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How to Choose the RightPlatform: Raspberry Pi orBeagleBone Black?By Michael Leonard February 25th, 2014 2:00 pm Category Uncategorized

This article was originally posted at Michael Leonard’s blog and has beenre-posted here.

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There are already many articles out there comparing Arduino, RaspberryPi, and BeagleBone Black; this is not one of those articles. I believe it isclear that Arduino is in a different league than the Raspberry Pi orBeagleBone Black, and serves an entirely different purpose.

What I was looking for and couldn’t find was a comprehensive article thatwould summarize all of the pros and cons of the Raspberry Pi and theBeagleBone Black, and what each platform is best suited for. When Icouldn’t find that article, I decided to write it myself.

I begin this comparison by giving a short introduction to each platform andthen we will take an in-depth look at the two platforms side-by-side todetermine which one is best for each category. The categories covered are:

Raw ComparisonUnboxingEase of SetupTotal CostConnectionsProcessor ShowdownGraphical ShowdownAudio ShowdownPower ConsumptionExpandabilityHardware AccessibilityCommunity

Let’s get started!

About the Raspberry PiArduino is the true trailblazer in the microcontroller area and the devicethat started the whole “maker” revolution; the Raspberry Pi on the otherhand is an amazing device that really started the microprocessor revolution.

Top of Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi was the first cheap (read: $35) single-board computereasy enough to use for the general public. The project to develop the Piwas born out of a realization that young students were not proficient in thetechnical details of computing that their older peers had learned out ofnecessity. Due to their less technical backgrounds these students we notable to perform at the level expected of them.

To attack this issue the Raspberry Pi creators developed the low-cost andrelatively high performance miniature computer that would allow a newgeneration of students to interact with their computers in a way that theyhad never thought was possible.

If you would like to learn more about the Raspberry Pi, I recommend you tothe official “About” page or the “FAQ” page. The story of the Raspberry Pi’screation is inspiring and is worth a read.

About the BeagleBone Black

The BeagleBone Black is a relative newcomer to the world of easy to usemicroprocessor breakouts, however, what it missed out on in time-to-market, the BeagleBone Black has more than made up for in capability.

The BeagleBone Black has evolved out of the long lineage of BeagleBoardproducts into the current version; a small form-factor, very powerful, andextremely expandable product that allows builders, makers, artists, andengineers the ability to create truly innovative projects.

The BeagleBoard family was originally designed to provide a relatively low-cost development platform for hobbyists to try out the powerful new system-on-a-chip (SOC) devices that were essentially capable of performing all theduties of a computer on a single chip.

The original BeagleBoard is currently priced at $125 while its successor, theBeagleBoard-xM, is priced at $145. So even though these systems werevery powerful, they were just not at the right price to compel people to buythem in mass quantities.

After the BeagleBoard-xM, the BeagleBoard team created the originalBeagleBone. It is essentially a smaller, stripped down version of theBeagleBoard.

While the BeagleBone was a good start, it still wasn’t as capable as it couldhave been, and at $89 it was still a bit too pricey for the hobbyist market.

In late 2012 the BeagleBoard team finally released the newest version of theBeagleBone, called the BeagleBone Black. I think one look at the picturewill tell you why they chose this name.

Top of BeagleBone Black

This version has maintained the same form-factor as the BeagleBone butadded quite a bit of useful functions and is generally an all around betterdevice; to top it all off, the BeagleBone Black is priced at a very affordable$45.

If you would like to learn a little bit more about the BeagleBone orBeagleBoard devices, you can visit the official community page or themanufacturer community page. This is the best way to learn the intricatedetails of these platforms, and will let you more fully evaluate if theBeagleBone Black is right for you.

So Raspberry Pi or BeagleBone Black?Now that we know a little bit about each device, let’s compare them side-by-side and see which one is best for what you want to do. I will do my best tocover all of the topics that are important and to be unbiased in myconclusions.

If you see something I missed or think I made a stupid call, let me know inthe comments! Just remember to be civil.

RAW COMPARISON

To start this comparison I have made a summary table where we can take alook at the raw specifications from each device. This is a good way to get aquick overview of each platform’s capabilities but does not always tell thewhole story.

For full disclosure, I am comparing the BeagleBone Black Rev. A5B to theRaspberry Pi Rev. B. The summary table below compares the two boards asthey are shipped, but the in depth comparisons below consider the entireecosystem supporting each board.

