StarCoder2 15B vs OpenAI Moderation

Compare StarCoder2 15B and OpenAI Moderation: 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 StarCoder2 15B OpenAI Moderation
CategoryCodeSafety
Parameters15B~1B
Context Window16K32K
Input Price$0.02/1M tokensFree/1M tokens
Output Price$0.03/1M tokensN/A/1M tokens
Latency~150ms~50ms

Choose StarCoder2 15B when:

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

Strong coding, 600+ languages, Open weights

Choose OpenAI Moderation when:

  • ✓ Content moderation
  • ✓ Input filtering
  • ✓ Safety checks
Key Strengths:

Free, Fast, Reliable categories

Verdict: StarCoder2 15B vs OpenAI Moderation

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

Detailed Analysis

Pricing Comparison

StarCoder2 15B costs $0.02/1M input tokens and $0.03/1M output tokens. OpenAI Moderation costs Free input and N/A output. OpenAI Moderation is NaNx cheaper on input tokens. XALEN offers batch processing at 50% discount on both models.

Performance & Context

StarCoder2 15B has a 16K context window with ~150ms latency. OpenAI Moderation offers 32K context at ~50ms. OpenAI Moderation has the larger context window.

Best For

StarCoder2 15B (Code) is optimized for: Code completion, Code generation, Bug fixing. OpenAI Moderation (Safety) works best for: Content moderation, Input filtering, Safety checks.

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

# Use OpenAI Moderation
response_b = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="openai-moderation",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your question here"}]
)

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, StarCoder2 15B or OpenAI Moderation?

StarCoder2 15B (Code, 15B) offers Strong coding. OpenAI Moderation (Safety, ~1B) offers Free. Choose StarCoder2 15B for Code completion or OpenAI Moderation for Content moderation.

How much does StarCoder2 15B cost vs OpenAI Moderation?

StarCoder2 15B: $0.02/1M input, $0.03/1M output. OpenAI Moderation: Free/1M input, N/A/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 StarCoder2 15B and OpenAI Moderation 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.