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BeagleBoard BeagleBone Black vs Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 1GB

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

all judged against single-board computers at a similar price

The Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 1GB scores 7.0/10 overall, ahead of the BeagleBoard BeagleBone Black at 5.0/10.

The BeagleBoard BeagleBone Black leads on storage.

The Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 1GB leads on software support, performance, I/O and networking and value.

The biggest difference is software support, where the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 1GB scores 10/10 to the BeagleBoard BeagleBone Black's 7/10.

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

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 1GB

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 1GB

7.0/10verdict: buy

The Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 1GB is for beginners, tinkerers and homelabbers who want official Raspberry Pi OS support and an active community for light, low-memory jobs. It suits GPIO projects, small services and learning Linux, where the software ecosystem matters more than raw capacity. It is less suited to anyone who needs fast native storage or plans to run it hot without cooling.

Typically about £44.30 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

CriterionWeightBeagleBoard BeagleBone BlackRaspberry Pi 4 Model B 1GB
Software support30%7/1010/10
Performance25%3/105/10
Storage15%6/104/10
I/O and networking15%5/108/10
Value15%3/106/10
Overall5.0/107.0/10

Specifications

SpecBeagleBoard BeagleBone BlackRaspberry Pi 4 Model B 1GB
Processor (SoC)TI Sitara AM3358 (AM3358BZCZ100), 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A8, SGX 3D graphics, NEON, 2x 200 MHz PRUsBroadcom BCM2711, quad-core Cortex-A72 (ARM v8) 64-bit SoC at 1.5-1.8GHz (sources conflict: 1.8GHz on the manufacturer page, 1.5GHz in the datasheet and Amazon listing)
Memory512 MB DDR3L 800 MHz1GB, 2GB, 3GB, 4GB or 8GB LPDDR4-3200 SDRAM (depending on model); the 1GB variant is one option
Storage options4 GB 8-bit eMMC onboard; microSD connectorMicro-SD card slot for loading operating system and data storage; no M.2 or NVMe interface listed
Networking10/100 Mbit Ethernet (RJ45). No Wi-Fi or Bluetooth on this board.2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz IEEE 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 5.0, BLE; Gigabit Ethernet (PoE requires a separate add-on PoE HAT)
GPIOTwo 46-pin expansion headers (LCD, UART, eMMC, ADC, I2C, SPI, PWM)Raspberry Pi standard 40 pin GPIO header (fully backwards compatible with previous boards); 28x user GPIO
Video outputsHDMI, LCD interface, stereo audio over HDMI2 × micro-HDMI ports (up to 4kp60 supported); 2-lane MIPI DSI display port; 2-lane MIPI CSI camera port; 4-pole stereo audio and composite video port
Power input5 V DC via 2.1 mm barrel jack or mini-USB; a 1 A 5 V supply is typical5V DC via USB-C connector (minimum 3A)

Strengths and weaknesses

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 ›

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 1GB

  • + Official Raspberry Pi OS and a large, supportive community
  • + Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0 and the standard 40-pin GPIO header
  • + Dual micro-HDMI outputs with up to 4kp60 support
  • − Micro-SD only, with no M.2 or NVMe interface listed
  • − Owners report heavy heat and throttling without better cooling
  • − 1GB is the smallest memory option in the range

Skip it if:

  • Buyers who need native M.2 or NVMe storage rather than micro-SD
  • Anyone running several containers or VMs who needs more than 1GB of memory
  • People who want a board that stays cool without adding a heatsink or fan
Read the full Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 1GB review ›

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