Codestral vs StarCoder2 15B

Compare Codestral and StarCoder2 15B: pricing, performance, context window, latency, and best use cases. Side-by-side comparison on XALEN.

Updated 2026-05-21 · By Abhishek Raj · Our methodology

All Mistral models All BigCode models What is an LLM API? Python Quickstart What is inference?
Feature Codestral StarCoder2 15B
CategoryCodeCode
Parameters22B15B
Context Window256K16K
Input Price$0.03/1M tokens$0.02/1M tokens
Output Price$0.05/1M tokens$0.03/1M tokens
Latency~200ms~150ms

Choose Codestral when:

  • ✓ API integration code
  • ✓ SDK generation
  • ✓ Code review
Key Strengths:

256K context for code, Strong code generation, Good APIs

Choose StarCoder2 15B when:

  • ✓ Code completion
  • ✓ Code generation
  • ✓ Bug fixing
Key Strengths:

Strong coding, 600+ languages, Open weights

Verdict: Codestral vs StarCoder2 15B

For cost efficiency, StarCoder2 15B wins at $0.02/1M input tokens. For speed, StarCoder2 15B is faster at ~150ms. Codestral excels at API integration code while StarCoder2 15B is better for Code completion. Both are available on XALEN through a single API — try them in the Playground to see which fits your workload.

Detailed Analysis

Pricing Comparison

Codestral costs $0.03/1M input tokens and $0.05/1M output tokens. StarCoder2 15B costs $0.02 input and $0.03 output. StarCoder2 15B is 1.5x cheaper on input tokens. XALEN offers batch processing at 50% discount on both models.

Performance & Context

Codestral has a 256K context window with ~200ms latency. StarCoder2 15B offers 16K context at ~150ms. Codestral has the larger context window.

Best For

Codestral (Code) is optimized for: API integration code, SDK generation, Code review. StarCoder2 15B (Code) works best for: Code completion, Code generation, Bug fixing.

Try Both on XALEN

Both models are available through XALEN's OpenAI-compatible API. Switch between them by changing the model parameter:

from xalen import XALEN

client = XALEN(api_key="xln_test_YOUR_KEY")

# Use Codestral
response_a = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="codestral",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your question here"}]
)

# Use StarCoder2 15B
response_b = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="starcoder2-15b",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your question here"}]
)

Start Building with XALEN

200+ AI models. One API. Pay-as-you-go.

Get API Key Try in Playground

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, Codestral or StarCoder2 15B?

Codestral (Code, 22B) offers 256K context for code. StarCoder2 15B (Code, 15B) offers Strong coding. Choose Codestral for API integration code or StarCoder2 15B for Code completion.

How much does Codestral cost vs StarCoder2 15B?

Codestral: $0.03/1M input, $0.05/1M output. StarCoder2 15B: $0.02/1M input, $0.03/1M output. Both available on XALEN with batch processing at 50% discount.

Can I use both models on XALEN?

Yes. XALEN provides 200+ models through a single OpenAI-compatible API. Switch between Codestral and StarCoder2 15B by changing the model parameter. No code changes needed.

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Last updated: 2026-05-21. Pricing and specifications may change. Check pricing page for latest rates.