Comparing Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone Black

BeagleBone Black Raspberry Pi

Base Price 45 35

Processor 1GHz TI Sitara AM3359 ARMCortex A8

700 MHz ARM1176JZFS

RAM 512 MB DDR3L @ 400 MHz 512 MB SDRAM @ 400 MHz

Storage 2 GB on-board eMMC,MicroSD

SD

VideoConnections

1 Micro-HDMI 1 HDMI, 1 Composite

SupportedResolutions

1280×1024 (5:4), 1024×768(4:3), 1280×720 (16:9),1440×900 (16:10) all at 16 bit

Extensive from 640×350 up to1920×1200, this includes 1080p

Audio Stereo over HDMI Stereo over HDMI, Stereo from 3.5mm jack

OperatingSystems

Angstrom (Default), Ubuntu,Android, ArchLinux, Gentoo,Minix, RISC OS, others…

Raspbian (Recommended),Ubuntu, Android, ArchLinux,FreeBSD, Fedora, RISC OS,others…

Power Draw 210-460 mA @ 5V undervarying conditions

150-350 mA @ 5V under varyingconditions

GPIOCapability

65 Pins 8 Pins

Peripherals 1 USB Host, 1 Mini-USB Client,1 10/100 Mbps Ethernet

2 USB Hosts, 1 Micro-USB Power, 110/100 Mbps Ethernet, RPi cameraconnector

UNBOXING

These are hobbyist boards and aren’t exactly expected to adhere to thesame high standards as a fully commercialized product. With that in mind, Istill believe that the packaging and first opening of the boards constitutesan important part of the first impression a buyer will get.

Unboxing the BBB and RPi. Not really though, I had already unboxed them both andused them quite a bit…

When I bought my Raspberry Pi, it was packaged in a plain white cardboardbox with no markings or included accessories. I noticed that they have sincebegun shipping in nicely packaged boxes with professional lookingmarkings, so I won’t hold my experience against the Raspberry Pi.

The BeagleBone Black was given to me for free as a participant in the 2013TI Intern Design Competition. It was packaged in an equally professionalbox and included a mini-USB cable and a tiny introduction card.

Winner: Tie

EASE OF SETUP

Setting up the Raspberry Pi is quite frankly a bit laborious. Since the boarddoes not come with an included micro-USB cable to supply power, you mustobtain one on your own. Additionally, the Raspberry Pi does not come witha pre-installed operating system or on-board storage. You will need toobtain an SD card to boot the Raspberry Pi. Once you have an SD card youwill need to download and install the operating system on the card. Afteryou have taken care of these prerequisites, the Raspberry Pi should beready for use.

Setting up the BeagleBone Black on the other hand is quite possibly assimple as it gets. Using the included Mini-USB cable, you can attach theBeagleBone Black to your computer to supply power. The BeagleBoneBlack will boot from the on-board storage without requiring any more workon your end. If you would like to be able to interact with the BeagleBoneBlack from your computer you may need to install some included drivers,but this is relatively painless.

Winner: BeagleBone Black by a long-shot

TOTAL COST

This is really kind of a subjective category since the requirements aredifferent for everybody. If you already have an SD card, micro-USB cable,HDMI cable, and a keyboard to use with the Raspberry Pi, then there won’tbe any extra cost.

For the BeagleBone Black, it is quite possible that you won’t need any extraparts to end up with a usable board. If you want to extend functionalitybeyond just the basics, it is likely you will need to buy a MicroSD card and amicro-HDMI cable.

In addition, the two USB ports on the Raspberry Pi mean that you may beable to get by without a USB hub. Since the BeagleBone Black only has oneUSB port, unless you have something like a Logitech Unifying Receiver,you will need a USB hub to use a mouse and keyboard.

In my case, the BeagleBone Black was slightly cheaper overall but sincethere are so many factors to consider here, I will leave this one up to you.

Winner: Tie

CONNECTIONS

If there is one thing that Business types and Engineers can agree on it’s thateverything comes down to the connections you make, and oh boy theBeagleBone Black can make some connections.

With two 46 pin headers, the BeagleBone Black has a total of 92 possibleconnection points. Some of these connections are reserved, but almost allof them can be reconfigured to be used if needed. Taking a look at thereference manual shows the following (non-exhaustive) list of possibilities:

3 I2C buses

CAN busSPI bus4 timers5 serial ports65 GPIO pins8 PWM outputs7 analog inputs (1.8V max 12 bit A/D converters)

With such an impressive list of interfaces, the BeagleBone Black is a realpowerhouse in this category. I’m not aware of any other platforms at thissize and price point that provide so many interface options, a characteristicthat is a real blessing for many applications.

