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Particle vs Dreambeans
Particle scores higher overall (8.7 vs 7.3), but the right pick depends on what you need.
Choose Particle if…
Keeping up with the news in a few minutes without missing other perspectives
8.7/10★★★★★Full review →Choose Dreambeans if…
Google users curious about a proactive, picture-led daily feed about their own life
7.3/10★★★★★Full review →Side by side
| Particle | Dreambeans | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 8.7/10 | 7.3/10 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 11 | #7 of 11 |
| Price | Freemium · from $2.99/month | Free |
| Free version | Personalised feed, multi-source summaries, audio and story Q&A | Free for US adults with a personal Google account |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, Desktop app | iOS, Android |
| Made by | Mina Labs, Inc. | Google Labs |
| Briefing quality | 8.5 | 6.5 |
| Ease of use | 8.5 | 8 |
| Features | 8.5 | 6 |
| Value for money | 9 | 9 |
| Platforms | 9.5 | 7.5 |
Particle: what the AI does
- Multi-source story summaries
- Summary styles such as 'Explain Like I'm 5' and 'The 5Ws'
- Political spectrum and 'Opposite Sides' views
- Ask questions about any story
- Text-to-speech listening
- Podcast Clips matched to stories
- Summaries draw on many sources, not one outlet
- Shows how coverage differs across the political spectrum
- Apple Editors' Choice with a 4.8 App Store rating
- Cheap upgrade at $2.99 a month
- A news digest only: it doesn't look at your inbox or calendar
- Android app is newer and less polished (4.3 on Google Play)
- Personalisation is by followed topics, not a deep profile of you
Dreambeans: what the AI does
- Daily personalised story set
- Uses Gmail, Calendar, Photos, YouTube and Search context
- Nano Banana illustrations, including people you know
- Feedback to tune future stories
- Free in the US
- Finite daily set instead of an endless feed
- Highly rated on both app stores
- You choose which Google apps to connect
- Experimental, and stories can be irrelevant or visuals inaccurate
- Needs broad access to your personal Google data
- US-only, mobile-only, and more lifestyle than news