | Custom rate limits, SLA, security and privacy, volume pricing. |

## Sources
All details regarding plans, limits, and features are based on official vendor documentation and the primary sources verified below.

- https://www.inceptionlabs.ai/
- https://www.inceptionlabs.ai/models
- https://www.inceptionlabs.ai/blog/introducing-mercury-3
- https://www.inceptionlabs.ai/docs/terms-of-use

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*Source: AI Compare Ninja (2026) - https://www.aicompare.ninja/en/tool/inception-mercury*