Looking at the Raspberry Pi, we have a 26 pin header for makingconnections with the following possible interfaces:

8 GPIO pins1 UART interface1 SPI bus1 I2C bus

This is a much smaller list but would be perfectly adequate for an I2C, SPI,or UART based project, as well as any project which doesn’t requireexternal interfacing. The Raspberry Pi’s true power is in a different categorywhich we will take a look at soon.

Winner: BeagleBone Black, no contest

PROCESSOR SHOWDOWN

The processor is perhaps the single most important factor in determininghow fast your system will perform. The stock configurations give us a 1 GHzprocessor on the BeagleBone Black and a 700 MHz processor on theRaspberry Pi.

In an effort to put the two on a more level playing field, let’s assume that youhave overclocked the Raspberry Pi to perform at the same clock speed asthe AM3359.

The next defining feature we want to look at is the processor architecture.The Raspberry Pi uses the slightly older ARMv6 instruction set while theBeagleBone Black uses the ARMv7 instruction set, which is currently themost common architecture among embedded systems.

The newer architecture of the BeagleBone Black lends itself to more thanjust bragging rights though. One advantage of using the more moderninstruction set is that the processor on the BeagleBone Black is more widelysupported by software developers. Notably, some operating systems are nolonger designed to be run on the ARMv6 instruction set, including Ubuntuwhich dropped support in late April.

Another advantage the ARMv7 instruction set enjoys over the ARMv6 goesbeyond support, and includes actual performance enhancements. While thelist of improvements between v6 and v7 is a long one, some of the moreimpressive improvements like implementing a superscalar architecture,including instructions for SIMD operations, and an improved branchprediction algorithm lead to some pretty amazing performance increases.

Specifically, even when running at the same clock speed, the processor onthe BeagleBone Black is nearly TWICE AS FAST as the processor on theRaspberry Pi. (Source 1: ARM A8 runs 2000 MIPS/MHz, Source 2: ARM11runs 1250 MIPS/MHz)

Winner: BeagleBone Black

GRAPHICAL SHOWDOWN

This is one category in which the Raspberry Pi really shines. With theintegrated Videocore graphics processor, the Raspberry Pi is capable ofdecoding 1080p video streams, rendering OpenGL, and even runningMinecraft (sorry it can’t quite handle Crysis). In addition to the impressivegraphics processing, the Raspberry Pi also offers a full sized HDMIconnector and a composite video output for lower quality connections.

All of this combines to put the BeagleBone Black on the defensive. TheBeagleBone Black does have built in graphics support, but is just not quiteas powerful and does not support 1080p. To compound the lower graphicsprocessing power, the BeagleBone Black only offers a micro-HDMI videoconnection for interfacing with your monitor or TV.

While there are add-on capes which increase your connectivity options,there is no substitution for the graphics computation power of theVideocore system on the Raspberry Pi.

Winner: Raspberry Pi by a solid margin

AUDIO SHOWDOWN

This one really isn’t much of a showdown. With the BeagleBone Blackallowing you to output audio over micro-HDMI only and the Raspberry Pisupporting audio over HDMI or through a 3.5 mm audio jack, the RaspberryPi has more capability out of the box.

Looking at the broader perspective, there is an add-on board for theBeagleBone Black which gives adds a 3.5 mm audio out as well as a 3.5 mmaudio in and some extra audio processing capability.

Since this is an add-on and not the default configuration, I will still give thiscategory to the Raspberry Pi. If you already have a BeagleBone or arelooking for some more capable audio processing then the audio add-on

cape may be a good choice.

Winner: Raspberry Pi

POWER CONSUMPTION

It is quite frankly pretty difficult to find any reliable data on this category. TheBeagleBone Black reference manual provides a range of current draws sothere isn’t any guesswork there.

The Raspberry Pi, on the other hand, has many different user reportedmeasurements that vary so widely I’m not even sure what is reasonableanymore. The reports which seem most reputable show a slightly lowercurrent draw from the Raspberry Pi.

If you have any reliable data for either one of these boards as far aspower consumption goes, please let me know in the comments.

