

The compact Arduino Nano is ideal for projects where size is an issue, while Arduino Uno does not have such restrictions. Similarly, there are many other aspects on which the two boards are comparable. Looking for the best Arduino for beginners? I wrote a complete guide comparing costs and features of the best boards for beginners here: /best-arduino-for-beginners/ What Is The Arduino Nano? Below, I’ll cover these aspects and discuss the features of each board separately so that by the end of this article, it’ll be easier for you to decide which board to use in your upcoming project. To compare the two boards, you must first know what the Arduino Nano is. It is a powerful yet very compact microcontroller board, almost half the length of an Uno board. It is one of the most widely used Arduino boards all around the world, mainly because of its unique physical dimensions. It is convenient in situations where you are looking for a board that can fit into tiny spaces without any hassle since it is breadboard friendly. Similar to other Arduino boards, it has digital and analog I/O pins along with power, GND, and reset pins. However, it does not have a regular USB dock instead, it has a micro USB port to connect it with a computer/laptop. Arduino Nano has all the functionalities of other Arduino boards with an added advantage of compact size. You can use Arduino Nano in a wide variety of projects ranging from simple LED blinking projects to complex IoT applications. It is controlled by the powerful ATMEGA328 chip, which offers a clock speed of 16 MHz, just as much as other Arduino boards. Hence, you can rely on Arduino Nano for all your electronic project needs whether you are a student or an electronic hobbyist, this board offers everything that you need. To see how well Arduino Nano works, let’s compare it with the viral Arduino Uno board, which many people believe is their go-to microcontroller board. The Uno board has everything that you would want in a basic microcontroller board.

Let’s see how it compares with the Arduino Nano.

PinoutĪrduino Nano and Uno both have 14 digital I/O pins, while the Analog I/O pins are not equal. Arduino Nano has 8 analog pins while the Uno board has 6 of them. Both boards have the same power pins 5V, 3.3V, GND, and Vin. Now let’s look at some of the significant differences between the two boards. The first one is the absence of a DC barrel connector in the Nano board, which is a handy feature when it comes to powering Arduino without a battery. The UNO board, however, has the option of powering it via a DC adaptor. The second significant difference between the two boards is in the USB port. Arduino Nano has a micro-USB port that connects it to the computer, while the Uno board uses an A/B USB connector.

The designers must have used a smaller USB port for the Nano board because of its small size and delicate PCB. The regular USB port wouldn’t have looked as good on the nano board as it does on the Arduino Uno. The power consumed by Arduino Nano, according to the official Arduino website, is 19 mA. The current per I/O pin is 40 mA, whereas, for the Uno board, it is 20 mA. The power consumption mainly depends on the number of modules you attach to your Arduino since a higher amount of current drawn means that your project requires more power. DimensionsĪrduino Nano is a 45 mm-long board, with a with of 18 mm. On the other hand, the Uno board is 68.6 mm long and has a width of 53.4 mm. The width of the Arduino Nano is approximately one-third of the Uno board, which is a very significant difference.
