Khadas VIM3 vs Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W

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

all judged against single-board computers at a similar price

The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W scores 6.9/10 overall, ahead of the Khadas VIM3 at 6.6/10.

The Khadas VIM3 leads on performance, storage and I/O and networking.

The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W leads on software support and value.

The biggest difference is software support, where the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W scores 10/10 to the Khadas VIM3's 6/10.

Khadas VIM3

6.6/10verdict: buy

The Khadas VIM3 is for tinkerers who want a six-core Arm board with NVMe support and a 40-pin header. It suits media, display and embedded projects where the NPU and flexible storage matter. It is less suited to anyone who wants a board that runs cool with no extra cooling.

Check price at Amazon UK

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Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W

6.9/10verdict: buy

The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W is for people who need a wireless quad-core Arm board for headless projects. It suits those replacing an original Pi Zero or building embedded and IoT jobs that need a 40-pin footprint and Bluetooth. It is a poor fit for anyone who wants a desktop, wired networking or fast storage.

Typically about £14.40 in the UK when we researched itCheck price at Amazon UK

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Scores, criterion by criterion

Criterion	Weight	Khadas VIM3	Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W
Software support	30%	6/10	10/10
Performance	25%	7/10	6/10
Storage	15%	8/10	4/10
I/O and networking	15%	7/10	5/10
Value	15%	5/10	7/10
Overall		6.6/10	6.9/10

Specifications

Spec	Khadas VIM3	Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W
Processor (SoC)	Amlogic A311D, four Cortex-A73 cores at 2.2GHz and two Cortex-A53 cores at 1.8GHz, with 5 TOPS NPU	Broadcom BCM2710A1, quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A53 at 1GHz
Memory	2GB or 4GB LPDDR4/LPDDR4X	512MB LPDDR2
Storage options	eMMC 5.1 16GB or 32GB, micro-SD slot, M.2 2280 socket for NVMe (PCIe 2.0 x1)	microSD card slot only
Networking	Gigabit Ethernet with Wake-on-LAN; AP6398S 802.11a/b/g/n/ac 2x2 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0	2.4GHz 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, BLE, onboard antenna; no Ethernet
GPIO	40-pin GPIO header, 2.54mm pitch	40-pin HAT-compatible I/O header footprint, unpopulated
Video outputs	HDMI with CEC, MIPI-DSI display interface, touch-panel connector	Mini HDMI port; composite video via test points
Power input	VIN connector 5–12V; USB-C port 5–20V USB Power Delivery input	Micro USB, rated 5V DC 2.5A (supply rating)

Strengths and weaknesses

Khadas VIM3

+ M.2 NVMe socket alongside eMMC and microSD
+ Six-core A311D with NPU; owners praise efficiency
+ Several official OS images, including mainline Linux
− Owners report heat and instability without a fan
− Power delivery quirks reported, including bootloops and shutdowns
− RAM stops at 4GB

Skip it if:

Buyers who want a fanless, cool-running board with no extra cooling
Anyone needing more than 4GB of RAM
Builders who can't test and choose their power supply carefully

Read the full Khadas VIM3 review ›

Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W

+ Quad-core 1GHz CPU is a clear step up from the original Zero
+ Drop-in replacement for the original Zero, easing migration
+ Wi-Fi is competent and the onboard antenna is decent
− 512MB RAM hampers web browsing
− Runs hot under load and needs cooling
− No Ethernet, no 5GHz Wi-Fi, header pins unpopulated

Skip it if:

Buyers who need wired Ethernet or 5GHz Wi-Fi
Anyone wanting a browser-based desktop with 512MB of RAM
Buyers who need fast storage or USB 3 peripherals

Read the full Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W review ›

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