I’m sure you’ve been reading a lot about the Arduino, Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone and the PCDuino boards. But you might still be wondering which one is for you.
I’ll try to show you the difference between those boards, the specifications and by the end of this post I hope you find the right one for you.
What’s The Difference?
The Arduino, Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone and PCDuino may look quite similar for you, but they are in fact very different devices.
The Arduino is a microcontroller. A microcontroller is just one tiny part of a computer. The arduino can be programmed in C, but can’t run an operating system.
On the other hand, the Rasperry Pi and PCDuino are computers. Those devices can run an operating system alone.
So the questions is: “Which one is perfect for your projects?”
Arduino
The Arduino is simply perfect for electronics projects and prototyping. You can easy connect some LED’s, sensors, motors into the board directly. With their user friendly board it easy to do that. To program the Arduino you need their software (that can be download for free here). Basically with that software you can upload your source code directly into your Arduino through USB.
After you upload the Arduino code you can unplug the USB cable attach a battery to your Arduino Board and It will run your program forever. (Read 5 ways to Power Up your Arduino).
The heart of the Arduino is ATMega3280P microcontroller.
The most common board is the Arduino UNO. But you can choose a wide range of options. See here more options.
Specifications:
| Microcontroller | ATmega328 |
| Operating Voltage | 5V |
| Input Voltage (recommended) | 7-12V |
| Input Voltage (limits) | 6-20V |
| Digital I/O Pins | 14 (of which 6 provide PWM output) |
| Analog Input Pins | 6 |
| DC Current per I/O Pin | 40 mA |
| DC Current for 3.3V Pin | 50 mA |
| Flash Memory | 32 KB (ATmega328) of which 0.5 KB used by bootloader |
| SRAM | 2 KB (ATmega328) |
| EEPROM | 1 KB (ATmega328) |
| Clock Speed | 16 MHz |
| Price: | $20 |
Raspberry Pi
On the other hand The Raspberry Pi is a complete mini computer. It needs an operating system to work. All the Storage is provided from a SD card. You can connect this to your network with an Ethernet Cable.
Below I’ll show the specifications for the Model B.The brain of the Pi is a ARM1176JZF-S 700 MHz. It has graphics it has a HDMI output. You can plug in a keyboard and monitor, load up Linux, and the less technically savvy might have no clue how tiny the machine driving everything really is. The Pi is an incredibly powerful platform in a very small package it’s credit card sized and perfect for embedded systems, or projects requiring more interactivity and processing power.
Specifications:
| Chip | Broadcom BCM2835 SoC full HD multimedia applications processor |
| CPU | 700 MHz Low Power ARM1176JZ-F Applications Processor |
| GPU | Dual Core VideoCore IV® Multimedia Co-Processor |
| Memory | 512MB SDRAM |
| Ethernet | onboard 10/100 Ethernet RJ45 jack |
| USB 2.0 | Dual USB Connector |
| Video Output | HDMI (rev 1.3 & 1.4) Composite RCA (PAL and NTSC) |
| Audio Output | 3.5mm jack, HDMI |
| Onboard Storage | SD, MMC, SDIO card slot |
| Operating System | Linux |
| Dimensions | 8.6cm x 5.4cm x 1.7cm |
| Price: | $35 |
BeagleBone Black
It’s similar to a Raspberry Pi but It’s more powerful, Based on the TI Sitara AM335x, an application processor SoC containing an ARM Cortex-A8 core. You have more pins to control. They recently won “2013 Top Embedded Innovator award”.
The BeagleBoard community is perfect for developers and hobbyists.
They also sell other boards that you can see here.
Specifications:
| Chip | TI AM3359 |
| CPU | 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A8 |
| GPU | PowerVR SGX530 |
| Memory | 512 MB DDR3 |
| Pins | 2x 46 pin headers |
| USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 type A host port. Dedicated single mini-USB 2.0 client port (no additional 2-port hub) |
| Video Output | microHDMI |
| Audio Output | microHDMI |
| Onboard Storage | 2 GB 8-bit embedded MMC on-board flash versionmicroSD card 3.3 V Supported (No Card Supplied) |
| Operating System | Linux, Android, Cloud9 IDE on Node.js w/ BoneScript library, plus more |
| Dimensions | 86.40 × 53.3 mm (3.402 × 2.10 in) |
| Price: | $45 |
PCDuino = “PC + Arduino”
This board is similar to the Raspberry Pi, it’s becoming like the new choice of developers. It has all the features of the Raspberry Pi but it’s more powerful. Which ultimately makes it more expensive. It already comes with 2GB of flash memory. And you can add an SD card up to 32GB. Which is a really advantage over the Rpi.
