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Nebius vs Particle.AI
An early startup selling cheap Flash-class models with 1M context through Vercel AI Gateway, against a full European AI cloud.
By The Subconscious Team · Updated
Nebius vs Particle.AI: key differences
Particle AI is very early. It sells through its own API and Vercel AI Gateway, serving a few cheap open models with 1M token context. Its own API lists Particle-1, its own V4.1 Flash tune, and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash at $0.25 in and $1 out, and GLM 5.3 Flash at $0.15 in and $0.50 out, all with cache reads at $0.03 per million. Nebius is an established AI cloud with 60+ open models from $0.06 per million input tokens, dedicated endpoints, uploaded fine-tunes and raw GPUs.
Particle fits a narrow slot well: a price-optimized or fallback route for Flash-class calls inside a gateway, tried with no new contract. It has a tiny catalog, little public track record, and some listings trail faster hosts on latency, like about 1.9 seconds to first token on Particle-1 via Vercel AI Gateway. Nebius is the choice for anything that needs contracts, EU or US placement, a 99.9% SLA, fine-tune hosting or training capacity.
What Nebius and Particle.AI do
Nebius
Nebius is an Amsterdam-headquartered AI cloud and the strongest European alternative to the US hyperscalers. It sells raw NVIDIA GPU compute, from H100s at $4.50 an hour on demand or from $0.79 on dynamic spot pricing, up to GB300 NVL72 racks, and it has begun adding Vera Rubin. On-demand GPU prices rose on October 1, 2026, and preemptible VMs moved to demand-set spot prices on October 8. Hyperscale buyers back it: a Microsoft capacity deal worth about $17.4B in September 2025, then a Meta agreement worth up to about $27B in March 2026.
Example models: DeepSeek V4 Pro, Kimi K3, MiniMax M3
Full Nebius profile
Particle.AI
Particle AI is an early San Francisco infrastructure startup with a mission to make intelligence as cheap and abundant as electricity. The team works on post-training, inference optimization and distributed systems, all aimed at pushing down cost per unit of intelligence. It is still hiring its founding team and works fully in person. Mixpanel founder Suhail Doshi started it, with backing from Y Combinator, 8VC, Caffeinated Capital and angels including Patrick Collison, Adam D'Angelo and Aaron Levie.
Example models: Particle-1, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, GLM 5.3 Flash
Full Particle.AI profileShould you choose Nebius or Particle.AI?
Nebius
Choose Nebius for
- Production workloads that need an SLA and a direct contract
- EU placement and dedicated endpoints for fine-tunes
- A wide catalog beyond Flash-class models
Particle.AI
Choose Particle.AI for
- Cheap high-volume DeepSeek and GLM Flash calls with 1M context
- A fallback route inside Vercel AI Gateway
- Trying a low-cost host with no new vendor contract
Nebius vs Particle.AI at a glance
| Attribute | Nebius |  Particle.AI |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Open weights, 60+ models | Open weights plus its own Particle-1 tune |
| Flagship models | DeepSeek V4 Pro, Kimi K3, MiniMax M3, GLM | Particle-1, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, GLM 5.3 Flash |
| Speed | Among top hosts on throughput | ~110 tok/s on Particle-1 (Vercel AI Gateway) |
| Price | From $0.06 per 1M input | $0.15 in, $0.50 out (GLM 5.3 Flash); $0.25 in, $1 out (Particle-1) |
| Customization | Serve uploaded fine-tunes | Unknown |
| Deployment | Token Factory, dedicated, raw GPUs | Serverless API, Vercel AI Gateway |
| Long context | Varies by model | 1M |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Nebius and Particle.AI?
An early startup selling cheap Flash-class models with 1M context through Vercel AI Gateway, against a full European AI cloud.
When should I choose Nebius over Particle.AI?
Production workloads that need an SLA and a direct contract; EU placement and dedicated endpoints for fine-tunes; A wide catalog beyond Flash-class models.
When should I choose Particle.AI over Nebius?
Cheap high-volume DeepSeek and GLM Flash calls with 1M context; A fallback route inside Vercel AI Gateway; Trying a low-cost host with no new vendor contract.
Is Nebius or Particle.AI cheaper?
Nebius: From $0.06 per 1M input. Particle.AI: $0.15 in, $0.50 out (GLM 5.3 Flash); $0.25 in, $1 out (Particle-1). The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.
Which has more context, Nebius or Particle.AI?
Nebius: Varies by model. Particle.AI: 1M.
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