List of cheap ARM MCU development boards

[AloyseTech]

Hi,
I would like to make a list of the cheapest (sub 10-15$) ARM development boards. Any addition to this list is welcome!

ST Microelectronic
STM32F103C8T6 development board (aka "Blue Pill") - 2$ (Aliexpress)
STM32F030F4P6 development board - 2$ (Aliexpress)
STM32F407VET6 - 10$ (Aliexpress)
STM32F407VGT6 - 10$ (Aliexpress)
STM32F0DISCOVERY - 15$ (Alexpress)
PYBoard MicroPython Python STM32F405 IoT Development Board - 16$ (banggood)
STM32 Nucleo-32 (STM32 F0 F3 L0 L4) - 10.32$ (stmicroelectronic.com, without shipping)
STM32 Nucleo-64  (STM32 F0 F1 F3 F4 L0 L1 L4) - 10.32$ to 15$ (stmicroelectronic.com, without shipping)
STM32 Nucleo-144 (STM32 F2 F3 F4 F7 L4 L4+ H7) - 19$ to 23$ (stmicroelectronic.com, without shipping)
STM32G0316-DISCO - 9$ (stmicroelectronic.com/distributors, without shipping)

Infineon
XMC 2Go (XMC1100 target, XMC4200 debugger) - 6$ (infineon.com, 5$ shipping)
XMC4500 Relax Lite Kit - 12$ (infineon.com, 5$ shipping)

Cypress
CY8CKIT-043 - 4$ (cypress.com, shipping vary) / 8$ (Aliexpress)
CY8CKIT-059 - 10$ (cypress.com, shipping vary) / 20$ (Aliexpress)

Atmel/Microchip
SAMD21G18A development board - 10$ (Aliexpress)
SAM3X8E (Arduino DUE clone) - 14$ (Aliexpress)
SAMD11 CMSIS-DAP - 10$ (tindie.com, shipping vary, from user @ataradov)
ATSAMD10-XMINI - 9$ (microchipdirect.com, without shipping) / 11$ (mouser, without shipping)
Adafruit Trinket M0 - 9$ (adafruit, without shipping) / 9$ (mouser, without shipping)
Adafruit Gemma M0 - 10$ (adafruit, without shipping) / 10$ (mouser, without shipping)
Adafruit ItsyBitsy M0 Express - 12$ (adafruit, without shipping) / 12$ (mouser, without shipping)
Adafruit ItsyBitsy M4 Express - 15$ (adafruit, without shipping) / 15$ (mouser, without shipping)
Adafruit SAMD09 breakout - 5$ (Adafruit, without shipping)
SushiBits M23 Mini Pro - TBD (Tindie, without shipping)

Maxim
MAX32625PICO# - 10$ (maxim.com, 15$ shipping!) / 11.47$ (Mouser)

Freescale (NXP)
Teensy LC - 12$ (pjrc.com, ++shipping)
BBC:MicroBit USB interface - 15$ (mouser, without shipping)

NXP
Olimex LPC-P1114 - 14.50$ (Mouser)
mBuino LPC11U24 - 15$ (mouser, without shipping) [End Of Life?]
MIMXRT1010-EVK - 10.09$ (mouser) 500MHz Cortex-M7 with High Speed USB, audio codec, 6DOF IMU

Texas Instrument
MSP-EXP432P401R - 15$ (Mouser) / 13$ (ti.com, 7$ shipping)
EK-TM4C123GXL - 15$ (Mouser) / 13$ (ti.com, 7$ shipping)

Nuvoton
NuMaker Uno NUC131SD2AE - 10$ (sales on direct.nuvoton.com, 7$ shipping)
M052LAN Module - 6$ (AliExpress)
M054LAN Module - 6$ (AliExpress)
M058LAN Module - 7$ (AliExpress)
M0516LAN Module - 7.5$ (AliExpress)

Nordic
HolyIOT YJ-16009-nRF51822 - 6$ (Aliexpress)
HolyIOT YJ-16048-nRF52832 - 7$ (Aliexpress)
BBC:MicroBit - 15$ (mouser, without shipping)

Dialog Semiconductor
HJ-580LA Wireless Bluetooth BLE DA14580 - 9$ (Aliexpress) / 5$ (Aliexpress, no 32kHz crystal)

Silicon Labs
BGM220 Bluetooth Module Explorer Kit BGM220-EK4314A - 9.99$ (Mouser)

[MasterT]

Mouser ( Digikey),  STM32 ---> NUCLEO series:
https://www.mouser.ca/Embedded-Solutions/Engineering-Tools/Embedded-Development-Tools/_/N-cvw9k?Keyword=nucleo&FS=True&Ns=Pricing|0
Starting below $15 CAD.

