Whereas Raspberry Pi boards have been round since 2012, they’ve been powered by Broadcom SoCs. However in January 2021 we noticed the primary Raspberry Pi silicon, the RP2040 arrive and in a brief house of time it has turn out to be a serious SoC within the maker group. With two Arm Cortex M0+ cores operating at 133 MHz, 264KB of RAM and as much as 16MB of Flash, these chips open up a brand new vary of microcontrollers that compete extra intently with conventional Arduino boards than a Raspberry Pi 4.
Whereas Raspberry Pi has its personal RP2040-powered board within the Raspberry Pi Pico, there at the moment are greater than sixty, third-party options that supply enhancements which vary from smaller sizes to built-in Wi-Fi, extra storage or a variety of extra outputs. There are even RP2040-powered keypads and RP2040 breakouts designed to be embedded into your subsequent undertaking. All of those boards share the identical $1 RP2040 chip, however provide way more than the inventory mannequin.
That can assist you select, we’ve listed one of the best RP2040 boards under. These boards can be utilized for all the things from normal studying to constructing Wi-Fi related robots to implementing primary A.I.
- What measurement / pins do you want? Smaller RP2040 boards like Pimoroni’s Tiny RP2040, SparkFun’s Professional Micro RP2040 and Adafruit’s QT Py RP2040 have fewer than the usual 40 pins, however can slot in smaller initiatives.
- Do you want wi-fi? Proper now there are only some boards, for instance Arduino’s Nano RP2040 Join, which comes with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built-in, however you possibly can add these utilizing add-ons akin to Adafruit’s Airlift board or Pimoroni’s Pico Wi-fi Pack.
- Select your ecosystem: The pinouts of various RP2040 boards could align with totally different add-ons. For instance, Adafruit’s Feather RP2040 is suitable with round two dozen totally different FeatherWing, together with these which provide wi-fi connectivity whereas the Pico itself connects on to Pimroni’s “packs.”
- Specialist connectors akin to Stemma QT, Qwiic and Grove are fascinating further options for people who need easy and neat electronics initiatives. The Pico doesn’t include any of those, however many third-party boards do. The simplicity of those connections belies the selection of sensors and elements supplied.
Finest Raspberry Pi RP2040 Boards You Can Purchase Right now
The unique and least costly RP2040 board, the Raspberry Pi PIco prices simply $4, and whereas it supplied a strong base for initiatives it lacked Wi-Fi. The $6 Raspberry Pi Pico W launched Wi-Fi to the Pico, whereas retaining the very same pinout as its predecessor. This sensible transfer implies that the plethora of RP2040 equipment can be found to the Pico W.
Getting on-line with the Raspberry Pi Pico W is a breeze. Simply 5 strains of MicroPython is all it takes to attach, and from there we now have a large number of choices at our disposal. We now have a $6 knowledge assortment system, an internet managed robotic, or Web related data gathering platform.
The Raspberry Pi Pico W provides to the Pico ecosystem. It offers us with a decrease energy choice to the Raspberry Pi Zero W 2 and retains the Raspberry Pi product vary ticking whereas the worldwide provide chain recovers.
Learn: Raspberry Pi Pico W Evaluation
Adafruit, companions within the RP2040 undertaking have launched many nice RP2040 boards in a brief house of time. The corporate has its personal ecosystem of type components and its largest, the Feather, is the place we noticed their first RP2040 system. Designed to make the most of an expansive vary of add-ons known as “FeatherWings”, the Feather RP2040 has fewer pins than a typical Raspberry Pi Pico, however the selection of pins is curated to present us one of the best that the RP2040 can provide.
What we lose in GPIO pins we achieve in onboard LiPo / Li-Ion battery charging, nice pin labeling and Stemma QT, Adafruit’s connector of selection for elements that join utilizing I2C. With Stemma QT we now have not one of the messy wiring and polarity points, enabling us to deal with the undertaking and never our wiring.
Should you’re searching for essentially the most versatile RP2040 board in the marketplace, look no additional. Certain, we pay a premium over the Raspberry Pi Pico, however the Adafruit Feather RP2040 is a refined product that is able to drop into your subsequent undertaking.
Learn: Adafruit Feather RP2040 Evaluation
The Raspberry Pi Pico is a enjoyable and cheap strategy to get into coding and electronics. After shopping for a Pico, we have to additionally purchase further elements to develop its scope and this may turn out to be expensive and sophisticated. The Maker Pi Pico crams a variety of further features right into a small bundle all for lower than $10, together with a pre-soldered Raspberry Pi Pico.
For $10, the sheer quantity of options is wonderful. Now we have a micro SD card reader, buzzer / 3.6mm audio jack, NeoPixel, the entire GPIO pins damaged out to be used and we now have six Grove connectors to be used with suitable elements. Every of the GPIO pins has a helpful LED that can be utilized to shortly debug a difficulty. The included ESP-01 header allows primary Wi-Fi entry and, since we wrote our overview, Cytron has launched an up to date information on get the Maker Pi Pico related to wi-fi. For $10 this board is difficult to beat!
Learn: Cytron Maker Pi Pico Evaluation
Adafruit’s QT Py RP2040 is just like Pimoroni’s Tiny 2040. Now we have the RP2040 squeezed into the smallest bundle and we now have a curated number of GPIO pins for our initiatives. Adafruit’s QTPy RP2040 has castellated edges, designed to floor mount the board right into a undertaking and it contains a Stemma QT / Qwiic connector which breaks out a further I2C connection to be used with Stemma QT / Qwiic suitable elements, a helpful and tidy resolution for fast prototyping.
