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How to Choose the Right

Platform: Raspberry Pi or
BeagleBone Black?
By Michael Leonard February 25th, 2014 2:00 pm Category Uncategorized

This article was originally posted at Michael Leonards blog and has been
re-posted here.

There are already many articles out there comparing Arduino, Raspberry
Pi, and BeagleBone Black; this is not one of those articles. I believe it is
clear that Arduino is in a different league than the Raspberry Pi or
BeagleBone Black, and serves an entirely different purpose.
What I was looking for and couldnt find was a comprehensive article that
would summarize all of the pros and cons of the Raspberry Pi and the
BeagleBone Black, and what each platform is best suited for. When I
couldnt find that article, I decided to write it myself.
I begin this comparison by giving a short introduction to each platform and
then we will take an in-depth look at the two platforms side-by-side to
determine which one is best for each category. The categories covered are:
Raw Comparison
Unboxing
Ease of Setup
Total Cost
Connections
Processor Showdown
Graphical Showdown
Audio Showdown
Power Consumption
Expandability
Hardware Accessibility
Community
Lets get started!

About the Raspberry Pi

Arduino is the true trailblazer in the microcontroller area and the device
that started the whole maker revolution; the Raspberry Pi on the other
hand 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 computer
easy enough to use for the general public. The project to develop the Pi
was born out of a realization that young students were not proficient in the
technical details of computing that their older peers had learned out of
necessity. Due to their less technical backgrounds these students we not
able to perform at the level expected of them.
To attack this issue the Raspberry Pi creators developed the low-cost and
relatively high performance miniature computer that would allow a new
generation of students to interact with their computers in a way that they
had never thought was possible.
If you would like to learn more about the Raspberry Pi, I recommend you to
the official About page or the FAQ page. The story of the Raspberry Pis
creation is inspiring and is worth a read.

About the BeagleBone Black

The BeagleBone Black is a relative newcomer to the world of easy to use

microprocessor breakouts, however, what it missed out on in time-tomarket, the BeagleBone Black has more than made up for in capability.
The BeagleBone Black has evolved out of the long lineage of BeagleBoard
products into the current version; a small form-factor, very powerful, and
extremely expandable product that allows builders, makers, artists, and
engineers the ability to create truly innovative projects.
The BeagleBoard family was originally designed to provide a relatively lowcost development platform for hobbyists to try out the powerful new systemon-a-chip (SOC) devices that were essentially capable of performing all the
duties of a computer on a single chip.
The original BeagleBoard is currently priced at $125 while its successor, the
BeagleBoard-xM, is priced at $145. So even though these systems were
very powerful, they were just not at the right price to compel people to buy
them in mass quantities.
After the BeagleBoard-xM, the BeagleBoard team created the original
BeagleBone. It is essentially a smaller, stripped down version of the
BeagleBoard.
While the BeagleBone was a good start, it still wasnt as capable as it could
have 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 the
BeagleBone, called the BeagleBone Black. I think one look at the picture
will tell you why they chose this name.

Top of BeagleBone Black

This version has maintained the same form-factor as the BeagleBone but
added quite a bit of useful functions and is generally an all around better
device; 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 or
BeagleBoard devices, you can visit the official community page or the
manufacturer community page. This is the best way to learn the intricate
details of these platforms, and will let you more fully evaluate if the
BeagleBone Black is right for you.

So Raspberry Pi or BeagleBone Black?

Now that we know a little bit about each device, lets compare them side-byside and see which one is best for what you want to do. I will do my best to
cover all of the topics that are important and to be unbiased in my
conclusions.
If you see something I missed or think I made a stupid call, let me know in
the comments! Just remember to be civil.
RAW COMPARISON

To start this comparison I have made a summary table where we can take a
look at the raw specifications from each device. This is a good way to get a
quick overview of each platforms capabilities but does not always tell the
whole story.
For full disclosure, I am comparing the BeagleBone Black Rev. A5B to the
Raspberry Pi Rev. B. The summary table below compares the two boards as
they are shipped, but the in depth comparisons below consider the entire
ecosystem supporting each board.
Comparing Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone Black
BeagleBone Black

