Particle
C/C++ integrated development environments (IDE)
Industrial IoT software
IoT development tools
IoT platforms
Integrated development environments (IDE)
Edge AI platforms software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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$299 per block per month
Free Trial unavailable
Free version
Small
Medium
Large
- Agriculture, fishing, and forestry
- Healthcare and life sciences
- Professional services (engineering, legal, consulting, etc.)
What is Particle
Particle is an IoT platform that provides device connectivity, device management, and cloud services for building and operating connected products. It targets engineering teams that develop embedded firmware and need secure provisioning, fleet monitoring, and over-the-air updates across devices. The product combines hardware modules and developer tooling (including a web IDE/CLI and firmware libraries) with a managed cloud and APIs for integrating IoT data into business applications.
End-to-end device lifecycle tools
Particle supports common IoT lifecycle needs such as device provisioning, authentication, fleet organization, and remote monitoring. It also provides over-the-air firmware updates to manage deployed devices without physical access. This reduces the amount of custom infrastructure teams must build compared with using a general-purpose IDE alone.
Integrated firmware development workflow
Particle offers a cloud-based IDE, local toolchain options, and a CLI for building and flashing firmware. It includes device OS support and libraries that abstract connectivity and cloud communication for supported hardware. This can shorten setup time for embedded teams compared with assembling separate compilers, SDKs, and cloud integration components.
APIs and cloud integrations
Particle exposes APIs and webhooks to connect device events and telemetry to external systems. This supports building operational dashboards and integrating IoT data into existing applications. The platform approach can be simpler than stitching together multiple services for messaging, device identity, and update distribution.
Hardware and ecosystem dependence
Many platform capabilities are optimized for Particle’s own modules and device OS. Using third-party hardware may require additional engineering effort or may not be supported to the same depth. This can limit flexibility for teams that need broad MCU/SoC coverage or highly customized board designs.
Less full-featured than desktop IDEs
Particle’s web IDE and cloud workflow focus on embedded/IoT tasks rather than the breadth of features found in mature desktop C/C++ IDEs. Advanced refactoring, deep static analysis, and complex multi-language project tooling may be more limited. Teams may still rely on separate desktop IDEs for large C/C++ codebases.
Platform lock-in and cost considerations
Relying on a managed IoT platform can create switching costs due to proprietary device management workflows, APIs, and update mechanisms. Ongoing usage-based fees and connectivity costs can be material at scale. Some organizations also require self-hosting or stricter data residency controls than a managed service provides.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 / month (forever) | Up to 100 devices; 100K Data Operations/month; 3 days location data retention; intended for prototyping, personal and educational projects; no payment required. |
| Basic | $299 / month per block | Blocks scale in increments of 100 devices + 720K Data Operations per block; billed by credit card; 90 days location data retention; suitable for simple IoT products with limited data automation. |
| Plus | $599 / month per block | Blocks scale in increments of 100 devices + 5M Data Operations per block; billed by credit card; 90 days location data retention; intended for heavier data automation, Edge ML, and multi-radio deployments. |
| Professional | Custom (contact sales) | Custom pricing; includes discounted rates on Basic/Plus packages; invoiced billing; optional premium support and connectivity options; 6+ months location data retention; additional enterprise services available. |
| Enterprise | Custom (contact sales) | Customized Data Operations packages and enterprise-grade features; dedicated support (Particle Watchdogs), certification and implementation services; negotiated pricing and inventory. |
Notes:
- A "block" is Particle's billable unit (100 devices + included Data Operations pool).
- Data Operations are consumed by cloud-device messages, logic runs, ledger syncs, and Location Fusion calls (see Particle pricing documentation for full definitions).
Seller details
Particle Industries, Inc.
San Francisco, CA, USA
2012
Private
https://www.particle.io/
https://x.com/particle
https://www.linkedin.com/company/particle-io/
