Banana Pi Single Board Computer vs Raspberry Pi Comparison

Introduction

Banana Pi M1 and Raspberry Pi B+ are affordable single board computers that can be hacked into endless fun projects! They are both very portable and low profile, they are mini Linux computers!

Banana Pi

Raspberry Pi B+

Hardware

Banana Pi

• Dual core A20 CPU 1GHz
• Mali 400MP2 GPU
• 1 GB DDR3 RAM
• 10/100/1000 Ethernet
• 2 USB 2.0
• HDMI
• SATA 2.0

Raspberry Pi

• Broadcom SoC 700MHz
• VideoCore IV GPU
• 512 MB RAM
• 10/100 Ethernet
• 2 USB 2.0
• HDMI

From hardware perspective, Banana Pi is the clear winner featuring twice the RAM, a dual-core CPU at a higher clock rate. BUT Banana Pi completely destroys Raspberry Pi with its Gigabit Ethernet connection and SATA port. With better connectivity, Banana Pi offers much better performance and has the oomhp to power many tasking projects.

Software

It is a common misunderstanding that Raspberry Pi has better software than Banana Pi and it is NOT the case in terms of software. Raspberry Pi is more renowned, supported by projects, but they both are compatible with similar operating systems including

• ArchLinux
• Kali Linux
• Raspbian
• OpenELEC/XMBC 
• OpenWRT
• Open Media Vault
• Scratch
• and more

Though many operating systems are support, both Pis are limited in processing power, especially graphics processing power. Running command line systems are mediocre, but when I ran Lubuntu on 1080p, the lag was noticeable.

Benchmark

I did some light browser JavaScript benchmarks on Banana Pi and my HP Laptop. Below are my results.

 NOTE: that Sunspider is not the best benchmark in the world and definitely unreliable, but I used it because it is quick and easy to run. 

• Banana Pi
• A20 SoC dual core 1GHz
• 2259.4
• HP g6
• Phenom(tm) II P650 dual core 2.6GHz
• 837

As you can see, there is significant performance difference between a $400 laptop and a $50 single board computer. Honestly, A20 SoC performs surprisingly well, it can effeminately handle your demands.
I did not do detailed benchmark on both devices, but please check here for benchmarks from another blog.

Price

Banana Pi definitely out performs Raspberry Pi, but I am sure Raspberry Pi is more popular among DIYers. They are both two really great projects to consider and trust me, they are fun!

 Raspberry Pi B+ is available for $35

 Banana Pi is available for $45

Warp Up

If you are looking for fun projects to do on your weekend, don't hesitate and pick up your next projects online!