AI Models

StarCoder 2

15B open code generation model

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★4.3ratingPricing · FreeRising
The FalcoScan Intel PanelStarCoder 2 · AI Models
Data updated 2 November 2026
Opportunity
High
Band
Saturation
Open
Band
Wrapper risk
Low
Band
Momentum
Rising
Market trend
Rating
4.3
of 5 · FalcoScan rating

AI Models AI has a narrow moat on average, from the moat scores of its rated products. What protects AI Models AI tools, and the widest moats

The Brief

What StarCoder 2 does

StarCoder 2 is a family of code-focused language models from the BigCode project, trained on code from The Stack v2. It is aimed at researchers and developers building coding applications. The series ranges from 3B to 15B parameters and uses a 16,384-token context window with a fill-in-the-middle training objective, and an instruct variant of the 15B model is listed. The models are licensed under the BigCode OpenRAIL-M v1 license, and the page does not state pricing.

How StarCoder 2 compares with its closest alternatives

All 5 closest alternatives have a free plan, as StarCoder 2 does. All 5 offer an API, as StarCoder 2 does. StarCoder 2 offers a command-line tool. Of the 4 alternatives with platforms on record, 3 offer a command-line tool. StarCoder 2 was founded in 2023; the alternatives on record were all founded in 2023. StarCoder 2 is based in New York, United States; none of the 3 alternatives with a known headquarters is in the United States. They are in France.

Market position · AI Models

How StarCoder 2 compares in AI Models

StarCoder 2 has high opportunity and sits in the middle third of 455 live AI Models tools on FalcoScan. Across AI Models, the average opportunity score is 74.6 and the average saturation score 30.5. FalcoScan rates StarCoder 2's own market position as open. 200 of the 455 operating AI Models tools have hot momentum, and FalcoScan has recorded 13 shutdowns in the category.

StarCoder 2 compared with its closest alternatives
ProductOpportunitySaturationPricingPricing fromFree planAPIPlatformsMomentum
StarCoder 2Founded 2023 · New York, United StatesHighOpenFree—YesYesAPI, CLIRising
Mixtral 8x22BFounded 2023 · Paris, FranceHighOpenFree—YesYesAPI, CLIStable
WizardCoderFounded 2023 · Remote-firstModerateContestedFree—YesYesAPI, CLIRising
WizardCoder PythonFounded 2023 · Remote-firstModerateOpenFree—YesYesAPI, CLIRising
Mistral CodestralFounded 2023 · Paris, FranceModerateOpenFreemium—YesYesAPIStable
Mistral Codestral 2Founded 2023 · Paris, FranceHighOpenFreemium—YesYesAPI, VS CodeDeclining

Exact opportunity and saturation scores for all 6 of these, and where each ranks in AI Models.

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What it ships with

Capabilities & who uses it

The capabilities StarCoder 2 exposes to builders and the verticals it currently serves.

AI Capabilities
Code Generation
Industry Verticals
Software
Tagged

StarCoder 2 shows up when builders search for these

600-languagesthe-stackcode
Similar tools · AI Models

Alternatives to StarCoder 2

Products still running that do the same job, from the ai models market and related ones, closest match first.

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Mixtral 8x22B

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★ 4.4Opportunity High
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WizardCoder

Fine-tuned coding LLM from Microsoft

★ 4.2Opportunity Moderate
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WizardCoder Python

Code-specialized open-source model

★ 4.2Opportunity Moderate
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Mistral Codestral

Mistral's dedicated code model

★ 4.5Opportunity Moderate
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Mistral Codestral 2

Updated code generation model by Mistral

★ 4.5Opportunity High
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Qwen API

Alibaba's frontier model family

★ 4.3Opportunity Moderate
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Featured in
Questions

StarCoder 2: common questions

Is StarCoder 2 free?

Yes. FalcoScan lists StarCoder 2 as free to use.

What are the best alternatives to StarCoder 2?

The closest alternatives to StarCoder 2 that are still running, matched on the AI capabilities, uses and audience they share, are Mixtral 8x22B, WizardCoder, WizardCoder Python, Mistral Codestral, and Mistral Codestral 2.

Is StarCoder 2 still running?

Yes. As of 2 November 2026, FalcoScan lists StarCoder 2 as operating at huggingface.co.

Where is StarCoder 2 based?

StarCoder 2 is headquartered in New York, United States.

Does StarCoder 2 have an API?

Yes. StarCoder 2 offers an API.

Who is StarCoder 2 for?

StarCoder 2 is built for developers and researchers.

How do I sign in to StarCoder 2?

Sign in on StarCoder 2's own website, huggingface.co. FalcoScan reviews StarCoder 2 but does not run its accounts, so logins, passwords and billing are handled by StarCoder 2 directly.

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