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Banana Pi BPI-M2 ZERO vs BeagleBoard BeagleBone Black

Researched, not hands-on tested.How we review ›

all judged against single-board computers at a similar price

The BeagleBoard BeagleBone Black scores 5.0/10 overall, ahead of the Banana Pi BPI-M2 ZERO at 4.6/10.

The Banana Pi BPI-M2 ZERO leads on performance and value.

The BeagleBoard BeagleBone Black leads on software support, storage and I/O and networking.

The biggest difference is storage, where the BeagleBoard BeagleBone Black scores 6/10 to the Banana Pi BPI-M2 ZERO's 3/10.

Banana Pi BPI-M2 ZERO

Banana Pi BPI-M2 ZERO

4.6/10verdict: skip

The Banana Pi BPI-M2 ZERO is for people who want a small, wireless board for light, single-purpose jobs. It suits builders who already have Raspberry Pi Zero cases or GPIO accessories to reuse. It is a poor fit for anyone who needs wired networking, fast storage or a lot of memory.

Typically about £23.93 in the UK when we researched itCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)

Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Details

BeagleBoard BeagleBone Black

BeagleBoard BeagleBone Black

5.0/10verdict: good, not the best

The BeagleBone Black is for people building embedded, hardware-interfacing or low-demand single-purpose projects. It suits those who want onboard eMMC, two large expansion headers and officially listed Debian images. It is a poor fit for anyone wanting a general-purpose desktop or a board with fast networking.

Typically about £74 in the UK when we researched itCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)

Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Details

Scores, criterion by criterion

CriterionWeightBanana Pi BPI-M2 ZEROBeagleBoard BeagleBone Black
Software support30%5/107/10
Performance25%5/103/10
Storage15%3/106/10
I/O and networking15%4/105/10
Value15%5/103/10
Overall4.6/105.0/10

Specifications

SpecBanana Pi BPI-M2 ZEROBeagleBoard BeagleBone Black
Processor (SoC)Allwinner H3 quad-core Cortex-A7TI Sitara AM3358 (AM3358BZCZ100), 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A8, SGX 3D graphics, NEON, 2x 200 MHz PRUs
Memory512 MB DDR3, shared with GPU512 MB DDR3L 800 MHz
Storage optionsmicroSD (TF) card up to 64 GB; no onboard flash4 GB 8-bit eMMC onboard; microSD connector
NetworkingOnboard Wi-Fi 802.11n via AP6212/K016 (SDIO); no onboard Ethernet10/100 Mbit Ethernet (RJ45). No Wi-Fi or Bluetooth on this board.
GPIO40-pin header, pin-compatible with Raspberry Pi 3Two 46-pin expansion headers (LCD, UART, eMMC, ADC, I2C, SPI, PWM)
Video outputsMini HDMI 1.4, 1080p30 output; decodes 1080p60 H.264, encodes 1080p30 H.264HDMI, LCD interface, stereo audio over HDMI
Power inputMicro USB, 5V/2A5 V DC via 2.1 mm barrel jack or mini-USB; a 1 A 5 V supply is typical

Strengths and weaknesses

Banana Pi BPI-M2 ZERO

  • + Pin-compatible 40-pin GPIO header, matching Raspberry Pi 3
  • + Onboard 802.11n Wi-Fi
  • + Owners report Raspberry Pi Zero cases and accessories fit
  • − No onboard Ethernet; wired networking only via GPIO
  • − 512 MB of RAM, shared with the GPU
  • − microSD only, with a single USB 2.0 OTG port

Skip it if:

  • Anyone who needs onboard wired Ethernet or gigabit networking
  • Buyers wanting NVMe, M.2 or storage beyond a 64 GB microSD card
  • Homelabbers planning several containers or VMs on more than 512 MB of RAM
Read the full Banana Pi BPI-M2 ZERO review ›

BeagleBoard BeagleBone Black

  • + Official Debian 13.7 and 12.15 images with three kernel branches
  • + Two 46-pin expansion headers plus two 200 MHz PRUs
  • + 4 GB eMMC onboard alongside a microSD connector
  • − Only 512 MB of RAM
  • − Ethernet is 10/100 and there is no Wi-Fi
  • − USB host port is limited to 500 mA

Skip it if:

  • Buyers who need Wi-Fi or Bluetooth on the same board
  • Anyone running several containers or VMs that need more than 512 MB of RAM
  • Users who need faster than 10/100 Ethernet or high-current USB devices
Read the full BeagleBoard BeagleBone Black review ›

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