Comparison

Beat the Microbead vs Pinacle

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Beat the Microbead

Quickly check cosmetics and personal care products for plastic ingredients by scanning their ingredient lists. Receive a traffic light rating and discover certified microplastic-free brands to make informed, eco-friendly choices.

Highlights
  • Scan product ingredients for microplastics
  • Text recognition technology
  • Traffic light rating system (Red, Orange, Green)
  • Discover certified microplastic-free brands
  • Contribute to a database against microplastics
  • Barcode scanning
Features
Read full description

The Beat the Microbead app is the fastest way to learn if your cosmetics and personal care products contain plastic ingredients. This app uses state-of-the-art text recognition technology. Just scan the ingredients of your products and check them for microplastics. Not only that, but you can also get to know microplastic-free brands certified by us. How does it work? It’s straightforward: you can scan products with four easy steps: - Find the ingredients list on your product. - Position the full list within your camera frame. - Make sure the ingredients are clear to read. - Take a picture to scan! A traffic light rating system - RED: Products that contain microplastics. - ORANGE: Products that contain what we call “sceptical” microplastics. With this, we mean synthetic polymers for which there is not enough information available. - GREEN: Products that do not contain microplastics. Help us enrich our database! Every time you add a product to our database, you help us build a case against microplastics. With every product information, we can create evidence and convince authorities about the extensive use of plastic ingredients. A bit of extra effort on your side makes you a part of the fight against microplastics in cosmetics and care products. So, go ahead, scan the barcode of your product and help us get some more information! By adding the products to our database, you can also discover our certified microplastic-free brands. These brands have their entire range of products free of all known microplastic ingredients. Why is it important? Plastic in cosmetics is a global problem! Microplastics are hardly visible ingredients that pollute our planet & may pose health risks. These microplastics, hardly visible to the naked eye, flow straight from the bathroom drain into the sewer system. Microplastics are not biodegradable, and once they enter the (marine) environment, they are almost impossible to remove. Sea animals absorb or eat microplastics; these particles are passed along the marine food chain. Since humans are ultimately at the top of this food chain, it is likely that we also ingest microplastics. Using body washes or cosmetics that contain microplastics can put the ocean, ourselves, and our children at risk! With this app, you can get aware of this issue and make environmentally friendly choices. Who is behind this app? The collaborators behind this app include the following partners: Plastic Soup Foundation: NGO based in Amsterdam, initiators of the worldwide campaign “Beat the Microbead”. Their mission: No plastic in our water or our bodies! PINCH: a renowned mobile development agency from Amsterdam that is proud of their work for the Plastic Soup Foundation.

About

Pinacle

Features
Read full description

PINACLE is a digital solution that optimizes food donations by considering, assigning and effectively matching them with recipient dietary requirements through an advanced personalized approach towards more healthy diets. It provides personalised nutrition plans by using AI and decentralized identities to ensure privacy, efficiency, and trust.

Screenshots

Beat the Microbead4 screens
Pinacle4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Pinacle at none against Beat the Microbead's shown. Pinacle also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months). Beat the Microbead's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Beat the Microbead ships an update every 3 months, Pinacle every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Beat the Microbead versus Pinacle: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBeat the MicrobeadPinacle
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (25 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews32.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings25 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supported—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB240 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPlastic Soup FoundationKonnecta Systems

In-app purchases

None

Beat the Microbead

No in-app purchases

None

Pinacle

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Beat the Microbead free?
Beat the Microbead is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pinacle free?
Pinacle is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Beat the Microbead or Pinacle have ads?
Beat the Microbead shows ads; Pinacle does not.
Which is updated more often, Beat the Microbead or Pinacle?
Beat the Microbead ships an update every 3 months, and Pinacle every 3 weeks. Most recently, Beat the Microbead was updated on October 8, 2026 and Pinacle on September 22, 2026.

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