Winner: Raspberry Pi by a small margin based on unreliable data

EXPANDABILITY

I have to admit, when I first set out writing this article I expected theBeagleBone Black to handedly dominate this category. Since I have beenworking on an add-on cape of my own for the BeagleBone Black (theSensorCape), I was already fully aware of the robust add-on ecosystem thatexisted for the BeagleBone.

What I was not aware of though, was the add-ons for the Raspberry Pi. Justto clarify, “add-ons” do not refer to cases, cables, or other non-functionalaccessories; what I am interested in are the additional boards that makeyour BeagleBone or Raspberry Pi more capable.

We’ll take a look at the BeagleBone first. Browsing through the officialCircuitCo capes page, the following add-on boards really stand out to me.

Breadboard, prototype, and breakout capes – These three capes allowyou to easily test new additions to your BeagleBoneDVI cape – Allows you to connect to a DVI monitorVGA cape – Allows you to connect to a VGA monitorHDMI cape – Allows you to connect to an HDMI connection, this wasoriginally developed for the BeagleBone but could be used for the Blackif you just really hate micro-HDMILCD capes – There are a few versions of LCD capes in the store that can

be used to easily add an LCD screen on top of your BeagleBoneCamera cape – Adds a 3.1 MP camera on top of the BBB, also nicelyconfigured to work with the LCD capes so you could make your ownhandheld cameraAudio cape – Includes two 3.5 mm audio jacks and allows you toconfigure audio in and outMotor cape – Adds a TI motor drive that can drive up to 8 DC motors at500 mA per motorBattery cape – For when you want to take your project on the go

Of course this list is not exhaustive, so I don’t want to lead anyone tobelieve that this is all that is available. These are just the capes that stoodout to me as being widely useful.

There are many other more specialized capes in production that I chose notto include. These include the BeagleBone ROV cape, featured in theOpenROV project and is used to control an underwater robot that streamslive video; or the Ninja cape that was commercialized into Ninja Blocks, anamazing platform allowing you to automate almost anything.

With such capable extensions for the BeagleBone, you may be wonderinghow the Raspberry Pi could even compete. I know I was. Truth be told, theRaspberry Pi add-ons are pretty scarce, and since there is no centralrepository for them, it is difficult to find a good list.

The majority of add-ons I have been able to find are simply “breakout”boards or prototyping boards which allow you to easily interface with abreadboard or to solder directly on the board. These types of boards, whileuseful, are not a killer feature and are not unique to the Raspberry Pi.

Adafruit Prototyping Pi Plate

Something that is unique would be this add-on from cooking hacks. Thisboard allows you to easily connect Arduino compatible shields andcomponents directly to the the Raspberry Pi.

That may not seem like a big deal at first, but if you recall the beginning ofthis article I mentioned that Arduino is really in a league of its own. This is inno small part thanks to the incredible amount of add-on “shields” that areavailable for Arduino. According to the Arduino Shield List, there are justshort of 300 shields available for the Arduino and nearly all of these arenow compatible with the Raspberry Pi.

Outside of this Arduino compatibility though, the support for add-on boardsis still fairly low in the Raspberry Pi environment . Unless the functionalityyou want to implement is covered by an Arduino shield, you may be out ofluck.

Winner: Raspberry Pi by a hair thanks to Arduino add-on compatibility, I amstill very optimistic on the future of the BeagleBone in this category though.And really, if you are planning on buying a Raspberry Pi and then usingArduino capes, you should probably just buy an Arduino.

HARDWARE ACCESSIBILITY

This category may not be important to the majority of readers, but I think it iscritical to technical users or anyone who may want to produce a minimalversion of a project they made with their chosen platform. Both theRaspberry Pi and the BeagleBone Black rely heavily on the open-sourcecommunity, so let’s see how open they are in return.

The Raspberry Pi is unfortunately based off of a proprietary processorplatform which means you cannot view a full datasheet for the processorwithout going through some significant hoops such as:

Signing a non-disclosure agreement with BroadcomProviding Broadcom with a business planCommitting to buy these processors in bulk

It is possible to get more information on the internal structure of theBCM2835 for register access, but as far as I know there is nodocumentation for the processor pinouts. In contrast, the full datasheet anduser guide for the processor on the BeagleBone Black can be accessed atthe Texas Instruments product page, and does not have a minimumpurchase requirement.

