Introduction
Beaglebone vs Raspberry Pi which one is better, this question arises whenever we are dealing with SBC as in everyday life, we have seen many of the new SBCs (Single Board Computers) getting released and all of them have a unique quality which will make it difficult for you to choose anyone for your project due to the confusion.
If you are also facing this type of difficulty in choosing the right single-board computer for your next project then no need to worry as we got your back. In this article, we have differentiated the two most used SBCs out there. The parameters of differentiation cover both its functional as well as non-functional aspects and qualities so, with that said let’s get started:
What is Raspberry Pi?
Raspberry Pi is one of the most demanded Single board computers developed by the Raspberry Foundation which is available on the internet today. It has the size of a credit card and it is cost-efficient as well. The Raspberry Pi has gone through five revisions since its development which are the Pi Zero and Pi Zero W, the Pi 3 A+ and B+, and Raspberry Pi 4.
Raspberry Pi can be plugged into a computer or TV and it uses a keyboard and mouse for further operations. Raspberry Pi can perform almost every function which is performed using an ordinary computer like playing high-definition videos, playing games, and word processing, etc. Sensors and actuators can also be interfaced into the Raspberry Pi using the general-purpose input output pins available on the board.
Raspberry Pi is a single-board computer which runs on the Linux ARM version and as mentioned earlier it has many versions with different RAM compatibilities. That is all in the introduction of the Raspberry Pi, let us now have a look at what is Beaglebone:
here we compare the Raspberry Pi board with the Arduino board.
What is Beaglebone?
Beaglebone Black is one of the most demanded Single board computers or SBC developed by the Texas Instruments which is available on the internet today. The Beaglebone Black is an open hardware single-board computer. The Beaglebone Black focuses on an extraordinary market. It is an engineering-focused board. It is also a cost-efficient board.
It comes with a compact package having a processor, memory, graphic acceleration, etc. It is based on a powerful processor which is Sitara AM3358BZCZ100 which is an ARM CORTEX A8 processor with 1GHz AM335x.
The Beaglebone Black does not require any extra operating system needed to be installed by the user as it comes with a Debian version of Linux in which a Linux terminal is available which is then used to run common Linux commands and operate it as per requirement.
That is all in the introduction of the Beaglebone Black, let us now have a look at the specifications of both of the boards for further differentiation.
Specifications of Raspberry Pi and Beaglebone Black
| Specification | Raspberry Pi 4 | Beaglebone Black |
| Processor | BroadcomBCM2711,quad-coreSitara AM3358BZC ARM Cortex-A72(ARMv8)64-bit SoC @1.5GHz | Sitara AM3358BZCARM Cortex-A8 |
| Processor Speed | 700 MHz | 1GHz |
| RAM | 1GB, 2GB, 4GB or 8GBLPDDR4512MB DDR(depending on model) | 512 MB DDR |
| Wifi connectivity | Bluetooth 5.0, BLE | |
| Bluetooth connectivity | No. of input-output pins | |
| Ethernet capability | Gigabit Ethernet | 10/100, RJ45 |
| USB | 2 × USB 3.0 ports2 × USB 2.0 ports | 1. HS USB 2. Client PortII. HS USB 2 Host Port |
| 5V DC via mini-USB | 8 digital and 0 analog pins | It has 65 digital pins and 7 analog pins |
| Video output | 2x micro HDMI ports (up to 4Кр60 supported) | Micro HDMI ports 1280x |
| Display and camera ports | 2-lane MIPI DSIdisplay port 2-lane MIPI CSI camera port | |
| Audio output | 4-pole stereo audio and composite video port | Audio and v using HDMI |
| Graphics | OpenGL ES, 3.0 graphics | SGX530 3D, Polygons/S |
| Storage and type | Micro SD card slot for loading operating system and data storage | 4GB on-boa storage using eMMC,microSD card slot |
| Input power supply | 5V DC via USB-C connector | 5V DC via miniUSB |
| Powering through GPIO | SV DC via GPIO header(minimum 3A) | 5VDC Extern Via Expansion header |
| Powering through Ethernet | Power over Ethernet (POE)-enabled | |
| Operating temperature | 0-50% C | 0-60° C |
| Dimensions | 85.6 mm x 56.5 mm | 66.36mm x 53.34mm |
| UART | 6 | 5 |
| I2C | 6 | 2 |
| SPI | 5 | 2 |
| SDIO | 1 | |
| DPI(Parallel Display) | 1 | 1 |
| PWM | 2 | 8 |
That is all in the specifications of Raspberry Pi 4 and Beaglebone Black. Let us now have a look at the pros and cons of both of them:
Pros and cons of Raspberry Pi 4 and Beaglebone Black
The pros and cons of Raspberry Pi 4 and Beaglebone black are as follows:
Raspberry Pi 4
| Pros | Cons |
| Cost-efficient | Very sensitive to the power level of specific USB ports. This can cause stability issues |
| The boot process is complicated and nonstandard, there can also be issues withboot problems | The boot process is complicated and nonstandard, there can also be issues without problems |
| Additional processing power and memory | Limited functions |
| Low power consumption | slow |
| Easy to use | Not suitable for multitasks |
| Suitable for smaller tasks | Not suitable for larger tasks |
Beaglebone Black
| Pros | Cons |
| Stable and never crashes | Easy boot process as compared to earlier versions of Raspberry Pi |
| Easy boot process as compared to earlier versions of Raspberry pi | Only offers support for USB 2 whereas Raspberry Pi 4 offers support for USB 3 |
If you still have any doubts left then no need to worry as we have got your back, below are some frequently asked questions added which will clear all of your doubts:
Frequently Asked Questions On Beaglebone vs Raspberry Pi
Q1 – Which one is better for beginners?
Raspberry Pi is often considered as better for beginners as it has huge community support, vast resources, and a wide range of available software and hardware add-ons.
Q2 -Which one is better for industrial or real-time applications?
BeagleBone Black is more suitable for real-time applications due to its PRU systems and real-time I/O capabilities.
Q3 – What programming languages can I use on these SBCs?
BeagleBone Black and Raspberry Pi 4 both support a wide range of programming languages, including Python, C/C++, and more.
Conclusion
Till now we have discussed about every specification of Raspberry Pi 4 and BeagleBone Black. The Raspberry Pi is most commonly used for using it as a Graphical user interface computer. And also used for developing embedded systems and IoT projects. Raspberry Pi has built-in WiFi and Bluetooth.
If you are more interested in IoT applications and stability for industrial usage, we would definitely recommend you using the Beaglebone Black board as it is capable of running OS like Linux and Android.
At last, we recommend you to choose the board wisely depending on your needs because both single-board computers can deliver massive computing powers.