diff --git a/contracts/chat/ChatContextV1.sol b/contracts/chat/ChatContextV1.sol
index c6de8df..19d79f7 100644
--- a/contracts/chat/ChatContextV1.sol
+++ b/contracts/chat/ChatContextV1.sol
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ contract ChatContextV1 is Ownable {
   address public modTokenAddress; // NFT, SBT, or ERC-20 token which is used to determine if an address is a mod
   uint256 public modMinBalance; // minimum balance of mod token required to be considered a mod
   bool public paused = false; // whether the contract is paused or not
-  uint256 public price = 0.0001 ether; // price to post a message (can serve as anti-spam measure; can be set to 0 to disable)
+  uint256 public price = 0.00001 ether; // price to post a message (can serve as anti-spam measure; can be set to 0 to disable)
 
   Message[] public mainMessages; // array of main messages
   mapping(uint256 => Message[]) public replies; // mapping from main message index to array of replies
@@ -166,6 +166,10 @@ contract ChatContextV1 is Ownable {
     return replies[mainMsgIndex_].length;
   }
 
+  function isUserMod(address user_) external view returns (bool) {  
+    return IModToken(modTokenAddress).balanceOf(user_) >= modMinBalance || user_ == owner();
+  }
+
   // WRITE FUNCTIONS
 
   /**
diff --git a/contracts/chat/CommentsContextV1.sol b/contracts/chat/CommentsContextV1.sol
index 9041acc..fac32df 100644
--- a/contracts/chat/CommentsContextV1.sol
+++ b/contracts/chat/CommentsContextV1.sol
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ contract CommentsContextV1 is Ownable {
   address public modTokenAddress; // NFT, SBT, or ERC-20 token which is used to determine if an address is a mod
   uint256 public modMinBalance; // minimum balance of mod token required to be considered a mod
   bool public paused = false; // whether the contract is paused or not
-  uint256 public price = 0.0001 ether; // price of a comment
+  uint256 public price = 0.00001 ether; // price of a comment
 
   mapping(address => Comment[]) public comments; // mapping from subject address to array of comments
   mapping(address => bool) public suspended; // whether an address is suspended from posting or not
@@ -116,6 +116,10 @@ contract CommentsContextV1 is Ownable {
     return comments[subjectAddress_].length;
   }
 
+  function isUserMod(address user_) external view returns (bool) {  
+    return IModToken(modTokenAddress).balanceOf(user_) >= modMinBalance || user_ == owner();
+  }
+
   // WRITE FUNCTIONS
 
   /**
diff --git a/hardhat.config.js b/hardhat.config.js
index 6a24eeb..34c6e78 100644
--- a/hardhat.config.js
+++ b/hardhat.config.js
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ module.exports = {
       gasPrice: 1000000000, // 1 gwei
     },
     sepolia: { // Sepolia testnet
-      url: 'https://rpc2.sepolia.org',
+      url: 'https://rpc.sepolia.org',
       chainId: 11155111,
       accounts: [process.env.DEPLOYER_PRIVATE_KEY],
       gas: "auto", // gas limit
diff --git a/test/chat/chatContextV1.test.js b/test/chat/chatContextV1.test.js
index fca5ff2..9c9dabf 100644
--- a/test/chat/chatContextV1.test.js
+++ b/test/chat/chatContextV1.test.js
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ describe("ChatContextV1", function () {
   let chatContract;
   let modTokenContract;
   let owner, user1, user2, user3;
-  const price = ethers.utils.parseEther("0.0001");
+  const price = ethers.utils.parseEther("0.00001");
 
   beforeEach(async function () {
     [owner, user1, user2, user3] = await ethers.getSigners();
@@ -425,12 +425,16 @@ describe("ChatContextV1", function () {
   });
 
   it("allows owner to withdraw revenue", async function () {
+    // change price to 0.01
+    const newPrice = ethers.utils.parseEther("0.01");
+    await chatContract.connect(owner).setPrice(newPrice);
+
     // Create a message to generate revenue
-    await chatContract.connect(user2).createMessage("ipfs://message1", { value: price });
+    await chatContract.connect(user2).createMessage("ipfs://message1", { value: newPrice });
 
     // Check contract balance
     const contractBalance = await ethers.provider.getBalance(chatContract.address);
-    expect(contractBalance).to.equal(price);
+    expect(contractBalance).to.equal(newPrice);
 
     // Withdraw revenue
     const initialOwnerBalance = await ethers.provider.getBalance(owner.address);
@@ -442,4 +446,29 @@ describe("ChatContextV1", function () {
     expect(finalOwnerBalance).to.be.above(initialOwnerBalance);
   });
 
+  it("correctly identifies mods and non-mods", async function () {
+    // Check if owner is considered a mod
+    expect(await chatContract.isUserMod(owner.address)).to.be.true;
+
+    // Check if user1 (who has a mod token) is considered a mod
+    expect(await chatContract.isUserMod(user1.address)).to.be.true;
+
+    // Check if user2 (who doesn't have a mod token) is not considered a mod
+    expect(await chatContract.isUserMod(user2.address)).to.be.false;
+
+    // Mint a mod token to user2 and check again
+    await modTokenContract.mint(user2.address);
+    expect(await chatContract.isUserMod(user2.address)).to.be.true;
+
+    // Change the minimum balance required to be a mod
+    await chatContract.connect(owner).setModMinBalance(2);
+
+    // Check if user2 (who now has 1 token) is no longer considered a mod
+    expect(await chatContract.isUserMod(user2.address)).to.be.false;
+
+    // Mint another token to user2 and check again
+    await modTokenContract.mint(user2.address);
+    expect(await chatContract.isUserMod(user2.address)).to.be.true;
+  });
+
 });
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/chat/commentsContextV1.test.js b/test/chat/commentsContextV1.test.js
index 46d12d2..b916766 100644
--- a/test/chat/commentsContextV1.test.js
+++ b/test/chat/commentsContextV1.test.js
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ describe("CommentsContextV1", function () {
   let modTokenContract;
   let owner, user1, user2, user3;
   let subjectAddress;
-  const price = ethers.utils.parseEther("0.0001");
+  const price = ethers.utils.parseEther("0.00001");
 
   beforeEach(async function () {
     [owner, user1, user2, user3] = await ethers.getSigners();
@@ -406,4 +406,29 @@ describe("CommentsContextV1", function () {
     expect(await commentsContract.price()).to.equal(maxPrice);
   });
 
+  it("correctly identifies mods and non-mods", async function () {
+    // Check if owner is considered a mod
+    expect(await commentsContract.isUserMod(owner.address)).to.be.true;
+
+    // Check if user1 (who has a mod token) is considered a mod
+    expect(await commentsContract.isUserMod(user1.address)).to.be.true;
+
+    // Check if user2 (who doesn't have a mod token) is not considered a mod
+    expect(await commentsContract.isUserMod(user2.address)).to.be.false;
+
+    // Mint a mod token to user2 and check again
+    await modTokenContract.mint(user2.address);
+    expect(await commentsContract.isUserMod(user2.address)).to.be.true;
+
+    // Change the minimum balance required to be a mod
+    await commentsContract.connect(owner).setModMinBalance(2);
+
+    // Check if user2 (who now has 1 token) is no longer considered a mod
+    expect(await commentsContract.isUserMod(user2.address)).to.be.false;
+
+    // Mint another token to user2 and check again
+    await modTokenContract.mint(user2.address);
+    expect(await commentsContract.isUserMod(user2.address)).to.be.true;
+  });
+
 });
\ No newline at end of file