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BeagleBoard BeagleBone Black vs Raspberry Pi Zero WH

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

all judged against single-board computers at a similar price

The Raspberry Pi Zero WH scores 5.9/10 overall, ahead of the BeagleBoard BeagleBone Black at 5.0/10.

The BeagleBoard BeagleBone Black leads on storage.

The Raspberry Pi Zero WH leads on software support, performance and value.

They score the same on I/O and networking.

The biggest difference is value, where the Raspberry Pi Zero WH scores 6/10 to the BeagleBoard BeagleBone Black's 3/10.

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 Zero WH

Raspberry Pi Zero WH

5.9/10verdict: good, not the best

The Raspberry Pi Zero WH is for people who want a small, low-power board with GPIO ready to use straight away. It suits single-purpose projects that need Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and header-based add-ons rather than much processing power. It is not aimed at anyone who needs wired networking, fast storage or several services running at once.

Typically about £15.40 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 Zero WH
Software support30%7/109/10
Performance25%3/104/10
Storage15%6/104/10
I/O and networking15%5/105/10
Value15%3/106/10
Overall5.0/105.9/10

Specifications

SpecBeagleBoard BeagleBone BlackRaspberry Pi Zero WH
Processor (SoC)TI Sitara AM3358 (AM3358BZCZ100), 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A8, SGX 3D graphics, NEON, 2x 200 MHz PRUsBroadcom BCM2835 with a 1 GHz single-core 32-bit ARM11 CPU and 400 MHz VideoCore IV GPU
Memory512 MB DDR3L 800 MHz512 MB LPDDR2 RAM at 450 MHz
Storage options4 GB 8-bit eMMC onboard; microSD connectormicroSD slot only
Networking10/100 Mbit Ethernet (RJ45). No Wi-Fi or Bluetooth on this board.2.4 GHz 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.0 with BLE per Raspberry Pi (4.1 per The Pi Hut); no wired Ethernet port
GPIOTwo 46-pin expansion headers (LCD, UART, eMMC, ADC, I2C, SPI, PWM)40-pin GPIO header, pre-soldered on this model, 0.1in (2.54 mm) pin pitch
Video outputsHDMI, LCD interface, stereo audio over HDMIMini HDMI port and composite video (via 2 unpopulated pins)
Power input5 V DC via 2.1 mm barrel jack or mini-USB; a 1 A 5 V supply is typical5V via micro USB port; two micro-USB ports, one for input power and one for external devices

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 Zero WH

  • + 40-pin GPIO header comes pre-soldered
  • + Same header as flagship Model B boards, so HATs fit
  • + Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built in
  • − Single-core 32-bit CPU with 512 MB RAM
  • − No wired Ethernet; 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi only
  • − microSD is the only storage option

Skip it if:

  • Buyers who need wired Ethernet or 5 GHz Wi-Fi
  • Anyone running several containers or VMs on one board
  • Users who want storage beyond a microSD card
Read the full Raspberry Pi Zero WH review ›

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