[Mr. Scram]

Cypress sells various development boards for $10 a pop. They have their own free IDE.

[eliocor]

from http://wiki.stm32duino.com/index.php?title=Main_Page :
http://wiki.stm32duino.com/index.php?title=STM32F103_boards
http://wiki.stm32duino.com/index.php?title=STM32F4xx_boards

[Nominal Animal]

Teensy LC is under $12 USD (48 MHz ARM Cortex-M0+ (Kinetis MKL26Z64VFT4), 62k Flash, 8k RAM; uses a proprietary bootloader). (Also sold by Adafruit, SparkFun, and others for under $15.) It can be programmed in the Arduino environment using the Teensyduino add-on. The developer, Paul Stoffregen, is an active Arduino contributor. Active user forum at forum.pjrc.com.

[JXL]

MSP-EXP432P401R (Cortex-M4F) $13.49 (digikey)

[technix]

Here is a series of chips I designed: https://www.tindie.com/products/maxtch/sushibits-arm-development-kits/. You can choose among various STM32 parts: STM32F0, STM32L0, STM32F1, STM32L1, STM32F3, STM32L4, as well as some Chinese-made chips from manufacturers like GigaDevice, Shanghai Beiling, Synwit, Artery and more.

And I have just designed a new kit based on an older chip LPC2103.

[mtdoc]

TI  Tiva C Series TM4C123G LaunchPad  (ARM Cortex-M4F)

$12.99 at the TI store
$13.49 at Mouser and Digikey

[EntropyWizard]

List of many STM32 boards: https://github.com/STM32-base/STM32-base/wiki/Boards

[Mr. Scram]

TI  Tiva C Series TM4C123G LaunchPad  (ARM Cortex-M4F)

$12.99 at the TI store
$13.49 at Mouser and Digikey

It should be noted that buying from the Ti store can be an absolute pain.

[mtdoc]

TI  Tiva C Series TM4C123G LaunchPad  (ARM Cortex-M4F)

$12.99 at the TI store
$13.49 at Mouser and Digikey

It should be noted that buying from the Ti store can be an absolute pain.

Really?  I've used them 4 or 5 times and never had an issue.

[Mr. Scram]

Really?  I've used them 4 or 5 times and never had an issue.

They kept refusing my order without indicating why until I gave up. It were simple development boards without restricted parts. I've bought from various vendors and manufacturers and none gave me much trouble.

[technix]

Really?  I've used them 4 or 5 times and never had an issue.

They kept refusing my order without indicating why until I gave up. It were simple development boards without restricted parts. I've bought from various vendors and manufacturers and none gave me much trouble.

Depending on where you are the US government have the power to cut you off from anything from USA. I have been consistently denied download of Xilinx ISE due to US Department of Commerce banning anyone in China from accessing Xilinx's FPGA technology.

[Mr. Scram]

Depending on where you are the US government have the power to cut you off from anything from USA. I have been consistently denied download of Xilinx ISE due to US Department of Commerce banning anyone in China from accessing Xilinx's FPGA technology.

I know that happens and that can be a huge pain to some, but for various reasons I don't think that was the issue here.

It's funny how some Aliexpress shops have Xilinx FPGA boards on offer.

[AloyseTech]

Thanks guys! I’ve updated the first post. I know there are a lot of STM32 boards. My goal is add more manufacturers to this list

[rsjsouza]

I know it is a bit over, but under $20 (still a reasonable price) from TI you have various other powerful options:

MSP432P4111 48MHz Cortex M4F with a large LCD controller and 16-bit ADC -$17.99
http://www.ti.com/tool/MSP-EXP432P4111

MSP432E401Y 120MHz Cortex M4F, Ethernet and USB OTG - $19.99
http://www.ti.com/tool/MSP-EXP432E401Y

TMS570/RM42 80MHz Cortex R4 - $19.99
http://www.ti.com/tool/LAUNCHXL-RM42
http://www.ti.com/tool/LAUNCHXL-TMS57004

TMS570LS1224 160MHz Dual Cortex R4F in lockstep - $19.99
http://www.ti.com/tool/LAUNCHXL2-TMS57012

