There are some cases where picking between the Raspberry Pi and an Arduino are easy (like when Linux is involved), but oftentimes it’s hard to make a choice between the two. Make came up with a simple question to help you decide.
Obviously, this is a complex topic with a lot of variables, but Make came up with an easy rule of thumb:
Think about what you want your project to do. If you can describe it with less than two ‘and’s, get an Arduino. If you need more than two ‘and’s, get a Raspberry Pi.
It’s a pretty good rule of them, all things considered. It’s often hard to figure out just how complex a project needs to be to need a Pi, and this a good place to start.
Raspberry Pi or Arduino? One Simple Rule to Choose the Right Board [Make]
Comments
6 responses to “Pick Between A Raspberry Pi And An Arduino With This Rule Of Thumb”
Just taken delivery of a RasPi 2.
Loaded up Rasbian and it’s now doing great service as an off-site (backyard shed) backup device where speed is not a great issue. Neat bit of kit!
Ordered two on the weekend (one for me, one for a sister), but wont get to play with my one until Christmas.
I dont get it, what does the use of ‘and’ have to do with deciding which device to get?
I’d personally go with a Pi because convenience of purchasing.
If you need it to perform more two tasks. That’s what the ‘and’ reference is.
The tasks can add up surprisingly fast. I’d place more importance on the complexity of the task you want to add with the AND statement.
Consider: a garden watering system. Activating one [or more taps] requires activators / relays.
AND – Watering is more efficient in mornings / evenings, so add a clock.
AND – Detecting moisture level requires a sensor.
AND – changing settings requires a keypad –
AND display.
Four ANDs means you shouldn’t consider the Arduino. In practice, it’s probably fine for the job.
Given you can run pretty much anything you can dream up on either platform, I don’t see number of tasks as a valid differentiator, either.
The obvious one is built-in HDMI output.