Particle Detector vs RadBeacon
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Particle Detector
This utility app transforms your iOS device into a wireless scanner for iBeacon™ and Eddystone beacons. It displays detailed information like UUID, Major ID, signal strength, and battery life for discovered beacons. The app can log beacon data even when running in the background.
- Wireless Bluetooth Low Energy scanner
- Detects iBeacon™ and Eddystone beacons
- Displays Major ID, Minor ID, and Signal Strength
- Shows Eddystone beacon URL and battery life
- Supports UUID filters for quick discovery
- Background logging of beacon data
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Particle Detector turns your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad into wireless, Bluetooth Low Energy scanner that may be used to find iBeacon™ and Eddystone beacons. Once discovered by UUID, Particle Detector displays Major ID, Minor ID, Signal Strength, and timestamp for last moment of discovery. New UUID filters may be added for quick discovery. Eddystone beacons in the display will show signal strength, calibrated Tx power, broadcast URL, and battery life (if supported by the beacon). Designed exclusively for iOS7 or greater, this app allows your iOS device to discover other iOS devices acting as iBeacon™ or custom hardware devices that support iBeacon™, including those available for purchase on our website. NOTE: Particle Detector will continue to log iBeacon ranging information, even while backgrounded. Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. "iBeacon" is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
RadBeacon
Configure and manage proximity beacons that support Apple's iBeacon™ standard. Scan for nearby beacons, view and modify their settings, calibrate power, and reset to factory defaults. Secure your beacons with a PIN.
- Scan for nearby beacons
- View beacon settings
- Modify beacon settings
- Calibrate measured power
- Range beacon accuracy
- Update beacon PIN
- Reset to factory settings
- Lock beacon settings
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The RadBeacon™ app is the configuration utility for RadBeacon proximity beacons from Radius Networks that support Apple's iBeacon™ proximity services as well as other emerging proximity services. The RadBeacon app from Radius Networks requires an iOS iPhone, iPad or iPod touch running iOS 7.1 or higher and equipped with Bluetooth 4.0 capabilities. With the RadBeacon app you can scan for nearby configurable Radius Networks beacons. Once discovered, you can display each beacon's operating settings and make modifications to those settings. Scanning for RadBeacons ------------------------------ Scan for nearby configurable RadBeacons by swiping down on the RadBeacons table. Each beacon discovered is displayed with the following summary details - Beacon Name - Beacon Model - Firmware Version - Hardware ID - Battery Level Reviewing RadBeacon Settings ------------------------------------ Select any RadBeacon in the table to view it's detailed settings. The settings displayed include: _Summary_ - Beacon Name - Beacon Model - Firmware Version - Hardware ID - Battery Level _Modifiable Settings_ - Beacon Name - Beacon Type - Advertised Organizational Identifier [ UUID ] - Advertised Group Identifier [ Major ] - Advertised Unit Identifier [ Minor ] - Advertised Measured Power - Advertisement Rate - Transmit Power Updating RadBeacon Settings ----------------------------------- Change any of the modifiable settings. Press the Action Menu button and select Apply. Submit a valid PIN to update the settings for this beacon. Calibrating Measured Power --------------------------------- Press the Action Menu button and select Calibrate. Calibrate the measured power value of the beacon settings to ensure optimal proximity events and ranging. Update the measured power value with the results of your calibration activity and update your settings. Range Your Beacon ----------------------- Press the Action Menu button and select Range. Validate the accuracy of your beacon settings by quickly verifying the ranging behavior of your device in proximity to your configured beacon. Update RadBeacon PIN ---------------------------- Press the Action Menu button and select Update PIN. Submit a new and existing PIN to update the PIN for your beacon. Reset to Factory Settings ----------------------------- Press the Action Menu button and select Reset. Reset the device to the original factory settings. Submit a valid PIN to reset the settings for your beacon to factory defaults. Lock Settings ---------------- Press the Action Menu button and select Lock. Submit a valid PIN to prevent connections from remote Bluetooth 4.0 devices to the beacon configuration service. The Lock feature is a security precaution to limit the possibility of third party manipulation of your beacons once they have been installed and configured. In order to re-enter configurable mode for a RadBeacon USB, remove and restore power to the device. In order to re-enter configurable mode for a RadBeacon Tag, remove the front cover and press the configuration push button switch near the coin cell battery. In order to re-enter configurable mode for a RadBeacon X2, remove the front cover and switch the beacon power switch to OFF and back to ON. A beacon set in configurable mode will be configurable for up to 30 minutes or until you lock the device again. Boot To DFU --------------- Press the Action Menu button and select DFU. Reboot the beacon into Direct Firmware Update mode. Contact Radius Networks support for information on the procedure for firmware update or replacement. In order to re-enter normal operational model, simply remove and replace power to the device.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Particle Detector at 100% against RadBeacon's 57%. Particle Detector also leads on iOS requirement (7.0 vs 16.0). RadBeacon's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.0) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
RadBeacon holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Particle Detector's written reviews are positive against 57% of RadBeacon's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Particle Detector ships an update every 2 months, RadBeacon every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Particle Detector | RadBeacon |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 57.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 7.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | KS Technologies | Radius Networks |
Customer experience
Particle Detector
RadBeacon
In-app purchases
Particle Detector
No in-app purchases
RadBeacon
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Particle Detector free?
Is RadBeacon free?
Which has better reviews, Particle Detector or RadBeacon?
Do Particle Detector or RadBeacon have ads?
Which is updated more often, Particle Detector or RadBeacon?
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