They also sell other models, but this one is the most popular. Click here to see more models.
Specifications :
| CPU: | 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 |
| GPU: | OpenGL ES2.0, OpenVG 1.1 Mali 400 core |
| RAM: | 1GB |
| Onboard Storage: | 2GB Flash, SD card slot for up to 32GB |
| Video Output: | HDMI |
| OS: | Linux + Android |
| Extension Interface: | 2.54 mm Headers compatible with Arduino |
| Network interface: | RJ45 and USB WiFi Dongle |
| Price: | 59 $ |
Where to buy?
You can either buy directly from their websites, where they show their distributors.
- Arduino Uno Starter Kit
- Raspberry Pi Starter Kit
- BeagleBone Black
- PCDuino
That said, the Arduino is perfect for beginners. The other boards are significantly more complex for simple electronics projects.
For example, on the Arduino, blinking an LED is simple as connecting an LED and resistor to two Arduino pins, installing their IDE. then uploading a few lines of code. It’s done. On the boards are a bit more complicated. You need to install an Operating System (a Linux Distro or Android) make a few configurations and setup everything. Then install some libraries that will help you control the GPIO pins. After that, you need to complete your circuit, write your program and compile before running it.
Basically you can accomplish the same thing with the Pi or other boards, but with an Arduino is much easier. The Arduino also has a wide variety of shields that can make your job much easier. (Ethernet shield, wireless shield, motor shield, etc)
Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone or PCDuino?
I choose Raspberry Pi. It will do almost everything you need, is cheaper and more popular within the open source community. If you want something more powerful simply go with the BeagleBone or PCDuino. Any of these boards are a great choice!
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Leave a comment saying which one you prefer!
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I only use Arduino and a reason is that it is the only one that works with Apple iMAC. I don’t have or want a PC so I enjoy myself with my friend, Leonardo
you don’t need a PC.
All the board are like a mini computer than runs with it’s own OS.
My iMAC works perfectly well with the Raspberry Pi. There are even point and click Mac Apps to find and configure your Pi.
Yes, thank you for sharing Mike!
Thanks for the quick rundown on the boards. I was wondering what the difference was. I use the Arduino cause I’m just learning electronics and Arduino. I’m using Uno and Duemilanove. I will be learning the others once I feel I’m ready. Probably the Raspberry Pi next. Thanks again.
I’m glad you found useful!
I started using Rapberry Pi this week. It’s great I’ll be posting a few tutorials in just a few weeks with Rpi.
All the boards are great I wish I had time to try the others… (BeagleBone and PCDuino)
I would like to think the PCDuino uses the Arduino Mega in its board, but I suspect it only uses the Uno with fewer I/O ports. The Mega pinouts would be a dream machine. Any thoughts?
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment Jerry!
You’re totally right the PCDuino only has the Uno Pins.
If you want more pins go with the BeagleBone is a great board!
i still confuse which one i have to use between arduino and Raspberry Pi.
i gotta do expert system application and MySQL database in it, which one i should choose between them? please help
With an arduino you can’t create a database… or access one.
At least I’ve never heard about that.
With a Raspberry Pi (BeagleBone Black or PCDuino) you can.
You can easily great a webserver, host a website, create your own cloud.
So It might the best option for your project.
Hi Rui,
Really intresting article, I rewritten your post in italian on my blog.
I linked the source.
Hi Walter!
Again thanks for sharing 😉
All the best,
Rui Santos
Arduino is not only the Uno. There are new boards now, the Yun, for example, which is also like a mini-computer, running Linux OpenWRT.
It is less powerful than the other mini-computers but has Wifi embedded (no need for a Wifi dongle).
Hi Nicolas,
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Yeah I know all those boards.
