Llama 3.1 405B vs StarCoder2 7B

Compare Llama 3.1 405B and StarCoder2 7B: pricing, performance, context window, latency, and best use cases. Side-by-side comparison on XALEN.

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

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Feature Llama 3.1 405B StarCoder2 7B
CategoryOpen SourceCode
Parameters405B7B
Context Window128K16K
Input Price$0.08/1M tokens$0.008/1M tokens
Output Price$0.14/1M tokens$0.015/1M tokens
Latency~600ms~60ms

Choose Llama 3.1 405B when:

  • ✓ Premium tasks
  • ✓ Research
  • ✓ Fine-tuning base
Key Strengths:

Largest open model, Highest open-source quality

Choose StarCoder2 7B when:

  • ✓ Code completion
  • ✓ Quick generation
  • ✓ Editor integration
Key Strengths:

Open weights, Many languages, Fast

Verdict: Llama 3.1 405B vs StarCoder2 7B

For cost efficiency, StarCoder2 7B wins at $0.008/1M input tokens. For speed, Llama 3.1 405B is faster at ~600ms. Llama 3.1 405B excels at Premium tasks while StarCoder2 7B 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

Llama 3.1 405B costs $0.08/1M input tokens and $0.14/1M output tokens. StarCoder2 7B costs $0.008 input and $0.015 output. StarCoder2 7B is 10.0x cheaper on input tokens. XALEN offers batch processing at 50% discount on both models.

Performance & Context

Llama 3.1 405B has a 128K context window with ~600ms latency. StarCoder2 7B offers 16K context at ~60ms. Llama 3.1 405B has the larger context window.

Best For

Llama 3.1 405B (Open Source) is optimized for: Premium tasks, Research, Fine-tuning base. StarCoder2 7B (Code) works best for: Code completion, Quick generation, Editor integration.

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 Llama 3.1 405B
response_a = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="llama-3-1-405b",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your question here"}]
)

# Use StarCoder2 7B
response_b = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="starcoder2-7b",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your question here"}]
)

Start Building with XALEN

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Get API Key Try in Playground

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, Llama 3.1 405B or StarCoder2 7B?

Llama 3.1 405B (Open Source, 405B) offers Largest open model. StarCoder2 7B (Code, 7B) offers Open weights. Choose Llama 3.1 405B for Premium tasks or StarCoder2 7B for Code completion.

How much does Llama 3.1 405B cost vs StarCoder2 7B?

Llama 3.1 405B: $0.08/1M input, $0.14/1M output. StarCoder2 7B: $0.008/1M input, $0.015/1M 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 Llama 3.1 405B and StarCoder2 7B 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.