Raspberry Pi alternatives 2021
The known popular Raspberry Pi Zero W board based on the Broadcom BCM2835 ARM11 Architecture sold at a price tag of $14. In this comparison overview, we will be comparing three known Chinese Brands. Orange Pi, Banana Pi, ROCK PI and FriendlyElec that offer low power, tiny in size and cheap SBCs. This comparison is based on hardware specifications each board has to offer including their prices.
Raspberry Pi Zero W
2021 Head-to-Head Comparison with Chinese Brands
Brand | Raspberry | Banana Pi | FriendlyElec | Orange Pi | Rock Pi |
SBC Model | Pi Zero W  | BPI-M2 Zero  | NanoPi NEO LTS  | Pi Zero LTS  | ROCK PI S  |
CPU | Broadcom BCM2835 1 GHz ARM1176JZF-S single-core | H2+ Quad-core Cortex-A7 H265/HEVC 1080P | Allwinner H3 | H2+ Quad-core Cortex-A7 Up to 1.2GHz | Rockchip RK3308 Quad A35 64bit |
GPU | VideoCore IV | Mali400MP2 GPU @600MHz,Supports OpenGL ES 2.0 | Mali400MP2 GPU @600MHz,Supports OpenGL ES 2.0 | Mali400MP2 GPU @600MHz,Supports OpenGL ES 2.0 | NOPE |
Memory (SDRAM) | 512 MB DDR2 | 512M DDR3(shared with GPU) | 256MB/512MB DDR3 SDRAM(Share with GPU) | 256MB/512MB DDR3 SDRAM(Share with GPU) | 256MB/512MB DDR3 SDRAM(Share with GPU) |
Onboard Storage | TF card (Max. 64GB) | TF card (Max. 64GB) | TF card (Max. 64GB) | TF card (Max. 32GB) | TF card (Max. 64GB) |
Onboard Ethernet | NOPE | NOPE | 10/100M Ethernet | 10/100M Ethernet | 10/100M Ethernet |
PoE power | NOPE | NOPE | NOPE | Optional PoE(additional HAT requried | Optional PoE(additional HAT requried |
Onboard flash | NOPE | NOPE | NOPE | 2MB Spi Flash | NOPE |
Onboard WIFI | 802.11n wireless, Bluetooth 4.1 | SDIO AP6212（option AP6181、AP6335） | NOPE | 802.11 b/g/n | NOPE |
Video decoding | 1080p30 H.264/MPEG-4 AVC high-profile decoder and encoder | [email protected],H.264 Video encoding [email protected],H.264 | [email protected],H.264 Video encoding [email protected],H.264 | [email protected],H.264 Video encoding [email protected],H.264 | NOPE |
Video input | CSI camera connector | CSI camera connector | NOPE | NOPE | NOPE |
Video Outputs | Mini HDMI and USB On-The-Go ports | mini HDMI 1.4,[email protected], DHCP | 2.54mm pitch 36pin. It includes UART, SPI, I2C, IO etc | Through the | HDMI ARC Through the 26 pin header |
Audio Output | Mini HDMI | Mini HDMI | NOPE | Through the13 Pins Header | Through the 26 pin voice/audio header |
Power Source | Micro USB with 5V/2A | Micro USB with 5V/2A | Micro USB with 5V/2A | Micro USB with 5V/2A | Type-C USB with 5V/2A |
USB Ports | 1x USB 2.0 OTG | 1x USB 2.0 OTG | 1x USB v2.0 Host | 1x USB 2.0 OTG | 1x USB Type C OTG |
Buttons | Composite video and reset headers | Power Button | NONE | Power Button | Reset Buttom |
Low-level peripherals | 40 PIN | 40 pins Header,compatible with Raspberry Pi 3 | 36 pins Header. includes UART, SPI, I2C, IO etc | 26 Pins Header | 26 pin header |
uart GPIO(1x3) pin | UART | UART, ground | UART | UART | UART |
LED | Power Status LED | Power led & Status led | Power led & Status led | Power Status LED | Power led & Status led |
IR | N/A | N/A | N/A | Through the | NOPE |
Supported OS | OSMC | Android 4.4 /7.0 | Ubuntu Core 16.04 | Android 4.4 | Debian |
Product Size | 65mm x 30mm | 65mm × 30mm | 40*40mm | 46x28mm | 43x43mm |
Weight | 9g | 15g | unknown | 26g | Text |
Price | $10-14 | $18 | $14.99 | $10.49 | $11.99 |
Buy Product Links |
In the specifications arena, the Orange Pi Zero LTS SBC is a clear winner. Powered by the H2 Plus Allwinner SoC this board is currently the cheapest amongst the boards covered in this overview with a price tag of $10 (Excluding shipping fee). While other SBCs only offer wifi or ethernet connectivity, this SBC offers both two worlds with an external IPX socket for connecting an external antenna as well as built-in 10/100 MB/s Ethernet LAN interface.