Arduino UNO Q vs Raspberry Pi 5: which board for which project

Arduino UNO Q vs Raspberry Pi 5 compared: CPU, RAM, storage, ports, price and real-time control, with a clear pick for each type of project.

The Arduino UNO Q and the Raspberry Pi 5 solve different problems. Choose the UNO Q when you need a Linux computer and a real-time microcontroller on one board in the classic UNO shape. Choose the Raspberry Pi 5 when you need raw CPU speed, more memory, fast storage and a desktop or server-class Linux machine. Specs below are from Arduino and Raspberry Pi documentation, as of October 2026.

Quick answer by use case

Motors, sensors and UNO shields with Linux on top: UNO Q.
Desktop, media centre, home server, self-hosting: Raspberry Pi 5.
Small on-device vision or audio models next to hardware control: UNO Q for light workloads; Raspberry Pi 5 when you need more CPU headroom.
NVMe storage, dual 4K displays, Gigabit Ethernet: Raspberry Pi 5.
Simple blinking, reading and switching with no OS: neither; a plain microcontroller board is enough.

What each board is

The Arduino UNO Q is a two-processor board. A Qualcomm Dragonwing QRB2210 (quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 at 2.0 GHz, Adreno GPU) runs Debian Linux. Next to it sits an STM32U585 microcontroller (Arm Cortex-M33, up to 160 MHz, 2 MB flash, 786 kB SRAM) that runs Arduino sketches on Zephyr OS. Both live on a board with the standard UNO header layout.

The Raspberry Pi 5 is a single-processor Linux computer. It uses the Broadcom BCM2712 with a quad-core 2.4 GHz Arm Cortex-A76 and a VideoCore VII GPU. It has no microcontroller for real-time work; GPIO is handled from Linux through the 40-pin header.

Specs side by side

Processing

UNO Q: Cortex-A53 x4 at 2.0 GHz plus a Cortex-M33 at up to 160 MHz.
Raspberry Pi 5: Cortex-A76 x4 at 2.4 GHz. The A76 is a considerably larger, faster core design than the A53, so for general computing the Pi 5 is the stronger board.

Memory and storage

UNO Q: two variants on the Arduino Store: 2 GB LPDDR4 with 16 GB eMMC, and 4 GB LPDDR4 with 32 GB eMMC. Arduino recommends the 4 GB version for standalone single-board-computer use.
Raspberry Pi 5: 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 GB LPDDR4X, with a microSD slot and a PCIe 2.0 x1 interface for NVMe drives through a separate adapter.

Connectivity and ports

UNO Q: dual-band Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1, one USB-C port, a Qwiic connector, and bottom high-speed connectors that carrier boards use for MIPI-CSI cameras, MIPI-DSI displays and analog audio. HDMI, Ethernet, USB peripherals and microSD need a USB-C dongle.
Raspberry Pi 5: dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, Gigabit Ethernet, two USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports, dual 4Kp60 HDMI and two 4-lane MIPI camera/display connectors.

Power

The Raspberry Pi 5 is specified for 5 V at 5 A over USB-C with Power Delivery, and the UNO Q needs a USB-C Power Delivery supply of at least 15 W according to Arduino's store FAQ. Arduino does not publish a typical power draw for the UNO Q, so any claim that it uses less power under load is unverified until you measure it with your own workload.

Price: check before you buy

As of October 2026 the Arduino Store lists the 2 GB UNO Q at €59.90 and the 4 GB at €82.90, VAT included. Raspberry Pi pricing depends on the RAM size and has changed over time, and I could not confirm current list prices for every variant, so check the official product page or an approved reseller for the live price of the RAM size you want. Also remember that a Pi needs a power supply, a microSD card or SSD, and usually a cooler; the UNO Q ships with its storage on board.

Real-time control: where the UNO Q is different

Linux is not a real-time operating system. On a Raspberry Pi, a task such as driving a stepper motor or reading a fast sensor competes with everything else the system is doing, so builders often add a separate microcontroller. The UNO Q puts that microcontroller on the same board, and Arduino's tooling, App Lab, is built around running a Linux-side app and a sketch together.

It also keeps the UNO header layout, so existing shield-based projects have a path to the new board. Arduino's UNO Q page does not state the I/O logic levels, so check the board's datasheet before connecting older shields, since the UNO R4 is described as a 5 V-only board in its documentation.

Edge AI and vision

Arduino positions the UNO Q for on-device vision and audio, with an Adreno GPU and dual image signal processors on the Qualcomm chip, and camera input over USB or, with a carrier board, MIPI-CSI. The Raspberry Pi 5 has a much faster CPU and dual camera connectors, and is the more common choice for heavier workloads. For anything beyond light models, test your actual model on both before committing. For more on this area, see our AI coverage.

UNO Q vs UNO R4 and ESP32

Two other comparisons come up often.

UNO Q vs UNO R4: the UNO R4 Minima is a microcontroller-only board with a Renesas RA4M1 (Cortex-M4, 48 MHz, 256 kB flash, 32 kB SRAM) and no Linux. The UNO Q has a faster microcontroller plus a full Linux processor, and sits in a higher price class. If you only need to read sensors and drive outputs, the R4 is simpler.
UNO Q vs ESP32: ESP32 boards are low-cost microcontrollers with built-in Wi-Fi. They do not run desktop Linux. The UNO Q is a different class of device, closer to a small computer with a microcontroller attached.

Software

The UNO Q supports Arduino App Lab, Arduino IDE 2.0 or later (for the microcontroller only) and Arduino CLI. The Raspberry Pi 5 runs Raspberry Pi OS and many other Linux distributions, and has the larger library of tutorials and third-party software, which matters if you want answers to be easy to find.

Which should you pick?

If your project is mostly physical (motors, relays, sensors, shields) with some Linux services, start with the UNO Q.
If your project is mostly software (server, desktop, media, heavy processing) with some GPIO, start with the Raspberry Pi 5.
If you need both heavy processing and hard timing, consider a Pi 5 with a separate microcontroller, or the UNO Q if its CPU is sufficient for your tests.

More hardware stories are in our Makers section.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Arduino UNO Q faster than the Raspberry Pi 5?

No. The UNO Q uses 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53 cores, while the Raspberry Pi 5 uses 2.4 GHz Cortex-A76 cores, which are a stronger design. The UNO Q adds a microcontroller for real-time tasks, which the Pi 5 lacks.

What are the Arduino UNO Q specs?

It has a Qualcomm QRB2210 quad-core Cortex-A53 at 2.0 GHz, an STM32U585 Cortex-M33 microcontroller, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1 and a USB-C port. It comes in 2 GB and 4 GB RAM versions.

Does the Arduino UNO Q run Linux?

Yes. The Qualcomm processor runs Debian Linux, while the microcontroller runs Arduino sketches on Zephyr OS.

How much does the Arduino UNO Q cost?

As of October 2026 the Arduino Store lists €59.90 for the 2 GB model and €82.90 for the 4 GB model, VAT included.

Can the UNO Q replace a Raspberry Pi?

For light Linux tasks combined with hardware control, yes. For desktop use, NVMe storage, multiple displays or heavy processing, the Raspberry Pi 5 is the better fit.