In addition to the proprietary processor, the Raspberry Pi Foundation alsoentered into an exclusive manufacturing agreement with RS and Farnell,meaning that the board layout must be kept secret for now.

If you are trying to make your own derivative of the Raspberry Pi or need toknow how the components are connected together, Eben has provided theschematics for the Rev. B Raspberry Pi. You will still have to commit tobuying the Broadcom chip in bulk if you want to make your own, but at leastyou have a starting point.

The entire documentation, including layout files, schematics, and referencedocuments, for the BeagleBone Black are hosted at the BeagleBoneBlack wiki page, and includes everything you could want to make your ownBeagleBone.

Winner: BeagleBone Black

COMMUNITY

Despite my best efforts, I can’t seem to find any reliable data on the size ofeach platform’s respective community. Seeing as how (as of April 2013) theRaspberry Pi has shipped more than one-million units, I think it is safe toassume that the Raspberry Pi has developed a larger following. On top ofthis the Raspberry Pi gets much better media coverage and overallexposure.

These considerations are all important if you are unfamiliar with Linuxsystems or electronics in general, as well as if you are planning onundertaking a large project which you may decide you need help with.

A quick Google insights search shows that while the BeagleBone Black hasa growing community, the Raspberry Pi still generates about 13 times moreweb traffic.

Winner: Raspberry Pi by a long-shot

SummaryNow that we have looked at each category in detail, it is a simple matter todraw some conclusions about which circumstances should lead you tochoose one board over the other.

WHEN THE BEAGLEBONE BLACK IS THE RIGHT CHOICE

Projects that need to interface with many external sensors – Theincredible number of pins on the BeagleBone Black and the many busoptions allow you to easily interface with pretty much any device out there.

Anything requiring small form factor but high speed processing – Forexample this super cool 33 node Raspberry Pi computing cluster wouldhave been much better off using the BeagleBone Black, both from a priceand performance standpoint.

Projects that you may wish to commercialize – Since the Raspberry Pi ismore of a closed-source environment, it is impossible to make your ownminimal versions. The open nature of the BeagleBone would allow you tojust take the most important features and directly port that into your owndesign.

As an embedded system learning platform – The Raspberry Pi has its rootsin education, but the fact that the BeagleBone Black works out of the boxleads me to believe it is a better solution for learning about embedded

systems.

For when you want it to “just work” – The fact that the BeagleBone Blackworks right out of the box is a huge bonus and allows you to get up andgoing in a few minutes rather than an hour or more.

WHEN THE RASPBERRY PI IS THE RIGHT CHOICE

Multimedia based projects – With the significantly more powerful graphicsprocessing and larger number of connection options, the Raspberry Pi is ano-brainer for multimedia interfaces.

Community driven ideas – If you have a project that will in some way relyon the community for proper operation, you should choose the very activecommunity of the Raspberry Pi. If you just think you will need supportthough, the BeagleBone community is very helpful and many Raspberry Piprojects will easily port to the BeagleBone Black.

As a graphical learning platform – Since the BeagleBone Black does nothave quite the video capability of the Raspberry Pi, I would recommend theRaspberry Pi for learning about Linux in a graphical environment. Though tobe fair you could do the same thing in a Virtual Machine, it just isn’t quite asmuch fun.

WHEN EITHER ONE WORKS

Internet connected projects – If you want your project to send updates to aserver, or maybe even act as a server, then either board should work justfine for you.

You just want to nerd out – Maybe you just want to get your nerd on.That’s okay, in fact it’s even becoming the cool thing to do. If that is yourgoal then either platform will serve you well.

I hope you found this guide helpful and that you will use it in making yournext purchase. If you still can’t decide which one is right for you and youhave some money to burn I really recommend just buying both of thesesystems. Each board has different strengths and they both offer somethingdifferent. Happy hacking!

If you liked this post then be sure to share it, for more articles like this visitmy blog.

       

MICHAEL LEONARD

I am currently a Graduate student at the Universityof Arkansas. I have a strong interest in makingthings whether that be software, hardware, orsomething else entirely doesn’t matter to me.

When I’m not working on something I am an avidSCUBA diver, enjoy travel, and love a good roundof golf. I am currently pursuing my Private Pilot

License and hope to have that completed by December 2013.

If you would like to learn more about me and what I am working on visit myblog linked below.

My Blog

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Bahaà Addin  •  14 days ago

Very very nice work.Keep up the great vibes, Michael! :)

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