Arduino Selection Guide
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The following is a guide to selecting Arduino compatible hardware. It is an incomplete list and is based on a mix of fact, opinion, and personal experience. Feel free to disagree and contribute to this list!
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General Purpose
| Price | # Digital (PWM) | # Analog | Voltage | Notes | |
| Trinket Pro | $15 | 18 (6) | 8 | 3.3v or 5v | more pins than UNO, built in USB, tiny |
| Uno (R3) | $35 | 14 (6) | 6 | 5v | simple, easy, foolproof. a bit large |
| Pro Mini | $10-15 | 14 (6) | 8 | 3.3v or 5v | small & cheap. Needs FTDI |
| Teensy 3.2 | $25 | 34 (12) | 21 | 3.3v | good partner for ESP8266, built in USB, powerful, DAC |
| Teensy LC | < $20 | 27 (10) | 21 | 3.3v | good partner for neopixels, built in USB, powerful, DAC? |
Small and Cheap
| Price | # Digital (PWM) | # Analog | Voltage | Notes | |
| Trinket | $10 | 5 (3) | 3 | 3.3v or 5v | small & cheap, built in USB |
| ESP8266 | < $5 | 9 (9) | 1 | 3.3v | WiFi!! Needs FTDI, cheap, tricky to use |
| ATTiny84a | $2 | 10 (4) | 8 | 1.8v - 5.5v | cheap, VERY tiny, tricky to use, needs FTDI |
Big, Expensive, Specialty
| Price | # Digital (PWM) | # Analog | Voltage | Notes | |
| MEGA 2560 | $60 | 54 (15) | 16 | 5v | Good for 3d Printer, robots, other big and complex things. Teensy is almost always a better choice |
| DUE | $60 | 54 (12) | 12 | 3.3v | has a DAC, basically a 32 bit Mega |
| Yun | $90 | 20 (7) | 12 | 3.3v | Linux (Open WRT), WiFi.. just don't use this, it's really buggy. |
| Zero | $70 | 20 (18) | 6 | 3.3v | DAC, pretty much an expensive Teensy |