The low value and ease of use afforded by the QTPy RP2040 is amplified by Adafruit’s MicroPython fork, CircuitPython, which has many libraries of code to be used with Stemma QT / Qwiic elements. Even for those who already personal a Raspberry Pi Pico, the QTPy RP2040 ought to nonetheless be a part of your undertaking field.
Learn: Adafruit QT Py RP2040 Evaluation
Solder Celebration’s RP2040 Stamp is a $12, one-inch sq. board resembles a postage stamp however emblazoned on the middle is the acquainted RP2040 SoC, together with 8MB of flash storage and a full complement of GPIO pins forming a fringe of castellations across the board.
RP2040 Stamp is designed to be used in your personal PCBs. The castellations and onboard LiPo charging system implies that many of the arduous work is completed for us. It is a well designed board which we are able to see being utilized in a plethora of recent initiatives.
Learn: Solder Celebration RP2040 Stamp Evaluation
Most of the Raspberry Pi Pico alternate options have one factor in frequent, they lack the complete set of GPIO pins discovered on the Pico. Pimoroni’s Pico LiPo is a drop-in alternative for the Raspberry Pi Pico that gives the entire GPIO pins discovered on a Pico, with added bonus of onboard LiPo / Li-Ion charging and a Stemma QT / Qwiic connector.
Pico LiPo does value greater than 3 times the worth of a normal Pico, however with these further options in the identical type issue we are able to justify spending the additional cash. If you’re planning to construct embedded / cell initiatives or want to check out the Stemma QT / Qwiic elements ecosystem, then Pico LiPo is a severe contender in your consideration.
Learn: Pimoroni Pico LiPo Evaluation
Arduino’s first RP2040 powered board would be the final of the primary wave of accomplice boards, however it’s protected to say that it’s the most anticipated. The Arduino Nano RP2040 Join is the one RP2040 primarily based board to return with onboard Wi-Fi, the identical Wi-Fi as utilized in Arduino’s Nano 33 IoT and provided that these two boards share the identical pinout and type issue, the RP2040 is a drop in alternative.
The Arduino Nano RP2040 Join is not only a “one trick pony” it additionally comes with an LSM6DSOXTR Inertial Measurement Unit, able to measuring orientation, inertial forces and gestures, and the board additionally contains a microphone for easy voice / audio enter. The Arduino Nano RP2040 Join is suitable with CircuitPython, MicroPython and C, however being an Arduino product the best compatibility and assist is discovered of their IDE.
Nevertheless, for a board this costly, it’s annoying that it lacks USB-C and our preliminary expertise programming it was a problem due to some bugs. And the preliminary documentation from Arduino on program it has been very poor.
Learn: Arduino Nano RP2040 Join Evaluation
Seeed’s $5 XIAO RP2040 is an improve on its earlier SAMD21 mannequin for no extra cash. It shares the identical pinout as Adafruit’s QT Py RP2040 however lacks the Stemma QT port. If you really want that port then pay the additional $5 for the QT Py, however for many makes use of Seeed’s XIAO RP2040 is greater than as much as the job.
The tiny board is made for dropping into an embedded undertaking, and the castellated edges imply we are able to simply floor mount solder this board to a PCB. The price per board implies that we are able to embed and neglect a undertaking with out hurting our wallets.
Learn: Seeed XIAO RP2040
A vibrant and clear 2.4 inch IPS LCD which you can put on round your neck, or maintain in your desk. Powered by the RP2040, Tufty 2040 is all concerning the show. Entrance and heart it is a nice show with good viewing angles and wealthy colours. Designed to be worn as a convention badge, Tufty 2040 is way more than an arrogance undertaking.
Across the again we see connections for Qw/ST (StemmaQT / Qwiic) sensors, which suggests we are able to simply use Tufty 2040 as a desktop knowledge station for air high quality and temperature knowledge. Energy can come from one in every of three sources. USB C, AAA batteries or LiPo. The AAA batteries and LiPo choices join by way of a devoted JST-PH connector, however notice that there is no such thing as a builtin charging circuit so your batteries will must be charged externally.
The small measurement, straightforward to make use of MicroPython library and Qw/ST connector elevate Tufty 2040 from being “only a badge” into an excellent knowledge visualization device. Certain we might like to see Wi-Fi as an choice, Tufty 2040 got here out simply earlier than the Raspberry Pi Pico W, so the overlap is unlucky. That mentioned, Tufty 2040 remains to be an excellent buy.
Learn: Pimoroni Tufty 2040 Evaluation
Pimoroni’s Keybow 2040 is one thing particular within the RP2040 vary: a programmable 16-key keypad, powered by the RP2040. This isn’t a board that you simply use to construct a undertaking, reasonably it’s one thing that we combine right into a undertaking. With 16 mechanical keys, every with an addressable NeoPixel LED we are able to construct the Keybow 2040 into our each day workflow.
The board ships with Pimoroni’s fork of MicroPython with modules to make use of Keybow 2040, however you’ll solely get one of the best from this board by way of Adafruit’s CircuitPython and its USB HID module. Utilizing this we are able to assign keypresses, media keys and mouse actions to any of the keys, making quick work of tedious duties.
Learn: Pimoroni Keybow 2040 Evaluation
The $10 SparkFun Professional Micro RP2040 is the most affordable mannequin in SparkFun’s vary and follows a basic design that resembles an Arduino Nano board format which is at house in a breadboard and embedded into your initiatives. Now we have fewer GPIO pins than a Pico, however greater than Adafruit’s QTPy RP2040 whereas retaining a small format.
SparkFun’s Qwiic connector, suitable with Adafruit’s Stemma QT, allows us to make use of most of the suitable elements akin to sensors and shows with the Professional Micro and for $10 it is a Swiss Military Knife of a board that gives a price efficient and multi-purpose means to discover the RP2040 ecosystem.
