Yi Lightning vs StarCoder2 15B

Compare Yi Lightning 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 01.AI models All BigCode models What is an LLM API? Python Quickstart What is inference?
Feature Yi Lightning StarCoder2 15B
CategoryOpen SourceCode
Parameters200B MoE15B
Context Window128K16K
Input Price$0.04/1M tokens$0.02/1M tokens
Output Price$0.08/1M tokens$0.03/1M tokens
Latency~300ms~150ms

Choose Yi Lightning when:

  • ✓ High-volume APIs
  • ✓ Fast Q&A
  • ✓ Real-time chatbots
Key Strengths:

Fast inference, Good multilingual, Strong reasoning

Choose StarCoder2 15B when:

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

Strong coding, 600+ languages, Open weights

Verdict: Yi Lightning vs StarCoder2 15B

For cost efficiency, StarCoder2 15B wins at $0.02/1M input tokens. For speed, StarCoder2 15B is faster at ~150ms. Yi Lightning excels at High-volume APIs 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

Yi Lightning costs $0.04/1M input tokens and $0.08/1M output tokens. StarCoder2 15B costs $0.02 input and $0.03 output. StarCoder2 15B is 2.0x cheaper on input tokens. XALEN offers batch processing at 50% discount on both models.

Performance & Context

Yi Lightning has a 128K context window with ~300ms latency. StarCoder2 15B offers 16K context at ~150ms. Yi Lightning has the larger context window.

Best For

Yi Lightning (Open Source) is optimized for: High-volume APIs, Fast Q&A, Real-time chatbots. 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 Yi Lightning
response_a = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="yi-lightning",
    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

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Get API Key Try in Playground

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, Yi Lightning or StarCoder2 15B?

Yi Lightning (Open Source, 200B MoE) offers Fast inference. StarCoder2 15B (Code, 15B) offers Strong coding. Choose Yi Lightning for High-volume APIs or StarCoder2 15B for Code completion.

How much does Yi Lightning cost vs StarCoder2 15B?

Yi Lightning: $0.04/1M input, $0.08/1M 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 Yi Lightning 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.