Raspberry Pis are single-board computers (SBCs), meaning the memory, interface as well as processor are soldered into one circuit board. The pocket-size computers are built to make learning programming languages fun.
Below is a curated list of 10 best alternatives to Raspberry Pi.
(The list is in alphabetical order)
1| ASUS Tinker Board S
About: Asus Tinker Board S is a single-board computer (SBC) with a powerful quad-core ARM-based processor, the Rockchip RK3288. Asus board has a quad-core 1.8GHz Rockchip processor, compared to the quad-core 1.2GHz Broadcom processor in the Raspberry Pi 3. It also has 2GB of memory, as opposed to Pi 3’s 1 GB. The row of available general-purpose input/output (GPIO) pins along the edge of the board is a notable feature of this SBC. These pins act as the physical interface between the Tinker Board S and outside world.
Tech Spec:
- Dual-CH LPDDR3 2GB memory size
- Debian 9 / Android 6 OS support
- Cortex-A17 Quad-core 1.8GHz processor
Know more here.
2| Banana Pi M3
About: Banana Pi, a dual-core, Android 4.2 product, is better than Raspberry Pi in various aspects. Banana Pi M3 is a single-board computer (SBC) with an Octa-core processor and 2GB RAM. There are several other versions of Banana Pi, such as Banana pi M+, Banana pi Pro, etc. While Raspberry Pi depends on MicroSD and USB for storage, Banana pi is fitted with a SATA port, which allows a faster option for connecting mass storage devices like hard drives.
Tech Spec:
- Octo-Core 1.8GHz CPU
- PowerVR SGX544MP1 GPU
- 8GB eMMC storage
- 2 GB LPDDR3 memory
Know more here.
3| Le Potato
About: Le Potato is a low-cost computer and one of the best alternatives to Raspberry Pi. It is the flagship hardware platform of Libre Computer with support for the latest Android 9/TV, upstream Linux, u-boot, Kodi, and more. Some of the features of this single-board computer are high-performance design, advanced low power technology, compatibility, extensibility, support for Android, etc.
Tech Spec:
- Form Factor Compatible with Raspberry Pi® 2/3 Model B/B+
- Quad 64-bit Low Power Cores
- Penta Core 3D GPU with OpenGL ES 2.0
- Up to 2GB DDR3
Know more here.
4| NVIDIA Jetson Nano Developer Kit
About: The NVIDIA Jetson Nano Developer Kit is a small AI computer that helps developers to run multiple neural networks in parallel for applications like image classification, object detection, segmentation, and speech processing. The computer is designed to power entry-level edge AI applications and devices. Jetson Nano’s high-performance GPU is better than Raspberry Pi.
Tech Spec:
- 128-core Maxwell GPU
- Quad-core ARM A57 @ 1.43 GHz CPU
- 4 GB 64-bit LPDDR4 25.6 GB/s memory
- 4K @ 30 | 4x 1080p @ 30 | 9x 720p @ 30 (H.264/H.265) video encoder
- 4K @ 60 | 2x 4K @ 30 | 8x 1080p @ 30 | 18x 720p @ 30 (H.264/H.265) video decoder
Know more here.
5| NanoPi NEO4
About: The NanoPi NEO4 is a single-board computer and an RK3399 SoC based ARM board. The SBC includes rich hardware resources and the PCB size is only 60 x 45 mm — smaller than Raspberry Pi. These features make it a good platform for rapid product prototyping and various other applications.
Tech Spec:
- Dual-Core Cortex-A72(up to 2.0GHz) + Quad-Core Cortex-A53(up to 1.5GHz) CPU
- Mali-T864 GPU，supports OpenGL ES1.1/2.0/3.0/3.1, OpenCL, DX11, and AFBC GPU
- 1GB DDR3-1866 RAM
- Rockchip RK3399 SoC
Know more here.
6| Odroid-XU4
About: ODROID-XU4 is a new generation computing device that includes energy-efficient hardware and a smaller form factor. XU4 boasts amazing data transfer speeds and allows users to truly experience an upgrade in computing, especially with faster booting, web browsing, networking and 3D games.
Tech Spec:
- Quad Core 2GHz A15
- Gigabit Ethernet port
- Samsung Exynos5422 Cortex™-A15 2Ghz and Cortex™-A7 Octa core CPUs40 pin GPIOs with 7 pin I2S
- 2Gbyte LPDDR3 RAM PoP stacked
Know more here.
7| Onion Omega2+
About: The Onion Omega2+ is a popular single-board computer (SBC). It is a Linux-based, WiFi development board designed to build connected hardware applications. Compared to its previous version, Omega 2, it has double the memory and storage and also includes a MicroSD card slot.
Tech Spec:
- MT7688 SoC
- 580 MHz MIPS CPU
- 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.11 b/g/n WiFi
- 128MB of DDR2 DRAM memory
Know more here.
8| PocketBeagle
About: PocketBeagle is a tiny open-source USB-key-fob computer with many advantages, such as low cost, slick design, simple usage, among others. The intuitive features of this low-cost SBC make it an ideal development board for beginners and professionals alike.
Tech Spec:
- 512MB DDR3 RAM integrated
- Integrated power management
- ARM Cortex-M3
- 2×32-bit 200-MHz programmable real-time units (PRUs)
Know more here.
9| RockPi 4 Model C
About: RockPi 4 Model Cis a Single Board Computer (SBC) that offers high-level performance. It features maker friendly expansion options, including a 40-pin GPIO interface for a range of inputs from buttons, switches, sensors, LEDs, and much more. It supports mainstream AI stack with GPU acceleration to boost complex machine learning algorithms.
Tech Spec:
- Mali-T860MP4 GPU
- 64bit Hexa core processor
- LPDDR4 3200Mb/s RAM
- high-performance eMMC modules and more
Know more here.
10| UDOO BOLT
About: UDOO BOLT is a portable, breakthrough supercomputer that goes up to 3.6 GHz. It includes AMD Ryzen Embedded V1000 SoC, a top-notch, multicore CPU with a mobile GPU on par with GTX 950M and an integrated Arduino-compatible platform. It can be used for high-end VR, cryptocurrency mining, client-side 3D rendering, AI, IoT, Edge Computing and more.
Tech Spec:
- CPU AMD Ryzen Embedded V1605B SoC up to 3.6 GHz (V8 version) and CPU AMD Ryzen Embedded V1202B SoC up to 3.2 GHz (V3 version)
- AMD Radeon Vega 8 Graphics – 8 GPU Compute Units (V8 version) and AMD Radeon Vega 3 Graphics – 3 GPU Compute Units (V3 version)
- 2x SO-DIMM Dual-channel 64-bit DDR4 2400 MT/s with ECC support up to 32GB
- Microchip ATmega32U4 8-bit AVR RISC-based microcontroller and more.
Know more here.
