X

Top Raspberry Pi alternatives

Here is a selection of single board computers for homebrew projects and automation, with prices starting at only $5. (Updated June 2, 2017)
By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Contributing Writer
Huawei HiKey 960
1 of 19 Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

Huawei HiKey 960

The Huawei HiKey 960 is essentially a PC running Android.

At a whopping $239 it's not cheap, but it certainly has the horsepower to handle whatever task you want to throw at it.

  • Kirin 960 SoC Quad Core ARM (4 x 2.3GHz ARM A73 cores, and 4 x 1.8GHz ARM A53 cores)
  • ARM Mali G71 MP8 GPU
  • 3GB LPDDR4 RAM
  • 32GB of UFS flash storage

More information.

ODROID-XU4
2 of 19 Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

ODROID-XU4

ODROID-XU4 is a new generation of computing device with more powerful, more energy-efficient hardware and a smaller form factor, and costing only $59.

Offering open source support, the board can run various flavors of Linux, including the latest Ubuntu 16.04 and Android 4.4 KitKat, 5.0 Lollipop and 7.1 Nougat.

  • Samsung Exynos 5422 Cortex-A15 2Ghz and Cortex-A7 Octa core CPUs
  • Mali-T628 MP6 (OpenGL ES 3.1/2.0/1.1 and OpenCL 1.2 Full profile)
  • 2 GB LPDDR3 RAM PoP stacked
  • eMMC5.0 HS400 Flash Storage
  • 2 x USB 3.0 Host, 1 x USB 2.0 Host
  • Gigabit Ethernet port
  • HDMI 1.4a for display
  • Size : 83 x 58 x 20 mm approx.(excluding cooler)
  • Linux Kernel 4.9 LTS

More information.

Cubieboard4 CC-A80 High-performance Mini PC Development Board
3 of 19 Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

Cubieboard4 CC-A80 High-performance Mini PC Development Board

Not only does the Cubieboard4 pack a punch, it can output 4K video, making it a great choice for those wanting to build a media center or a gaming platform.

At $160, this board doesn't come cheap, but it's a solid basis on which to build a project on.

  • Octa-core big.LITTLE Cortex-A15/7 processor
  • 64-core IMG PowerVR G6230 GPU
  • 2 GB RAM
  • 64 GB storage
  • 2x USB Host, USB 3.0/2.0 Dual-Role (host/device)
  • Ethernet MAC
  • 4x SPI, 7x TWI, 7x UART
  • 4x SD/MMC

More information.

Parallella
4 of 19 Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

Parallella

The Parallella computer is a high performance, credit card sized computer based on the Epiphany multi-core chips from Adapteva. Starting at $99, the Parallella can be used as a standalone computer, an embedded device or as a component in a scaled out parallel server cluster.

  • 16-core Epiphany RISC SOC
  • Zynq SOC (FPGA + ARM A9)
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • 1GB SDRAM
  • Micro-SD storage
  • Up to 48 GPIO pins
  • HDMI, USB (optional)

More information

BBC micro:bit
5 of 19 Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

BBC micro:bit

While the BBC micro:bit is primarily aimed at schools, its low price (about $16) and ease of use makes it a great tool for learning and prototyping on.

The micro:bit is powered by a 32-bit ARM Cortex processor and comes with a built-in accelerometer, magnetometer and Bluetooth.

A unique feature of the micro:bit is the integrated 5x5 LED matrix that offers 25 individually programmable red LEDs to use as a basic display or output.

PixiePro
6 of 19 Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

PixelPro

The PixelPro features a i.MX6Q Quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 running at 1.0 GHz, with 2D and 3D GPUs and an embedded 2GB 64-bit DDR3 RAM, which means that it is capable of running rich multimedia applications, embedded web servers, digital entertainment systems, industrial control systems, and high definition video.

At $129.95, the PixelPro is not cheap, but you get a lt of power for the cash.

  • Freescale i.MX6Q Soc Quad Core ARM Cortex-A9 up to 1GHz
  • 2GB of RAM
  • WiFi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • PCIe x1
  • USB 2.0

    More information

    Arduino INDUSTRIAL 101
    7 of 19 Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

    Arduino INDUSTRIAL 101

    A $40 Arduino that's idea for integration into a commercial or industrial product.

    • Atheros AR9331 processor
    • 64MB of RAM
    • 16MB of flash storage
    • USB 2.0

    More information

    C.H.I.P.
    8 of 19 Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

    C.H.I.P.

    At $9, C.H.I.P. is a perfect demonstration of how cheap computing has become. You get what would only a few years ago have been desktop power on a tiny board.

    • 1.0GHz CPU
    • 512MB of RAM
    • 4GB of storage
    • Built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

    More information

    2016-06-1615-12-17.jpg
    9 of 19 Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

    Intel Edison with Kit for Arduino

    At around $92, the Intel name doesn't come cheap, but this Arduino-compatible board is turning out to be a popular choice.

    • Dual-core, dual-threaded Intel Atom CPU with a 32-bit Intel Quark microcontroller
    • 1GB of RAM
    • 4GB of flash storage
    • Integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 LE
    • Support for Yocto Linux, Python, Node.js and Wolfram

      More information

      2016-06-1615-02-58.jpg
      10 of 19 Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

      NanoPC-T3

      The NanoPC-T3 is the bigger brother of the NanoPi 2 Fire, and features an octa-core processor which has enough power for commercial and industrial applications.

      • Samsung S5P6818 octa-core ARM Cortex-A53 up to 1.4GHz
      • 1-2GB of RAM
      • 8GB of flash storage
      • Gigabit Ethernet
      • USB 2.0

      More information

      2016-06-1614-56-08.jpg
      11 of 19 Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

      NanoPi 2 Fire

      A cheap, $23 quad-core powered board that's ideally suited for hobbyists.

