If you have decided to acquire an Arduino but you may have noticed that there is a great variety of them in the market and now you do not know which one to buy, this post is for you.

In this post we will let you know the capabilities of each Arduino model so you can make the best decision when buying one.

There is currently a wide variety of models on the market, so first of all we will address them individually, showing their main characteristics:

Arduino UNO.
It is the best known and used, it has 14 Digital Inputs/Outputs of which only 6 can be used as PWM outputs, besides it has 6 analog inputs, its clock speed is 16MHz, it has USB connection, power jack and a button for reset.

This board includes all the necessary components for the microcontroller to function properly, simply by connecting it to the computer through a USB cable or by powering it using the built-in power jack.
Actually, it is the reference model for the platform and due to this, its support is the largest within the Arduino community.

Arduino Pro.
Mainly this model is in two versions: 3.3V to 8MHz and 5V to 16MHz. It is a simpler and cheaper version of the Arduino UNO, because it is based on the same microcontroller (Atmega328P-PU) but its difference is that it lacks Serial-USB converter so to be programmed requires the use of an FTDI cable. It was designed for semi-permanent prototypes.



Arduino Pro mini.
This model is the miniature version of the previously seen Arduino Pro, was designed in order to be used in applications where space is lacking or the use of ultra light components is necessary. As the original version requires an FTDI cable to be programmed.



Arduino Leonardo.
This board was designed in a very similar way to the Arduino UNO board, so many of the Shields used for the UNO model are compatible with this model, except for some Shields due to pin incompatibility.

Although this model is a little more economical than the UNO model, it does not mean that its features are inferior, on the contrary, this model does not require another microcontroller to work as a Serial-USB converter, as it happens with the Arduino UNO, since the microcontroller Atmega32u4 that is incorporated in this board has integrated USB communication and this is why its price is lower because it requires fewer components.


Arduino Micro.
This board is a miniature model of the previously described Arduino Leonardo, so its capabilities are exactly the same as it is mainly the built-in USB communication. This model, like the Arduino Pro mini, was designed for use in applications where space is limited.




Arduino MEGA.
Mainly it was designed for applications in projects that require a great electronic control, as compared to the Arduino UNO, this model has a much larger number of Digital Inputs/Outputs (54 vs 14), in addition to having 12 more PWM type outputs (16 in total), I2C, 4 UART ports and 10 additional analog inputs (16 in total). Not only their physical capacities are greater but also their memory capacity can be used in cases where the code is very extensive.


Arduino MEGA ADK.
The main characteristic of this board is its USB Host interface, which allows you to connect a phone with Android Operating System to receive information and even orders from it for the control of led's, motors, etc...
The pin layout is exactly the same as the Arduino MEGA, so any shield compatible with Arduino MEGA will be compatible for this model.



Arduino DUE.
This board is the highest capacity and processing speed currently designed by Arduino, is based on an ARM-cortex processor whose clock speed is 84MHz, its pin distribution is similar to the Arduino MEGA with the exception of 2 DA converters and 2 additional CAN communication pins. Unlike other boards the working voltage of this is 3.3V.


Arduino Ethernet.
This board is basically a modification of the Arduino UNO board, since it is based on the same ATmega328P-PU microcontroller, its digital inputs/outputs were reduced to only 9 of which only 4 PWM can be used, all this in exchange for get connectivity to a network via Ethernet in addition to having a slot for microSD cards.




Arduino Lilypad.
According to the official site of Arduino, this board was designed for use in e-textiles, its has dedicated pins for sewing, sensors, and actuators. It is based on the ATmega168V which is a low power version and requires an FTDI cable to be programmed.



Arduino Esplora.
This version was designed primarily for those who want to enter the world of Arduino without prior knowledge of electronics, because it includes different types of sensors, as well as buttons and an analog jostick. It is a modified version of the Arduino Leonardo.