Top Alternatives to Arduino: Other Boards Worth Considering

Arduino made microcontrollers accessible to everyone. It's the board that launched a million maker projects and it's still a great platform. But it's not the only option anymore, and depending on what you're building, another board might actually serve you better.

Here are the best Arduino alternatives and what makes each one stand out.

ESP32

The ESP32 is probably the most popular Arduino alternative, and for good reason. It has built-in WiFi and Bluetooth, dual-core processing, and it costs about the same as an Arduino Nano. You can even program it using the Arduino IDE, so the transition is nearly painless.

Where the ESP32 really shines is in IoT projects. If your project needs to connect to the internet, send data to a server, or talk to your smart home system, the ESP32 does it natively without any shields or extra modules. The deep sleep modes also make it practical for battery-powered projects.

The ESP32-S3 and ESP32-C3 variants add USB native support and improved features.

Raspberry Pi Pico

The Pico is Raspberry Pi's entry into the microcontroller space, and it's a different animal from the full-size Pi boards. No Linux, no operating system. It's a microcontroller like Arduino, but with a fast dual-core ARM processor and excellent documentation.

You program it in MicroPython or C/C++. MicroPython is particularly appealing for beginners since Python is easier to read and write than Arduino's C++ dialect. The Pico W adds WiFi, making it competitive with the ESP32 for connected projects.

At around $4 for the base Pico, the price is hard to beat.

Teensy

Teensy boards are for when you need raw speed and capability beyond what Arduino offers. The Teensy 4.1 runs at 600 MHz with a Cortex-M7 processor, which is absurdly fast for a microcontroller. It handles audio processing, complex math, and high-speed data acquisition without breaking a sweat.

Teensy is especially popular in the audio and music community. The Teensy Audio Library makes it straightforward to build synthesizers, effects pedals, and audio analyzers. It's also used in robotics and real-time control applications where timing precision matters.

It uses the Arduino IDE with the Teensyduino addon, so existing Arduino knowledge carries over directly.

STM32 (Blue Pill and Beyond)

The STM32 family from STMicroelectronics covers an enormous range of microcontrollers, from tiny low-power chips to powerful application processors. The "Blue Pill" (STM32F103C8T6) became popular as a cheap Arduino alternative with significantly more processing power.

The STM32 ecosystem is more professional-oriented, which means better debugging tools, more peripheral options, and chips designed for production use. You can program many STM32 boards through the Arduino IDE using the STM32duino core, or go deeper with STM32CubeIDE for full access to the chip's capabilities.

If you're moving from hobbyist projects toward products you want to manufacture, STM32 is often where you end up.

Adafruit Feather Series

Adafruit's Feather boards aren't a single alternative but a whole ecosystem. They all share the same form factor and pin layout, which means accessories and wings (Adafruit's term for shields) work across all of them. You can get Feather boards based on ARM Cortex processors, ESP32, nRF52840 (with Bluetooth), and RP2040.

The real sell is CircuitPython, Adafruit's Python implementation for microcontrollers. It makes your board show up as a USB drive, and you edit code by saving files directly to it. No compilation, no uploading. Change the code, save, and it runs. For learning and rapid prototyping, this workflow is incredibly fast.

BBC micro:bit

The micro:bit is designed for education, and it does that job extremely well. It has a built-in LED matrix, buttons, accelerometer, compass, microphone, speaker, and Bluetooth, all on a single tiny board with no wiring required.

You program it through a web-based block editor (like Scratch) or in MicroPython. It's aimed at younger learners and classrooms, but even adults find it useful for quick prototyping since the built-in sensors mean you can test ideas without connecting any hardware.

If you're teaching someone electronics or programming, this is a better starting point than Arduino.

Seeed Studio XIAO

The XIAO line is tiny. Like, thumb-sized tiny. Despite their size, they pack real microcontroller power in several variants: SAMD21, RP2040, nRF52840, and ESP32-C3/S3. They're perfect for wearable projects, space-constrained builds, and situations where a full-size Arduino is just too big.

They're compatible with the Arduino IDE and have a growing ecosystem of small expansion boards. If miniaturization matters for your project, XIAO deserves a look.

BeagleBone

The BeagleBone Black and its newer variants sit somewhere between Arduino and Raspberry Pi. They run Linux like a Pi but have real-time GPIO capabilities more like a microcontroller. The PRU (Programmable Real-time Unit) coprocessors can handle time-sensitive tasks while Linux handles the heavy lifting.

BeagleBone is popular in industrial and robotics applications where you need both the flexibility of Linux and the real-time control of a microcontroller. It's more niche than other alternatives, but in its sweet spot, nothing else quite matches it.

How to Pick

The right alternative depends on what you're building. Need WiFi? ESP32 or Pico W. Need speed? Teensy. Want Python? Pico or Feather with CircuitPython. Teaching kids? micro:bit. Going to production? STM32.

And honestly, Arduino is still great for a lot of projects. These alternatives don't replace it; they give you more options for the situations where Arduino falls short. Most makers end up with a drawer full of different boards, and that's perfectly fine.

The best board is the one that fits your project, not the one with the most impressive specs.