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>Why would anybody use an Arduino versus a five dollar Raspberry Pi Zero? 1. The $5 Raspberry Pi Zero isn't really $5. 2. The fact that the $5 advertised pr

>Why would anybody use an Arduino versus a five dollar Raspberry Pi Zero? 1. The $5 Raspberry Pi Zero isn't really $5. 2. The fact that the $5 advertised price isn't the real price, and the inventory games they play raises ethical problems for some people. 3. You can get an Arduino clone for less than $2 (for real, and in bulk). 4. The Pi and other SBCs have higher power requirements, so they can't reliably run off AA batteries. 5. The Pi also requires an SD card, increasing the cost. 6. The Arduino comes in many form factors which are considerably smaller than SBCs. 7. The two aren't drop in replacements, the Pi runs a "real" opperating system that does a lot of things in the background. So communicating with other devices which have specific timing requirements is significantly more difficult on the Pi. 8. The market for Arduino "shields" is much more competitive than the Pi "hats". 9. There are just a lot more shields and sensors available designed to interface with the Arduino 10. The Pi's IO pins are 3.3v, where the Arduino's are (on most boards) 5v. So using sensors/boards designed for the Arduino requires a level shifter

joemi 7y ago
But $5 is the real price of the Zero. Perhaps you’re thinking of the Zero W, which is $10? Or do you mean the $5 doesn’t include the power? If that’s what you mean, it should be noted that power doesn’t come with Arduinos either, and they both can be powered via USB. And to what unethical inventory games are you referring? That seems like a pretty serious accusation you’re making.
- gmiller123456 7y ago
  When you actually try to buy one from the very few distributors permitted to sell them, you'll either end up paying $5-$7 in shipping, when it could be shipped for closer to $1 USPS. And you're only allowed to buy one. Or, if you walk in to a MicroCenter, the only distributor with a physical location you can walk in to and buy one, they're either out of stock, or again you're limited to just one, but you can buy more at a higher price.
  - winsome 7y ago
    I ran into this problem the other week. I was trying to buy 5 pi zeros for a few projects I have in mind and a couple of backups to have lying around. Couldn't do it. Very frustrating.
    - gmiller123456 7y ago
      Anyone needing to buy several Pi W's should look into the Orange Pi Zero. They also play some games with the shipping cost, but at least the shipping cost per unit goes down the more you buy. Buying 5 would run you $10.60 each, and 10 would cost $10.30. (All US shipping prices from AliExpress) The main thing to look out for is that it doesn't have HDMI out, only two headers for composite out. I imagine most people plan to run them headless anyway, but unless you have something that can display composite video, it can be a pain to set up at first. Another option is that when you buy from Adafruit, you can buy one of each version. One Zero, one Zero W, and one Zero WH, for $29 plus shipping. You can then buy a USB WiFi adapter off E-Bay for about $1 shipped, and as many USB OTG adapters as you need for less than $1 each. Depending on shipping, that puts you in the $11-$12 per board range.
- sokoloff 7y ago
  The $5 price is only valid for a single unit. When Microcenter has them has them in stock, they are typical $5 for 1, and $15 for every one after that. Other stores online who stock them avoid this issue by limiting you to a single item per cart. (I checked all three stores linked from the official RPi site; all behave that way.) Microcenter often has the Zero W also discounted to $5 for a single and then $15 for every one after that. Right now, they have them discounted to $10 for 1 and $20 for every one after that. https://www.microcenter.com/product/486575/raspberry-pi-zero-w https://www.microcenter.com/product/486575/raspberry-pi-zero... Forum post from a member of the Raspberry Pi team: "They will never be available in bulk amounts at the $5 and $10 price points, it's not cost effective to sell at that price. But they ARE available for bulk buys - i.e. demand no longer outstrips supply. But we can sell individual items at that prices, for educational needs - i.e. those who cannot afford the higher price of the Pi3. Call it an educational discount." https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=201916#p1255982 https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=201916#p1... From the above, I agree with the other poster who claimed that $5 is not the real price for the Zero, but rather a limited quantity specially discounted price.
starik36 7y ago
> The $5 Raspberry Pi Zero isn't really $5 It is a real price. For the Zero W. I bought one a year ago. Ordered it, then headed to the store a bit later. https://i.imgur.com/ajeH8PQ.png https://i.imgur.com/ajeH8PQ.png They've since changed the price to $10.
- sokoloff 7y ago
  I also bought many at $5. One at a time on each trip into Microcenter. IMO, if I can't buy 10 of something for $50 or 100 for $500, the "real price" isn't $5/unit. Microcenter would pretty consistently sell $5 for 1 and then $15 or $20 for each additional unit.

