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Particle.AI vs Infron
Particle.AI sells cheap Flash models through Vercel AI Gateway. Infron is its own gateway across 400+ models.
By The Subconscious Team · Updated
Particle.AI vs Infron: key differences
Particle.AI serves a few Flash-class open models, like GLM 5.3 Flash at $0.10 in and $0.40 out with 1M context, through Vercel AI Gateway. Infron is a gateway: one OpenAI-compatible API in front of 400+ models from 100+ providers, at provider rates plus a 3% to 5% fee on credit top-ups, with fallbacks, region pinning and a 99.9% uptime SLA on dedicated throughput.
Particle is a host that lives inside someone else's gateway; Infron is a gateway itself. Teams wanting the cheapest Flash tokens may route to Particle via Vercel; teams wanting a broad catalog with region pinning fit Infron.
What Particle.AI and Infron do
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. Public detail about funding and founders is thin as of this writing.
Example models: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, GLM 5.3 Flash
Full Particle.AI profile
Infron
Infron is a US-based AI gateway and inference platform. One OpenAI-compatible API reaches 400+ models from 100+ providers, including DeepSeek, Qwen, Claude, Gemini and GPT through what Infron calls official partner routes, plus media and search models. Teams set provider preferences and fallbacks, see usage and billing in one place, and can bring their own provider keys at no fee. Lawrence Xu is CEO and co-founder Andrew Zheng is CTO.
Example models: DeepSeek, Qwen, Claude, Gemini, GPT
Full Infron profileShould you choose Particle.AI or Infron?
Particle.AI
Choose Particle.AI for
- Cheap Flash-class models with 1M context
- Access through Vercel AI Gateway
- No contract
Infron
Choose Infron for
- Closed and open models on one key and one bill
- Automatic failover across providers
- Region pinning across Asia, Europe and the US
Particle.AI vs Infron at a glance
| Attribute |  Particle.AI |  Infron |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Open weights | Closed and open, 400+ models |
| Flagship models | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, GLM 5.3 Flash | DeepSeek, Qwen, Claude, Gemini, GPT |
| Speed | ~157 tok/s on DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | Unknown |
| Price | $0.10 in, $0.40 out (GLM 5.3 Flash) | Provider rates; 3–5% top-up fee |
| Customization | Unknown | Custom deployments |
| Deployment | Via Vercel AI Gateway | Gateway API, dedicated, BYOK |
| Long context | 1M | Varies by model |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Particle.AI and Infron?
Particle.AI sells cheap Flash models through Vercel AI Gateway. Infron is its own gateway across 400+ models.
When should I choose Particle.AI over Infron?
Cheap Flash-class models with 1M context; Access through Vercel AI Gateway; No contract.
When should I choose Infron over Particle.AI?
Closed and open models on one key and one bill; Automatic failover across providers; Region pinning across Asia, Europe and the US.
Is Particle.AI or Infron cheaper?
Particle.AI: $0.10 in, $0.40 out (GLM 5.3 Flash). Infron: Provider rates; 3–5% top-up fee. The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.
Which has more context, Particle.AI or Infron?
Particle.AI: 1M. Infron: Varies by model.
Related comparisons
Running long-horizon agents?
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.