Hi Dave!
My ultimate decision factor is usually the project but not knowing more about your project I’ll do my best to outline how I would decide.
TL;DR: Hologram and Particle offer a lot of similarities with Particle suited more for hobbyist whilst Hologram is suited for developers wanting more flexibility and scalability. Also Hologram cell service costs quite a bit less.
Hardware
- Both the Dash and Electron are comparable in both features and price.
- Both use a U-Blox modem which is the best-in-class for modem modules.
- Both are compatible with the same sensors and peripherals.
- One PCB board is black and the other is blue LOL
- Both allow for Over the Air updating of the user firmware
- Difference - Hologram will provide system firmware upon request, Particle locks it’s hardware to it’s cloud
- Difference - Dash is 2G & 3G, Electron is either 2G or 3G (you need to decide ahead of time or buy both versions)
Cell Service
- Both Hologram and Particle have global coverage
- Particle charges minimum $3/month per device (incl. 1MB whether used or not)
- Hologram charges minimum $0.40/month per device
- Particle charges $0.99 per MB
- Hologram charges $0.60 per MB
- You can only use a Particle SIM with Particle Hardware
- You can use Hologram SIMs with any hardware (even in an Electron!)
- Particle uses UDP (more efficient when frequently sending data to cloud)
- Hologram uses TCP (more efficient when sending in >50 minute intervals)
Cloud
- Hologram’s CSR (Cloud Service Router) and Particle’s Integration service are similar and rely on user provided webhook URLs.
- Particle allows only the electron cell board with their cloud
- Hologram allows any cell board with their cloud (important if you appreciate hardware flexibility)
- Particle provides their own web based IDE (good for hobbyist)
- Hologram Dash requires the Arduino desktop IDE
- Hologram allows any IDE when using other hardware
- Particle has a nicer data logger (I like it a lot), Hologram has one in the works
- Hologram stores your data for free for the life of your device
- Particle deletes data after 12-24 hours
- Hologram allows you to bypass our cloud if you desire
- Particle requires you to use their cloud