Which part to pick.
30pairs of parts makers weigh against each other, side by side with every figure cited to the maker’s datasheet, when to pick each, and what changes when you swap one for the other.
- A4988 vs TMC2209A4988 vs TMC2209 from the Allegro and Trinamic datasheets: StealthChop2, 1/16 vs 1/256 steps, 8 V vs 4.75 V minimum, current, and the MS pin table swap.
- Arduino UNO R4 Minima vs R4 WiFiUNO R4 Minima vs R4 WiFi: same 48 MHz RA4M1 and 5 V headers; the WiFi adds an ESP32-S3 for Wi-Fi and BLE, a 12 × 8 LED matrix and Qwiic. CAN pins move.
- Arduino Uno vs Mega 2560Arduino Uno vs Mega 2560: 14 vs 54 digital pins, 6 vs 16 analog inputs, 1 vs 4 serial ports, 32 vs 256 KB flash. Same 5 V and 16 MHz; I2C and SPI pins move.
- Arduino Uno vs NanoArduino Uno vs Nano: the same ATmega328P and code, but the Nano is 18 × 45 mm, fits a breadboard and adds A6 and A7; the Uno takes shields and a barrel jack.
- Arduino Uno R3 vs Uno R4 MinimaUno R3 vs Uno R4 Minima from Arduino's datasheets: 16 MHz AVR vs 48 MHz Cortex-M4, 2 KB vs 32 kB SRAM, 20 mA vs 8 mA pins, same 5 V shields.
- BME280 vs BME680BME280 vs BME680 from Bosch's datasheets: same humidity and temperature specs, VOC gas sensing on the BME680 at 9 to 13 mA, I2C 0x76/0x77 on both.
- BME280 vs BMP280BME280 vs BMP280 from Bosch's datasheets: same ±0.12 hPa pressure and 0x76/0x77 address, humidity only on the BME280, chip ID 0x60 vs 0x58.
- DHT11 vs DHT22DHT11 vs DHT22 from Aosong's datasheets: ±5 %RH and ±2 °C against ±2 %RH and ±0.5 °C, -40 °C range, same wiring and library, one-word code swap.
- DHT22 vs BME280DHT22 vs BME280 from the datasheets: ±2 vs ±3 %RH, ±0.5 °C both, pressure and I2C on the BME280 at 3.6 µA, a 2 s read limit on the DHT22.
- 1N4007 vs 1N41481N4007 vs 1N4148 from Vishay's datasheets: 1 A and 1000 V against 150 mA, 75 V and 4 ns. Which diode for flyback, rectifying, logic and clamping.
- DS18B20 vs DHT22DS18B20 waterproof probe vs DHT22: -55 to +125 °C at ±0.5 °C on a 1-Wire bus, or humidity at ±2 %RH on its own pin. Datasheet figures, wiring, code.
- ESP32-C3 SuperMini vs ESP32 DevKit V1ESP32-C3 SuperMini vs ESP32 DevKit V1: 1 RISC-V core at 160 MHz vs 2 at 240 MHz, BLE 5 only vs Classic and BLE, 13 vs 25 GPIO, native USB vs bridge.
- ESP32 vs ESP32-S3ESP32 DevKit V1 vs ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1: LX6 vs LX7 at 240 MHz, Classic Bluetooth and DAC vs native USB, 45 GPIO and PSRAM. Pin changes when you swap.
- ESP32 vs ESP8266ESP32 DevKit V1 vs ESP8266 NodeMCU from Espressif's datasheets: 2 cores at 240 MHz vs 1 at 80 MHz, Bluetooth vs none, 15 ADC pins vs 1. Code changes listed.
- NodeMCU vs WEMOS D1 MiniNodeMCU vs WEMOS D1 mini: same ESP8266EX, 4 MB flash, A0 range and D-pin mapping. The D1 mini is 34.2 × 25.6 mm with shields; NodeMCU has 30 pins.
- HC-05 vs HM-10HC-05 vs HM-10: Bluetooth 2.0 SPP for Android and PCs against BLE 4.0 for iPhone and low power. Wiring, baud rates, AT commands and current compared.
- HC-SR04 vs JSN-SR04THC-SR04 vs JSN-SR04T: 2 to 400 cm on open transducers, or a sealed probe reading 23 to 600 cm. Same Trig/Echo code, a 20 µs trigger and a 23 cm blind zone.
- HC-SR04 vs VL53L0XHC-SR04 vs VL53L0X: 2 to 400 cm ultrasonic on 5 V GPIO, or a 940 nm laser ToF to 2 m over I2C at 0x29. Range, beam, speed and wiring from the datasheets.
- ILI9341 vs ST7735ILI9341 vs ST7735: 240x320 against 128x160, touch, SPI speed, 3.3 V logic, board size, and the wiring and library changes when you swap one for the other.
- INA219 vs ACS712INA219 vs ACS712 from TI and Allegro datasheets: I2C, 0.8 mA steps and 26 V power readings, or a ±30 A isolated Hall sensor for AC and DC on 5 V.
- L293D vs L298NL293D vs L298N from the TI and ST datasheets: 600 mA against 2 A per channel, built-in diodes, voltage lost in the bridge, logic supply and swapping pins.
- LD2410C vs PIR HC-SR501LD2410C mmWave radar vs HC-SR501 PIR: detects people sitting still to 5 m at 79 mA, or moving heat to 7 m under 50 µA. Wiring, UART and tuning compared.
- LM35 vs TMP36LM35 vs TMP36 from TI and ADI datasheets: both 10 mV/°C, TMP36 reads -40 °C on 2.7 V to 5.5 V, LM35 needs 4 V and is ±1.5 °C at 25 °C. Same pinout.
- OLED 128x64 vs LCD 1602 I2CSSD1306 OLED vs 1602 I2C LCD: 128x64 graphics against 16x2 text, 3.3 V against 5 V, 0x3C against 0x27, RAM use on an Uno, and what changes when you swap.
- HC-SR501 vs RCWL-0516HC-SR501 PIR vs RCWL-0516 radar: under 50 µA and 5 to 300 s adjustable hold, or 2.7 mA, through-plastic sensing and a 2 s pulse. Wiring, swap notes, FAQ.
- Raspberry Pi Pico vs Arduino NanoPico vs Arduino Nano: RP2040 dual core at 133 MHz with 264 kB SRAM vs ATmega328P at 16 MHz with 2 KB. 3.3 V vs 5 V logic, pins and code changes listed.
- Raspberry Pi Pico vs Pico WPico vs Pico W: same RP2040, 264 kB SRAM, pinout and size; the Pico W adds a CYW43439 for 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.2 and moves the LED off GP25.
- SG90 vs MG996RSG90 vs MG996R from TowerPro's specs: 1.8 against 11 kg·cm, plastic against metal gears, 9 g against 55 g, a 1.4 A stall current and the same servo code.
- STM32 Blue Pill vs Black Pill F411Blue Pill F103 vs Black Pill F411 from ST's datasheets: 72 MHz M3 vs 100 MHz M4, 64 vs 512 KB flash, USB DFU upload; the F103 keeps CAN and a second ADC.
- TB6612FNG vs L298NTB6612FNG vs L298N from the Toshiba and ST datasheets: 0.5 V against up to 3.2 V lost at 1 A, 1.2 A against 2 A, 13.5 V against 46 V, and pin swaps.