The popularity of the Raspberry Pi among the developers of small projects it has become established over the years. However, it is possible that when thinking of an idea of more power or with superior characteristics you need an alternative that is compatible with your needs.
The truth is that there are many companies that have been set up in the production of mini computers, seeking to satisfy the demand of consumers who require more compact or lower priced products. That is the reason why the market offers options for all tastes and levels of knowledge.
If you are looking for another brand of board unique and different from the Raspberry Pi, We are going to leave you several alternatives that compete in technical aspects, software compatibility and prices. Ideally, you should have them as a viable reference and you can make a wise decision when choosing a model to suit your needs.
List of the best Raspberry Pi alternatives to develop free hardware from scratch like an expert
The process to choose the best alternatives to Raspberry Pi is not that simple, because there are products with different approaches and characteristics. We will show you in this list the options that most closely compete in price, capacity and popularity, among other details.
We go with some featured options to consider:
CHIP
This 40 x 60 mm microcomputer managed to attract thousands of fans in its first launch, achieving an interesting collection. And as for the price, it is priced for a third of what a Raspberry Pi costs, being one of the most economical plates on the market.
If we refer to its technical characteristics, the processor is ARM Cortex R8 with a single core, with a capacity of 1 GHz. The RAM memory is 512 MB, half of what many Pi models have. On the other hand, when connecting a monitor either via VGA or HDMI, it is necessary to buy a separate adapter, because its outputs are analog.
But this makes up for it with other qualities, for example the pre-installed Debian distribution, wireless and Bluetooth interfaces, along with its 4 GB of flash memory.
Power can be achieved in two ways: on the one hand, with lithium batteries to use it remotely and also through the USB port. To enhance this condition, the manufacturer has released a Pocket CHIP that comes with an internal 5-hour battery life. This device is useful to fulfill functions of mini computer with Linux system, but also as a portable video game console.
NanoPi NEO3
This device, which barely reaches 4.8 x 4.8 centimeters It is developed by the FriendlyARM brand. Inside, covered by a white box, it includes a 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 quad-core CPU and a Mali-450MP2 GPU. At the moment there are two versions, one of 1GB and another of 2GB in terms of RAM memory, enhancing its speed. As for its storage, like most of its kind, you need a micro SD card that is not included.
Other of its characteristics are the following:
- Connectivity: Ethernet Gbps x1.
- Ports USB: two of 2.0 and one of 3.0.
- Micro SD card reader.
- Two pins for a 5V fan.
- GPIO: 2.54mm pitch 26-pin header.
- DDR4 RAM: 1GB / 2GB of 32-bit DDR4.
- LED: Power LED x 1.
Banana Pi M5
This single board card is the direct competition of the Raspberry Pi 4. Its power is similar, but it has other characteristics in which it takes some advantage. Its processor is Amlogic S905X3 Cortex-A55 up to 2.0 GHz and four cores combined with a 650Mhz Mali-G31 MP2 GPU graphics processor.
One of the novelties and attractions of this Banana Pi M5, the thing is brings a 16 GB flash storage chip in the form of eMMC soldered to your board, although there are already some for sale that reach up to 64 GB. However, it does not leave out external storage with a slot that is capable of supporting up to 2TB. Of course, This internal disk gives you greater speed when executing operations.
Other features of this board are the following:
- RAM: 4GB.
- Four USB 3.0 ports.
- 4K HDMI output with HDR.
- One Gigabit Ethernet port.
- Size: 92x60mm, weighs only 48g.
- OS: Android and GNU / Linux.
CubieBoard 2 A20
This small computer has among its benefits the playback of HD videos, SATA connector for hard drives, Micro SD memory slots and works with Android as well as various Linux distributions.
Between his technical characteristics have:
- Processor: AllWinnerTech SOC A20, ARM® Cortex ™ -A7 Dual-Core.
- RAM: 1GB.
- Feeding: 5V to 2A input or USB OTG input.
- Two Micro SD slots.
- SATA 2.0 connector of up to 2TB capacity.
- HDMI port.
- Ethernet port.
- Two USB 2.0 ports.
- One USB OTG port.
- Audio connectors.
- Infrared receiver.
- 96 pins for interface connection.
Rock64 Media Board
This mini computer comes from the hand of the firm Pine64 And it has a fairly compact configuration, hand in hand with a very attractive price. Unlike the Pi 3, which is its direct competition, the support is smaller because it belongs to a smaller community, lacking Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. They are weaknesses that can be resolved with other equipment. It has been announced as an open source team and that its components will be available to everyone.
Some of his outstanding features are:
- Processor: RK3328 Quad Core 1.5GHz 64-bit CPU.
- Memory RAM: 1GB.
- Ethernet: 10/100 / 1000Mbps.
- Two USB 2.0 ports.
- One USB 3.0 port.
- 40 GPIO pins.
- Micro SD slot.
- HDMI output: 2.0 up to 4K.
- Size: 3,346 x 2,205.
- 0.138 A / V connector.
- software: Linux, Debian or Android 7.1.
Odroid XU4
This plate, presented by the Hardkernel company, it has a lot of power in both its processor and RAM. One of the good points is that supports all kinds of operating systems and its processor is from the Samsung family, although it is open software at the end of the day. By default it incorporates a fan, which allows it to work in high temperatures with less risk and, although the price is not the cheapest, it is compensated by the benefits it includes.
Some of his Technical specifications are as follows:
- Processor: Samsung Exynos 5422 with 8 cores and 2 GHz.
- Graphics: Mail-T628 MP6.
- RAM: 2GB.
- Network Card: 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet
- HDMI output
- USB ports: 3 of 2.0
- Size: 82 x 58 x 22 mm
- Power input: 4.8Volt ~ 5.2Volt
- SATA HDD / SSD:
- Micro SD card slot: Yes
NVIDIA Jetson Nano
This board is designed for both learning and development. Its power provides cutting-edge tools that lead to creating slightly more complex configurations. Its power is via USB, with very low consumption. The software is easy to use and it can easily be installed on a Micro SD card.
Some outstanding features of this card are the following:
- Processor: 1.43GHz A57 Quad-core ARM
- GPU: 128-core Maxwell
- Memory: 4GB
- Video: 4K and Hd
- Connectivity: Gigabit Ethernet
- USB: 3.0 and 2.0
- Size: 100mm x 80mm x 29mm
Radxa Zero
This board is an alternative that enjoys great popularity such as the Pi Zero. But, its power is up to 70 percent higher than the Pi 4, in part because of its greater amount of memory that can be seen in its four variants and on the other in greater frequency in the clock.
Some of the technical aspects Relevant are the following:
- Processor: Quad-core 1.44 GHz / 1.84 GHz.
- RAM: From 512 MB to 4GB
- Graphics: Mali G31 MP GPU
- Storage: eMMC 5.1 drive.
- Micro HDMI port that supports 4K at 60 fps with HDR.
- USB ports: 2.0 and 3.0.
- Bluetooth 4.2.
- Memory: 64 bit dual.
- An aluminum heat sink.
- A Wifi antenna.
- Micro SD card slot.
Each of the alternatives has its similarities and differences. As for the price comparison, it can sometimes be higher than a Raspberry, compensated according to its creators, for power and performance.
It is recommended that you, as a developer or curious about this type of microcomputer, take into account the use that you are going to give them and the specific task that you want to assign. One card can perform better than another depending on the job you have. In the official pages of each brand you can get more details, especially regarding the technical characteristics of each particular model.
A bad choice in the end can affect your project. Analyze the power, performance, operating system and limitations that you could have using a certain board. When you draw your conclusions and designate the budget, you will be ready to start your new project.