Arduino UNO vs. Elegoo UNO DIY Electrical Boards

Arduino UNO vs. Elegoo UNO | DIY Electronics Kits

If you’re looking to get into DIY electronics and microcontrollers, you’re going to need a DIY electrical board.

There are a few different brands on the market, but the most common one by far is Arduino. However, all of Arduino’s schematics are open-source, which means anyone with an internet connection can get a hold of them and create their own board.

This is where the Elegoo comes in. It is a re-made version of the Arduino boards, only with more components and at a lower price.

The main difference between Arduino UNO and Elegoo UNO is that Arduino UNO is manufactured in Italy, whereas Elegoo UNO is made in China. Arduino is the originator and sells their boards for significantly higher prices than the equivalent Elegoo boards, which are based on the same open-source schematics.

Let’s take a look at both of these boards to figure out which one would be best for your situation.

Related post: What are the Differences Between Arduino and Raspberry Pi?

What are the Differences Between Arduino UNO and Elegoo UNO?

IMAGE PRODUCT DETAILS 
Official Arduino Starter Kit [K000007] (English Projects Book) - 12 DIY Projects with All Necessary Electronic Components and Instructions - origianl kit by Arduino from Italy Arduino Starter Kit
  • made by an Italian company
  • with better and easier to understand tutorial
  • comes with 22 sample projects
ELEGOO UNO Project Super Starter Kit with Tutorial and UNO R3 Compatible with Arduino IDE ELEGOO UNO R3 Super Starter Kit
  • made by a Chinese manufacturer
  • used open-source blueprints

Manufacturer

Both of these boards might be very similar, but very different companies make them. Arduino UNO is made by an Italian company that was the first to create the open-sourced schematics.

Elegoo UNO is a cheaper equivalent of this board made by a Chinese manufacturer.

Price

Although prices vary, Arduino UNO is usually substantially more expensive than the Elegoo version.

This is largely because Arduino had to take the time and money to develop the board itself, while Elegoo used the open-source blueprints. Furthermore, Arduino boards are manufactured in Italy, whereas Elegoo boards are made in China, where labor costs are much lower.

Often, you can get much larger Elegoo kits for half the price of an Arduino UNO kit of a smaller size.

Number of Components

Elegoo UNO kits nearly always come with more components than the Arduino UNO. This allows you to do more projects and prevents you from needing to buy more parts separately. Of course, the exact number of components you purchase depends on the kit you buy.

You can buy both of these boards by themselves with no components included, or you can buy their respective starter kits.

Tutorial

Both of these electric boards sell in kits that come with tutorials and example projects. This is great for those new to these sorts of controller boards since it allows them to learn the ropes in a hands-on manner.

With that said, the Arduino Uno tutorial is generally considered to be better and easier to understand.

The Arduino UNO starter kit comes with 22 sample projects, though you can find many more online thanks to the open-source platform. Note that not all of them are necessarily as hands-on as the Arduino ones.

Arduino UNO vs Elegoo UNO – How to Decide?

Smart electronic kit

Truthfully, there is not much different functionally between these two DIY boards. They’re basically the same board. Neither has dependability or quality problems, and both come with some decent tutorials.

When you purchase the Arduino UNO, you’re paying quite a bit more. However, you’re also funding the creation of more boards and the extensive online database of projects.

When you buy an Elegoo UNO, you will be spending much less money.

However, it is not as clear whether that company will invest in further research and innovation.

Arduino uno kit used for a project

Bottom line, both boards are great. If you or your child are just getting started with these sorts of projects, we recommend the Elegoo UNO.

Lower prices have a powerful effect, and Elegoo is now dominant in providing inexpensive UNO-based Electronics kits. No one wants to spend hundreds of dollars on something only to realize that you don’t actually like it.

Otherwise, we recommend the Arduino UNO so you can continue supporting the people who created this accessible board and who are continuing to drive research and innovation into low-cost consumer and hobbyist electronics.

Last update on 2024-03-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API