Raspberry Pi

Base Price

45

35

Processor

1GHz TI Sitara AM3359 ARM

Cortex A8

700 MHz ARM1176JZFS

RAM

512 MB DDR3L @ 400 MHz

512 MB SDRAM @ 400 MHz

Storage

2 GB on-board eMMC,
MicroSD

SD

Video
Connections

1 Micro-HDMI

1 HDMI, 1 Composite

Supported
Resolutions

12801024 (5:4), 1024768

(4:3), 1280720 (16:9),
1440900 (16:10) all at 16 bit

Extensive from 640350 up to

19201200, this includes 1080p

Audio

Stereo over HDMI

Stereo over HDMI, Stereo from 3.5

mm jack

Operating
Systems

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 under
varying conditions

150-350 mA @ 5V under varying

conditions

GPIO
Capability

65 Pins

8 Pins

Peripherals

1 USB Host, 1 Mini-USB Client,

1 10/100 Mbps Ethernet

2 USB Hosts, 1 Micro-USB Power, 1

10/100 Mbps Ethernet, RPi camera
connector

UNBOXING

These are hobbyist boards and arent exactly expected to adhere to the
same high standards as a fully commercialized product. With that in mind, I
still believe that the packaging and first opening of the boards constitutes
an important part of the first impression a buyer will get.

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

When I bought my Raspberry Pi, it was packaged in a plain white cardboard

box with no markings or included accessories. I noticed that they have since
begun shipping in nicely packaged boxes with professional looking
markings, so I wont hold my experience against the Raspberry Pi.
The BeagleBone Black was given to me for free as a participant in the 2013
TI Intern Design Competition. It was packaged in an equally professional
box 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 board
does not come with an included micro-USB cable to supply power, you must
obtain one on your own. Additionally, the Raspberry Pi does not come with
a pre-installed operating system or on-board storage. You will need to
obtain an SD card to boot the Raspberry Pi. Once you have an SD card you
will need to download and install the operating system on the card. After
you have taken care of these prerequisites, the Raspberry Pi should be
ready for use.

Setting up the BeagleBone Black on the other hand is quite possibly as

simple as it gets. Using the included Mini-USB cable, you can attach the
BeagleBone Black to your computer to supply power. The BeagleBone
Black will boot from the on-board storage without requiring any more work
on your end. If you would like to be able to interact with the BeagleBone
Black 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 are

different 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 wont
be any extra cost.
For the BeagleBone Black, it is quite possible that you wont need any extra
parts to end up with a usable board. If you want to extend functionality
beyond just the basics, it is likely you will need to buy a MicroSD card and a
micro-HDMI cable.
In addition, the two USB ports on the Raspberry Pi mean that you may be
able to get by without a USB hub. Since the BeagleBone Black only has one
USB 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 since
there 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 its that
everything comes down to the connections you make, and oh boy the
BeagleBone Black can make some connections.
With two 46 pin headers, the BeagleBone Black has a total of 92 possible
connection points. Some of these connections are reserved, but almost all
of them can be reconfigured to be used if needed. Taking a look at the
reference manual shows the following (non-exhaustive) list of possibilities:
3 I2C buses

CAN bus
SPI bus
4 timers
5 serial ports
65 GPIO pins
8 PWM outputs
7 analog inputs (1.8V max 12 bit A/D converters)
With such an impressive list of interfaces, the BeagleBone Black is a real
powerhouse in this category. Im not aware of any other platforms at this
size and price point that provide so many interface options, a characteristic
that is a real blessing for many applications.
Looking at the Raspberry Pi, we have a 26 pin header for making
connections with the following possible interfaces:
8 GPIO pins
1 UART interface
1 SPI bus
1 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 doesnt require
external interfacing. The Raspberry Pis true power is in a different category
which we will take a look at soon.
Winner: BeagleBone Black, no contest
PROCESSOR SHOWDOWN

The processor is perhaps the single most important factor in determining

how fast your system will perform. The stock configurations give us a 1 GHz
processor on the BeagleBone Black and a 700 MHz processor on the
Raspberry Pi.
In an effort to put the two on a more level playing field, lets assume that you
have overclocked the Raspberry Pi to perform at the same clock speed as
the 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 the
BeagleBone Black uses the ARMv7 instruction set, which is currently the
most common architecture among embedded systems.

The newer architecture of the BeagleBone Black lends itself to more than
just bragging rights though. One advantage of using the more modern
instruction set is that the processor on the BeagleBone Black is more widely
supported by software developers. Notably, some operating systems are no
longer designed to be run on the ARMv6 instruction set, including Ubuntu
which dropped support in late April.
Another advantage the ARMv7 instruction set enjoys over the ARMv6 goes
beyond support, and includes actual performance enhancements. While the
list of improvements between v6 and v7 is a long one, some of the more
impressive improvements like implementing a superscalar architecture,
including instructions for SIMD operations, and an improved branch
prediction algorithm lead to some pretty amazing performance increases.
Specifically, even when running at the same clock speed, the processor on
the BeagleBone Black is nearly TWICE AS FAST as the processor on the
Raspberry Pi. (Source 1: ARM A8 runs 2000 MIPS/MHz, Source 2: ARM11
runs 1250 MIPS/MHz)
Winner: BeagleBone Black
GRAPHICAL SHOWDOWN

This is one category in which the Raspberry Pi really shines. With the
integrated Videocore graphics processor, the Raspberry Pi is capable of
decoding 1080p video streams, rendering OpenGL, and even running
Minecraft (sorry it cant quite handle Crysis). In addition to the impressive
graphics processing, the Raspberry Pi also offers a full sized HDMI
connector and a composite video output for lower quality connections.