joemi 7y ago

But $5 is the real price of the Zero. Perhaps you’re thinking of the Zero W, which is $10? Or do you mean the $5 doesn’t include the power? If that’s what you mean, it should be noted that power doesn’t come with Arduinos either, and they both can be powered via USB. And to what unethical inventory games are you referring? That seems like a pretty serious accusation you’re making.

gmiller123456 7y ago
When you actually try to buy one from the very few distributors permitted to sell them, you'll either end up paying $5-$7 in shipping, when it could be shipped for closer to $1 USPS. And you're only allowed to buy one. Or, if you walk in to a MicroCenter, the only distributor with a physical location you can walk in to and buy one, they're either out of stock, or again you're limited to just one, but you can buy more at a higher price.
- winsome 7y ago
  I ran into this problem the other week. I was trying to buy 5 pi zeros for a few projects I have in mind and a couple of backups to have lying around. Couldn't do it. Very frustrating.
  - gmiller123456 7y ago
    Anyone needing to buy several Pi W's should look into the Orange Pi Zero. They also play some games with the shipping cost, but at least the shipping cost per unit goes down the more you buy. Buying 5 would run you $10.60 each, and 10 would cost $10.30. (All US shipping prices from AliExpress) The main thing to look out for is that it doesn't have HDMI out, only two headers for composite out. I imagine most people plan to run them headless anyway, but unless you have something that can display composite video, it can be a pain to set up at first. Another option is that when you buy from Adafruit, you can buy one of each version. One Zero, one Zero W, and one Zero WH, for $29 plus shipping. You can then buy a USB WiFi adapter off E-Bay for about $1 shipped, and as many USB OTG adapters as you need for less than $1 each. Depending on shipping, that puts you in the $11-$12 per board range.
sokoloff 7y ago
The $5 price is only valid for a single unit. When Microcenter has them has them in stock, they are typical $5 for 1, and $15 for every one after that. Other stores online who stock them avoid this issue by limiting you to a single item per cart. (I checked all three stores linked from the official RPi site; all behave that way.) Microcenter often has the Zero W also discounted to $5 for a single and then $15 for every one after that. Right now, they have them discounted to $10 for 1 and $20 for every one after that. https://www.microcenter.com/product/486575/raspberry-pi-zero-w https://www.microcenter.com/product/486575/raspberry-pi-zero... Forum post from a member of the Raspberry Pi team: "They will never be available in bulk amounts at the $5 and $10 price points, it's not cost effective to sell at that price. But they ARE available for bulk buys - i.e. demand no longer outstrips supply. But we can sell individual items at that prices, for educational needs - i.e. those who cannot afford the higher price of the Pi3. Call it an educational discount." https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=201916#p1255982 https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=201916#p1... From the above, I agree with the other poster who claimed that $5 is not the real price for the Zero, but rather a limited quantity specially discounted price.

starik36 7y ago

> The $5 Raspberry Pi Zero isn't really $5 It is a real price. For the Zero W. I bought one a year ago. Ordered it, then headed to the store a bit later. https://i.imgur.com/ajeH8PQ.png https://i.imgur.com/ajeH8PQ.png They've since changed the price to $10.

sokoloff 7y ago
I also bought many at $5. One at a time on each trip into Microcenter. IMO, if I can't buy 10 of something for $50 or 100 for $500, the "real price" isn't $5/unit. Microcenter would pretty consistently sell $5 for 1 and then $15 or $20 for each additional unit.