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Parasail vs Particle.AI
Particle.AI serves a few cheap Flash-class models with 1M context via Vercel AI Gateway. Parasail runs any Hugging Face model directly, with batch and contracts.
By The Subconscious Team · Updated
Parasail vs Particle.AI: key differences
Particle.AI is an early startup that launched its own API in October 2026 and also sells through Vercel AI Gateway. 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, each with 1M context and cache reads at $0.03 per million. There is no contract to sign, which makes it easy to add as a fallback route. Parasail is a full platform. It runs any Hugging Face model, private repos included, and sells serverless, elastic, dedicated and batch tiers under commitments and ZDR agreements.
Scale and flexibility favor Parasail for primary use. Particle has a tiny catalog, little public track record and about 1.9 seconds to first token on Particle-1 via Vercel AI Gateway. Parasail designs real-time traffic around a 600ms p99 budget, though its consistency depends on aggregated hardware. For bulk offline work, Parasail's batch at half price on small models is hard to beat. For quick, cheap Flash calls inside an existing Vercel gateway setup, Particle is the lighter option.
What Parasail and Particle.AI do
Parasail
Parasail calls itself the inference cloud for AI-native startups. It aggregates GPUs across about 40 data centers in 15 countries, runs some clusters of its own, and since July 2026 has deployed d-Matrix Corsair accelerators alongside NVIDIA Hopper and Blackwell, all sold through one OpenAI compatible API. It raised a $32M Series A in April 2026, led by Touring Capital and Kindred Ventures. Customers choose serverless per-token endpoints across about 40 curated models, Elastic Endpoints that scale with traffic and bill tokens at 1.25x serverless rates on selected models, dedicated deployments with negotiated latency SLAs, or batch. Its commit-to-spend model lets one commitment draw down across any model or hardware.
Example models: Kimi K3, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, GLM-5.3, MiniMax M3
Full Parasail 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 Parasail or Particle.AI?
Parasail
Choose Parasail for
- Primary hosting for any Hugging Face model
- Half-price batch on small models
- Production terms with ZDR and SLAs
Particle.AI
Choose Particle.AI for
- Cheap Flash calls with 1M context
- Fallback routing in Vercel AI Gateway
- Trying new Flash-class models with no contract
Parasail vs Particle.AI at a glance
| Attribute | Parasail |  Particle.AI |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Any Hugging Face model | Open weights plus its own Particle-1 tune |
| Flagship models | Kimi K3, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, GLM-5.3, MiniMax M3 | Particle-1, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, GLM 5.3 Flash |
| Speed | 600ms p99 real-time budget | ~110 tok/s on Particle-1 (Vercel AI Gateway) |
| Price | Per-parameter rates; batch 50% off | $0.15 in, $0.50 out (GLM 5.3 Flash); $0.25 in, $1 out (Particle-1) |
| Customization | Private Hugging Face repos | Unknown |
| Deployment | Serverless, elastic, dedicated, batch | Serverless API, Vercel AI Gateway |
| Long context | Varies by model | 1M |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Parasail and Particle.AI?
Particle.AI serves a few cheap Flash-class models with 1M context via Vercel AI Gateway. Parasail runs any Hugging Face model directly, with batch and contracts.
When should I choose Parasail over Particle.AI?
Primary hosting for any Hugging Face model; Half-price batch on small models; Production terms with ZDR and SLAs.
When should I choose Particle.AI over Parasail?
Cheap Flash calls with 1M context; Fallback routing in Vercel AI Gateway; Trying new Flash-class models with no contract.
Is Parasail or Particle.AI cheaper?
Parasail: Per-parameter rates; batch 50% off. 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, Parasail or Particle.AI?
Parasail: Varies by model. Particle.AI: 1M.
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If your agents run past 200K tokens, compare both against Subconscious. Our inference stack treats a long-horizon trace as the primary workload, so speed, cost, and accuracy hold up deep into the trace.