I’ve mentioned in my post that the Arduino has many boards to choose from.
I just focused more on another options that are also popular.
The Arduino Uno was mentioned to show the contrast between Arduino and Raspberry Pi.
The Yun is also an awesome board definitely!
Thanks for sharing,
Rui
I believe you miss Cubieboard – http://cubieboard.org
I don’t have one but based on it’s spec I’m seriously considering to buy one to start playing with it!
Thanks for sharing Nuno that board.
It’s also a great option.
There are plenty of options right now that you can choose from !
Hi,
I am from Brazil and I liked a LOT your post !!
Just add some things, I know that microcontroller can’t run operation system, but it’s a computer, because it has all parts inside the chip to became a computer. Another point is about the price rasp. vs BeagleBone black, but if you compare qnt. of GIO that you have and if you want convert anolg./Digital … BeagleBone black is most voted, but I know that it depends on N thinks. So thanks 🙂
Hi Desiree!
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment!
I’m from Portugal 🙂
Yeah you’re right the BeagleBone is the best option when it comes to control Hardware and Sensors.
But the Raspberry Pi is a better option for a media Center with the XBMC distro for example.
(The Rpi has better graphics than the BeagleBone.)
So I agree with you that BeagleBone Black might be the best option (Price vs Quality! for some projects)
Each board has their advantages and disadvantages.
Obrigado pelo feedback,
Rui Santos
Excellent summary, other posts I’ve seen elsewhere suggest that the Pi may not be as accurate or capable of the same “repeatibility” on it’s analogs as the good old Arduino.
With the arduino products there are excellent clones available on ebay e.g. Leonardo Pro Micros for US$6 each which are usable as stripped down controllers when compared to UNO and have their own onboard USB, not like the earlier Pro Mini which requires an external USB/TTL converter which is the subject of many sync errors.
Thanks Ray for taking the time to leave a comment!
Yeah that’s true, the best way to read analog is still the Arduino.
The BeagleBone is also better than the Rpi for that.
Yeah to do simple projects, or even more advanced the Arduino is the way to go!
We can find awesome clones as you said for really cheap
What you said about all of the steps necessary to get started with the more advanced systems is not true of the pcDuino. That system comes preloaded with Linux and the libraries to control the pins are already included for several languages (Python and C++ at a minimum). If you want to flash an LED you just create a script or program in any language (BASH, python, C, you name it) to write a “1” to the pin and then write a “0” and just loop that. Since it’s Linux the pins are readable and writable just like any other file. The pcDuino also emulates an Arduino UNO and it has the Arduino IDE installed so you can write Arduino sketches on the pcDuino and run them right there and get the same result as you would on an UNO. On the newer versions the pins are lined up with the Arduino pins as well so it is directly compatible with Arduino shields. pcDuino allows you to do both Arduino/low level programming and linux system administration on one fairly cheap device. So for those trying to decide between Arduino and RaspberryPi, get a pcDuino and get the functionality of both.
You’re right Edward!
Thanks for taking the time to leave a really helpful comment for someone still figuring out which one they should choose.
Have a nice day.
Rui
Thanks for this comment,
It was really helpful as I’m a electronic newbie that want to do a pretty complex project, so I’m searching for something easy to work with and yet powerful.
Thanks !
I’m glad I could help Daniel,
Have a nice day,
Rui Santos
bref: Arduino boards are micro-controllers,
Rasp PI, Beagl, Pcduino: are mini computers (have processors) => OS
we all know the diff between micontrollers and microprocessors functionality and domain of use.
but I am waiting the board of Arduino Tre which combine both (microcontroller+ processor ARM 8) in one board, so you can use all arduinos’ shields with this board which will allow you to process all your data with the same board.
and thank you Rui Santos for this article and your preserving time to discuss the comments.
You’re welcome Jamal,
Yes the Arduino Tre is something that we’re all looking for.
Price is something that I’m concerned about the Arduino Tre, but we’ll see!
You have already the Yun that makes it: the same microcontroller as the Arduino Leonardo + a Linux processor with integrated Wifi, both integrated on this board.
yeah the Yun is a great choice.
Plus all their API’s interfaces makes it a really handy!