RM46L852 220MHz Dual Cortex R4F in lockstep - $19.99
http://www.ti.com/tool/LAUNCHXL2-RM46

[Nominal Animal]

At the risk of sounding like a shill, my absolute favourite microcontroller is the USD $20 Teensy 3.2: 72MHz Cortex M4 (NXP/Freescale MK20DX256), 64k RAM, 256k Flash, 34 I/O pins, 3.3V logic but most pins 5V tolerant, lots of peripherals; programmed via the native USB (full speed, 12 Mbit/s max) interface. (The bootloader is on a separate chip, and is proprietary.) The hardware is nice, but I've found the hbbyist support/community even better. (Programmed using Teensyduino add-on to the Arduino environment; lots of extra optimized libraries by Paul Stoffregen.) Might be a totally different experience for large scale producers, although I do know that PJRC also sells the preprogrammed bootloader chips for those who want to make their own boards. More info in the forum there.

[donotdespisethesnake]

At the risk of sounding like a shill,

Since you posted the same information just a few posts ago, yes you do. We got the message the first time.

[BBBbbb]

Really?  I've used them 4 or 5 times and never had an issue.

They kept refusing my order without indicating why until I gave up. It were simple development boards without restricted parts. I've bought from various vendors and manufacturers and none gave me much trouble.

Never had problems with ordering dev boards from them, comes within one week usually, although they can be slow to ship. I'd wait for (frequent) free shipment offer and then order what I like, few boards max. I know people complained when ordering ICs directly from TI. Restricted items can be a big PITA, although I have no problem ordering them from big distributors...

[Mr. Scram]

Maybe I've been unlucky, but it seems more people have found Ti to be cumbersome at times. Ordering from the big distributors or other manufacturers directly never caused issues, so the problem can be avoided.

That TMS570LS1224 looks like a mightily complicated but interesting beast. It seems to have some more advanced power requirements with two rails and I guess some requisite current limiting? I've never seen that before.

[Nominal Animal]

Since you posted the same information just a few posts ago, yes you do. We got the message the first time.

I did not. Learn to read, please. They are two completely different boards, with a 2x price difference. LC has a Cortex-M0 (MKL26Z64VFT4) and is ~ $12, 3.2 is a Cortex-M4 (MK20DX256VLH7).

[ogden]

STM32F103C8T6 development board (aka "Blue Pill") - 2$ (Aliexpress)

Just two cents: due to pin compatibility you can put virtually any 48-pin stm32 on bluepill board provided you have hot air station and know how to use it. I converted my few "playground bluepills" to stm32f303 in virtually no time. Well, you have to wait for chips (samples) to arrive

[AloyseTech]

@Nominal Animal: The teensy is a good platform, but it lacks SWD access for debug. Freescale kinetis boards are more expensive though...

@ogden: good point! I havve never thought of this and will try it with a stm32f4

@BBBbbb: let us know when you catch the next "free shipping" offer from TI!

[technix]

STM32F103C8T6 development board (aka "Blue Pill") - 2$ (Aliexpress)

Just two cents: due to pin compatibility you can put virtually any 48-pin stm32 on bluepill board provided you have hot air station and know how to use it. I converted my few "playground bluepills" to stm32f303 in virtually no time. Well, you have to wait for chips (samples) to arrive

This also works for a lot of other Chinese Cortex-M MCUs. So far on the same SushiBits One v3.6 board I have chips from GigaDevice, Betterlife, MindMotion and Artery.

[PCB.Wiz]

Thanks guys! I’ve updated the first post. I know there are a lot of STM32 boards. My goal is add more manufacturers to this list

You can find some Nuvoton Boards here - 5V ARM M0/M4 , and 3v3 ones too...
https://direct.nuvoton.com/en/

[Mr. Scram]

Where is CY8CKIT-059?

I mentioned Cypress having various boards, but I guess I neglected to mention part numbers.

[AloyseTech]

Shipping costs from the Cypress website is 15$. Which brings the CY8CKIT-059 or any other 10$ board to 25$. It is possible to get it on Aliexpress for 20$ shipped, or from distributor like mouser, farnell, digikey etc but it also add extra shipping costs.

[AloyseTech]

@PCB.wiz: I added the NuMaker Uno (NUC131SD2AE) board, which costs 10$ with the actual 50% sales. Thanks for the tip

[stj]

you missed out the entire ST Nucleo 32,64 & 144 series!

[SiliconWizard]

you missed out the entire ST Nucleo 32,64 & 144 series!