All of this combines to put the BeagleBone Black on the defensive. The
BeagleBone Black does have built in graphics support, but is just not quite
as powerful and does not support 1080p. To compound the lower graphics
processing power, the BeagleBone Black only offers a micro-HDMI video
connection 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 the
Videocore system on the Raspberry Pi.
Winner: Raspberry Pi by a solid margin
AUDIO SHOWDOWN

This one really isnt much of a showdown. With the BeagleBone Black
allowing you to output audio over micro-HDMI only and the Raspberry Pi
supporting audio over HDMI or through a 3.5 mm audio jack, the Raspberry
Pi has more capability out of the box.
Looking at the broader perspective, there is an add-on board for the
BeagleBone Black which gives adds a 3.5 mm audio out as well as a 3.5 mm
audio in and some extra audio processing capability.
Since this is an add-on and not the default configuration, I will still give this
category to the Raspberry Pi. If you already have a BeagleBone or are
looking 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. The
BeagleBone Black reference manual provides a range of current draws so
there isnt any guesswork there.
The Raspberry Pi, on the other hand, has many different user reported
measurements that vary so widely Im not even sure what is reasonable
anymore. The reports which seem most reputable show a slightly lower
current draw from the Raspberry Pi.
If you have any reliable data for either one of these boards as far as
power 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 the
BeagleBone Black to handedly dominate this category. Since I have been
working on an add-on cape of my own for the BeagleBone Black (the
SensorCape), I was already fully aware of the robust add-on ecosystem that
existed for the BeagleBone.
What I was not aware of though, was the add-ons for the Raspberry Pi. Just
to clarify, add-ons do not refer to cases, cables, or other non-functional
accessories; what I am interested in are the additional boards that make
your BeagleBone or Raspberry Pi more capable.
Well take a look at the BeagleBone first. Browsing through the official
CircuitCo capes page, the following add-on boards really stand out to me.
Breadboard, prototype, and breakout capes These three capes allow
you to easily test new additions to your BeagleBone
DVI cape Allows you to connect to a DVI monitor
VGA cape Allows you to connect to a VGA monitor
HDMI cape Allows you to connect to an HDMI connection, this was
originally developed for the BeagleBone but could be used for the Black
if you just really hate micro-HDMI
LCD 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 BeagleBone

Camera cape Adds a 3.1 MP camera on top of the BBB, also nicely
configured to work with the LCD capes so you could make your own
handheld camera
Audio cape Includes two 3.5 mm audio jacks and allows you to
configure audio in and out
Motor cape Adds a TI motor drive that can drive up to 8 DC motors at
500 mA per motor
Battery cape For when you want to take your project on the go
Of course this list is not exhaustive, so I dont want to lead anyone to
believe that this is all that is available. These are just the capes that stood
out to me as being widely useful.
There are many other more specialized capes in production that I chose not
to include. These include the BeagleBone ROV cape, featured in the
OpenROV project and is used to control an underwater robot that streams
live video; or the Ninja cape that was commercialized into Ninja Blocks, an
amazing platform allowing you to automate almost anything.
With such capable extensions for the BeagleBone, you may be wondering
how the Raspberry Pi could even compete. I know I was. Truth be told, the
Raspberry Pi add-ons are pretty scarce, and since there is no central
repository 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 a
breadboard or to solder directly on the board. These types of boards, while
useful, 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. This
board allows you to easily connect Arduino compatible shields and
components directly to the the Raspberry Pi.
That may not seem like a big deal at first, but if you recall the beginning of
this article I mentioned that Arduino is really in a league of its own. This is in
no small part thanks to the incredible amount of add-on shields that are
available for Arduino. According to the Arduino Shield List, there are just
short of 300 shields available for the Arduino and nearly all of these are
now compatible with the Raspberry Pi.
Outside of this Arduino compatibility though, the support for add-on boards
is still fairly low in the Raspberry Pi environment . Unless the functionality
you want to implement is covered by an Arduino shield, you may be out of
luck.
Winner: Raspberry Pi by a hair thanks to Arduino add-on compatibility, I am
still 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 using
Arduino 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 is
critical to technical users or anyone who may want to produce a minimal
version of a project they made with their chosen platform. Both the
Raspberry Pi and the BeagleBone Black rely heavily on the open-source
community, so lets see how open they are in return.
The Raspberry Pi is unfortunately based off of a proprietary processor
platform which means you cannot view a full datasheet for the processor
without going through some significant hoops such as:
Signing a non-disclosure agreement with Broadcom
Providing Broadcom with a business plan
Committing to buy these processors in bulk
It is possible to get more information on the internal structure of the
BCM2835 for register access, but as far as I know there is no
documentation for the processor pinouts. In contrast, the full datasheet and
user guide for the processor on the BeagleBone Black can be accessed at
the Texas Instruments product page, and does not have a minimum
purchase requirement.
In addition to the proprietary processor, the Raspberry Pi Foundation also
entered 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 to
know how the components are connected together, Eben has provided the
schematics for the Rev. B Raspberry Pi. You will still have to commit to
buying the Broadcom chip in bulk if you want to make your own, but at least
you have a starting point.
The entire documentation, including layout files, schematics, and reference
documents, for the BeagleBone Black are hosted at the BeagleBone
Blackwiki page, and includes everything you could want to make your own
BeagleBone.
Winner: BeagleBone Black
COMMUNITY