Personally I really like the UDOO quad core it has tons of I/O pins for my bigger projects and the speed to run them. sure it costs twice as much but personally for me the power is well worth it. currently I am reading the OBDII data from my cars computer, processing it then sending it out to six serial leds, while running six x27 stepper motors and a small driver information center display for my dash in my car. it works awesome!
I agree with you Allan,
UDOO is one of the highest performance platforms out there! Perfect for those heavy projects. (As the one you’re currently running)
But for smaller projects and if you’re looking for low cost solution – that still offers a ton a of pins. In my opinion the BeagleBone Black is still the best option (Price/performance)
A very useful guide… Thank you…… I am carrying out a project on home automation and trying to implement a door sensor, a camera module and light devices… i was keen on buying arduino board but after reading this post i am dilemma whether to buy arduino or rapberry pi or pcduino….. what hardware would you prefer i should go for…… waiting for you reply and thanks in advance
Hi Kishan,
Thanks for stopping by.
The arduino board can’t handle with a camera.
The best option for you is the Raspberry Pi or the BeagleBone.
Both those devices will do everything you’re looking for!
I liked the article, but ultimately the choice boils down to what you want to do…
I’m the CTO of a company that is developing a remote sensing platform. We don’t need the processing power that ARM buys you, and since our devices are powered by solar + battery, power consumption is a massive factor.
In our case the Arduino wins hands down…
We have designed our own Arduino compatible board, with a 3g modem on board as well as solar charging circuitry… The board will use an average of less than 5ma.
We do use the Pi for some of our prototyping. .. but when processor speed isn’t critical and cost and power consumption are, Arduino is the way to go
I completely agree.
For most projects the Arduino has everything you need!
I think each board has its strong points. I use arduino’s, beaglebone blacks, raspberry pi’s and pcduino’s in plenty of electronics projects. What I really like is their communities… The maker or diy movement and the open source community are what really brings the value to these devices… The online collaboration between people from all over the world is just awesome… technology can truly bring people together
You’re totally right!
It’s impressive the knowledge that everyone is willing to share for free so others can learn and build on top of it!
Have a nice day,
Rui
Hi rui,
If i need after produce in serie, what is the better to i factory vuy only the components and not the ready board?
What of then has the hardware layout and schemas free towe copy and change?
Please answer to my email
Hi Adriano,
What exactly do you want to build?
Good luck with your project.
Rui
hi…. i am a beginner…i have never used any of these micro controller…. i am doing a project… i which i will have a data base of a class…i will update their mark their attendence,quiz and assignment marks etc….i want to connect a keyboard , display(lcd) ,usb interface and eternal memory for storage of data….so plz help me that which micro controller i should use…..
I would go with a BeagleBone Black. The BeagleBone Black can easily store tables with a ton of data (you don’t need extra memory) and you can easily plug a keyboard, display… It also supports all the interfaces such as SPI, UART or I2C.
So with a BeagleBone Black you will have everything you need!
I hope this helps,
Rui
Hi RUI.
thanx for help…and how will i use GUI for attendence sheet..and i also want to modify that table. i.e. to add a new student or delete a student..also i want search a specific name (sorting). and after this i want to send that data to usb or internet…
so plz tell me…that BeagleBone Black will work for my requirements.
Please do a comparison between these boards and a banana pi if possible. I think as a single board pc, the banana pi is much better than these.
I’m surprised Arduino is considered for beginners. I’d have assumed the computer boards would be more for beginners as they can run things like python, JavaScript, browser, and other things that are far more approachable for beginners than Arduino.
no?
Linksprite, the manufacturer of pcDuino, is not offering pcDuino3 Nano for $39.99. It is essentially same as pcDuino3 but much cheaper.
I’m building a Humanoid robot, which Board I should use?
I’ve made my Prototype which is a self Balancing Robot using Arduino, thanks to you I added Ultrasonic sensor on it for ranging. Currently I don’t know Linux.
Great post, thanks for your sharing
You’re welcome!
Thanks for that explanation. Thinking wheeled robot using gps and sensors for object id I guess the beagleboard but I worry that pi has many more followers and code available
Yes. That’s true. The Raspberry Pi is more popular, and you’ll find more examples available.