Arduino vs Raspberry Pi

For making projects or to learn about circuits there is always a debate among the learners from which platform they should start either Arduino or Raspberry Pi. Both the platforms are good to start with building circuits and making projects but there are some differences that make both the platforms different from each other. For the ease of learners, we have given some major differences that will help the users to decide which platform to choose for their projects.

Arduino

The Arduino is a platform that provides a variety of boards equipped with ATMEL family microcontrollers and can control all the devices attached or interfaced with it. Moreover, to perform the tasks through the microcontroller we have to give instructions to the controller in C/C using any integrated development environment tool like Arduino IDE, PlatformIO or some other similar softwares.

Another assistance that Arduino gives to its users is that it provides different kits that are helpful for both beginners or professionals to make a wide variety of projects. These kits include all the necessary components that are required to make either beginner level projects or advance level projects. Also, these kits come with a guidebook that provides its user full fledged assistance and guide about potential errors that one can encounter while making projects.

There are a variety of boards that are provided by the Arduino platform that you can start your work with. We have given the list of microcontrollers Arduino boards and kits that you can use if you are thinking of making projects with Arduino and classified the list based on the difficulty level of projects that will make it easier for the users to choose.

Arduino boards for beginner level projects

• Arduino Uno
• Arduino Leonardo
• Arduino nano
• Arduino micro
• Arduino NANO EVERY
• MKR2UNO Adapter

Arduino kits for beginner level projects

• Arduino starter kit

Arduino boards for advanced level projects

• Arduino Mega 2560
• Arduino DUE
• Arduino MKR ZERO
• UNO Wi-Fi REV2

Arduino kits for advanced level projects

• Arduino engineering kit REV2
• Arduino Opla IOT kit
• Arduino CTC 101 Program kit

Raspberry Pi

If you are thinking of getting a small size computer, then Raspberry Pi is the best option for you as it is a small computer that can perform all the functions a mid-size computer can perform. However, it lacks built-in memory, so you have to either connect a USB or SD card to add this feature to the Raspberry Pi.

You just have to connect the peripherals like keyboard, display monitor, mouse and you can use this board as a regular computer. The Raspberry Pi has its own official operating system that is Debian based apart from that it supports various other Linux based operating systems as well like Ubuntu, Kali Linux, and Arch Linux ARM. You can upload the operating system to the Raspberry Pi by using the Raspberry Pi imager software that you can download from the Raspberry Pi website.

Raspberry pi comes with the microprocessors of ARM family which is a very powerful processor and supports C, C , Java, Python and some other languages. A list of Raspberry Pi boards is given below:

• Raspberry pi 3 model A
• Raspberry pi 3 model B
• Raspberry pi Zero W
• Raspberry pi 4 model B
• Raspberry pi Zero 2W

General Comparison of Arduino and Raspberry Pi

For the assistance of the users who are thinking of which platform to choose for their projects we have given a general comparison of Arduino and Raspberry Pi based on some of the common features that play an important part in selecting the platform.

What should I pick for my project ? Arduino or Raspberry Pi

As for now from the above paragraphs you have got the idea what Arduino and raspberry pi are and how they are different from each other. So, now let’s talk about which type of projects Arduino and raspberry pi are suitable for.

If you are a beginner and want to start making projects then the Arduino platform is best for as it is less costly and much easier to use. On the other hand if you are a professional and want to make high end projects and have a high budget then raspberry pi must be a best fit for you.

Conclusion

The Arduino and the Raspberry Pi both are good platforms that can be used by the beginners to start making different projects. However, the main difference between both platforms is that the Arduino is just a microcontroller board whereas the Raspberry Pi is a pocket size computer that performs all the functions that a normal computer can do. We have first briefly discussed the Arduino and Raspberry Pi first and at the end we have given a general comparison based on some technical specifications that are necessary for deciding the platform.