Despite my best efforts, I cant seem to find any reliable data on the size of
each platforms respective community. Seeing as how (as of April 2013) the
Raspberry Pi has shipped more than one-million units, I think it is safe to
assume that the Raspberry Pi has developed a larger following. On top of
this the Raspberry Pi gets much better media coverage and overall
exposure.
These considerations are all important if you are unfamiliar with Linux
systems or electronics in general, as well as if you are planning on
undertaking a large project which you may decide you need help with.
A quick Google insights search shows that while the BeagleBone Black has
a growing community, the Raspberry Pi still generates about 13 times more
web traffic.
Winner: Raspberry Pi by a long-shot

Summary
Now that we have looked at each category in detail, it is a simple matter to
draw some conclusions about which circumstances should lead you to
choose one board over the other.
WHEN THE BEAGLEBONE BLACK IS THE RIGHT CHOICE

Projects that need to interface with many external sensors The

incredible number of pins on the BeagleBone Black and the many bus
options allow you to easily interface with pretty much any device out there.
Anything requiring small form factor but high speed processing For
example this super cool 33 node Raspberry Pi computing cluster would
have been much better off using the BeagleBone Black, both from a price
and performance standpoint.
Projects that you may wish to commercialize Since the Raspberry Pi is
more of a closed-source environment, it is impossible to make your own
minimal versions. The open nature of the BeagleBone would allow you to
just take the most important features and directly port that into your own
design.
As an embedded system learning platform The Raspberry Pi has its roots
in education, but the fact that the BeagleBone Black works out of the box
leads 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 Black
works right out of the box is a huge bonus and allows you to get up and
going 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 graphics

processing and larger number of connection options, the Raspberry Pi is a
no-brainer for multimedia interfaces.
Community driven ideas If you have a project that will in some way rely
on the community for proper operation, you should choose the very active
community of the Raspberry Pi. If you just think you will need support
though, the BeagleBone community is very helpful and many Raspberry Pi
projects will easily port to the BeagleBone Black.
As a graphical learning platform Since the BeagleBone Black does not
have quite the video capability of the Raspberry Pi, I would recommend the
Raspberry Pi for learning about Linux in a graphical environment. Though to
be fair you could do the same thing in a Virtual Machine, it just isnt quite as
much fun.
WHEN EITHER ONE WORKS

Internet connected projects If you want your project to send updates to a

server, or maybe even act as a server, then either board should work just
fine for you.
You just want to nerd out Maybe you just want to get your nerd on.
Thats okay, in fact its even becoming the cool thing to do. If that is your
goal then either platform will serve you well.
I hope you found this guide helpful and that you will use it in making your
next purchase. If you still cant decide which one is right for you and you
have some money to burn I really recommend just buying both of these
systems. Each board has different strengths and they both offer something
different. Happy hacking!
If you liked this post then be sure to share it, for more articles like this visit
my blog.

MICHAEL LEONARD

I am currently a Graduate student at the University

of Arkansas. I have a strong interest in making
things whether that be software, hardware, or
something else entirely doesnt matter to me.
When Im not working on something I am an avid
SCUBA diver, enjoy travel, and love a good round
of 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 my
blog linked below.

maybeillrememberit@gmail.com

My Blog
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BahaAddin 14daysago

Veryverynicework.
Keepupthegreatvibes,Michael!:)

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