      • Samsung S5P4418 quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 up to 1.4GHz
      • 1GB of RAM
      • Gigabit Ethernet
      • USB 2.0

      More information

      Raspberry Pi Zero W
      12 of 19 Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

      Raspberry Pi Zero W

      OK, OK, I know that technically the Zero W is a member of the Raspberry Pi family, but this one is too awesome to not list!

      Why?

      Because for only $10 it offers a very impressive feature set:

      • 1GHz, single-core CPU
      • 512MB RAM
      • Mini-HDMI port
      • Micro-USB On-The-Go port
      • Micro-USB power
      • HAT-compatible 40-pin header
      • Composite video and reset headers
      • CSI camera connector
      • 802.11n wireless LAN
      • Bluetooth 4
      2016-06-1614-45-17.jpg
      13 of 19 Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

      Banana Pi M3

      Banana Pi M3 is a super charged single board computer with an Octa-core processor and 2GB of RAM. It also features Gigabit Ethernet, 2 USB, SATA, WiFi, Bluetooth, and HDMI connection. It can run on a variety of operating systems including Android, Lubuntu, Ubuntu, Debian, and Raspbian.

      • Octa-core 1.8GHz CPU
      • 2 GB RAM
      • 8 GB eMMC flash storage
      • Wi-Fi and Bluetooth onboard

      More information

      cloudBit
      14 of 19 Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

      cloudBit

      The easiest way to create internet­-connected devices - no programming, soldering or wiring required. IFTTT support allows it to connect with any web service, like Facebook, Gmail and Twitter, or hardware like NEST and Philips HUE.

      All for just $59.95.

      • Freescale i.MX23 ARM926EJ-S processor
      • 64MB of RAM
      • 802.11b/g/n

      More information

      Omega 2
      15 of 19 Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

      Omega 2

      The Omega 2 from Onion Corporation comes with built-in Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n) and on-board flash storage - all for $5!

      The board runs a custom Linux distro that's based on OpenWrt but you can also choose to run FreeBSD.

      The modular nature of the Omega 2 means that you can easily add features such as Bluetooth or GPS to suit your needs.

      2017-02-2811-49-46.jpg
      16 of 19 Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

      MinnowBoard MAX

      The MinnowBoard MAX is an update of the popular MinnowBoard, and features a 64-bit Intel Atom E3800 processor, 2GB of RAM, and Intel HD Graphics.

      There's also a SATA port allowing the MinnowBoard MAX to be hooked up to a hard drive.

      At $139 it's not a cheap board, but it does offer a number of high-end features.

      BeagleBone Black
      17 of 19 Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

      BeagleBone Black

      BeagleBone Black is a low-cost, community-supported development platform for developers and hobbyists. This $55 board allows you to boot Linux in under 10 seconds and get started on development in less than 5 minutes.

      • AM335x 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8512MB DDR3 RAM
      • 4GB 8-bit eMMC on-board flash storage
      • 3D graphics accelerator
      • NEON floating-point accelerator
      • 2x PRU 32-bit microcontrollers

      More information

      2016-08-1917-20-38.jpg
      18 of 19 Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

      Udoo Quad

      A $135 quad-core board that's just as at home running Android as it is Linux.

      • Freescale i.MX 6 ARM Cortex-A9 quad core 1GHz CPU
      • Vivante GC 2000 + Vivante GC 355 + Vivante GC 320 GPU
      • Integrated accelerators for 2D, OpenGL ES2.0 3D and OpenVG
      • Atmel SAM3X8E ARM Cortex-M3 CPU (same as Arduino Due)
      • RAM DDR3 1GB
      • 76 fully available GPIO: 62 digital + 14 digital/analog
      • Arduino-compatible R3 1.0 pinout
      • HDMI and LVDS + Touch2 Micro USB (1 OTG type a+b)

      More information

      VoCore
      19 of 19 Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

      VoCore

      A coin-sized Linux computer that is totally open-source, and costs $20. This is a small, low-cost, totally open-source (both the hardware and software) computer that's ideal for projects such as IoT or building your own custom router.

      • 360MHz MIPS CPU
      • 32MB of RAM
      • 8MB of flash memory
      • Ready equipped with header pins for sound, USB 2.0, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi

      More information

      Related Galleries

      Holiday wallpaper for your phone: Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's, and winter scenes
      Holiday lights in Central Park background

      Related Galleries

      Holiday wallpaper for your phone: Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's, and winter scenes

      21 Photos
      Winter backgrounds for your next virtual meeting
      Wooden lodge in pine forest with heavy snow reflection on Lake O'hara at Yoho national park

      Related Galleries

      Winter backgrounds for your next virtual meeting

      21 Photos
      Holiday backgrounds for Zoom: Christmas cheer, New Year's Eve, Hanukkah and winter scenes
      3D Rendering Christmas interior

      Related Galleries

      Holiday backgrounds for Zoom: Christmas cheer, New Year's Eve, Hanukkah and winter scenes

      21 Photos
      Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6: Electric vehicle extravaganza
      img-8825

      Related Galleries

      Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6: Electric vehicle extravaganza

      26 Photos
      A weekend with Google's Chrome OS Flex
      img-9792-2

      Related Galleries

      A weekend with Google's Chrome OS Flex

      22 Photos
      Cybersecurity flaws, customer experiences, smartphone losses, and more: ZDNet's research roundup
      shutterstock-1024665187.jpg

      Related Galleries

      Cybersecurity flaws, customer experiences, smartphone losses, and more: ZDNet's research roundup

      8 Photos
      Inside a fake $20 '16TB external M.2 SSD'
      Full of promises!

      Related Galleries

      Inside a fake $20 '16TB external M.2 SSD'

      8 Photos