I second that, great boards and very cheap.

[AloyseTech]

Nucleo 32 44 and 144 are indeed a good choice. Shipping costs if buying from the ST website are really high (if shipping outside USA) though (37$ to France).

[GeorgeOfTheJungle]

Orange PI PC is $15 and the OPi Zero is $8.5. See http://www.orangepi.org/ and https://www.armbian.com/

[AloyseTech]

Orange PI PC is $15 and the OPi Zero is $8.5. See http://www.orangepi.org/ and https://www.armbian.com/

I forgot to mention that this thread is about microcontroller, not application processor. I edited the title.

[SiliconWizard]

Nucleo 32 44 and 144 are indeed a good choice. Shipping costs if buying from the ST website are really high (if shipping outside USA) though (37$ to France).

Yes, in that case you can check distributors, those boards are available at Mouser, Farnell and probably others (although you may not find ALL of those boards).

[AloyseTech]

I added the nucleo serie to the list

[GeorgeOfTheJungle]

I forgot to mention that this thread is about microcontroller, not application processor. I edited the title.

Oh, sorry. More mcu dev boards here: https://os.mbed.com/platforms/

[westfw]

Nuvoton:  M0516LAN, M058LAN, M052LAN, All under $5 (Aliexpress)

Nordic: BBC Micro:Bit (~$15, lots of places)

Atmel: Adafruit "ATSAMD09 Breakout with seesaw" $5

[AloyseTech]

Thanks, I missed the Nuvoton boards on AliExpress.
BBC:MicroBit definitely has its place since it coup be a devboard for both the Nordic nrf51 and the Freescale KL26Z.
I also add the D09 breakout

[Geoff_S]

There's a bunch of "FRDM" boards from NXP but most of them are > USD$15, except this one (FRDM-KL-05Z):
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/NXP-Freescale/FRDM-KL05Z

[westfw]

GHI Electronics "Fez" (STM32F401RET6) - $10.  Has C#/.Net support!(?)

[westfw]

TI is having one of their periodic "sales" on development tools this week.  12% off normal prices AND free shipping (I don't know if there are limits on that wrt destination country...). It includes several of their MSP432 ARM boards...

Jack Kilby changed the world of technology forever when he invented the integrated circuit at TI on September 12, 1958. This week, we celebrate Jack and his invention by offering 12% off select tools and free standard shipping. What will you create? With more than 30,000 products in stock, no MOQs, on-the-go mobile ordering, advanced package tracking with text updates, and multiple payment options, the TI store is your one-stop shop for ICs and evaluation tools.[/size][/font]

Get these deals now[/b][/size][/font][/color] [/size] [/size][/color]*Click for details[/font] [/q][/t][/t][/c] [/size] [/size][/color]*Disclaimers: Some exclusions apply. Coupons expire September 16, 2018 or while supplies last. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Enter coupon code KILBY18 to receive 12% off select tools. Maximum discount per order is $100. Limit one use per coupon per customer. Free standard shipping discount given during checkout.[/i][/b][/size][/font] http://www.ti.com/store/featured/kilby2018.html?eloquaCampaignId=1905&utm_campaign=ecm-tistore-promo-kilby2018-adh-lp-null-ww&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elqTrackId=95dc05ace8884f638b7359f988542ec5&elq=d0660d05ae4344f2b9b3c60427de0618&elqaid=59906&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=1905[/color][/size][/color]

[AloyseTech]

Thanks Westfw: I was able to get an MSP432 kit for less than 10€ delivered in France.

[SiliconWizard]

Thanks Westfw: I was able to get an MSP432 kit for less than 10€ delivered in France.

Great. I remember ordering one a couple years ago for about 12€! Pretty cheap indeed.

Those MCUs are not bad at all, I was actually considering them before selecting the STM32L4 line.

[technix]

I have just cooked up SushiBits M23 Mini Pro, an ATSAML11D16A board with a STM32F042F6P6 as an onboard CMSIS-DAP debugger. It should be available at $9.99 + shipping on Tindie once I get the built-in debugger firmware ready. It has the same physical size of a DIP-24 0.6in chip - probably the smallest ARM development kit with built-in debugger ever.

[AloyseTech]

I have just cooked up SushiBits M23 Mini Pro, an ATSAML11D16A board with a STM32F042F6P6 as an onboard CMSIS-DAP debugger. It should be available at $9.99 + shipping on Tindie once I get the built-in debugger firmware ready. It has the same physical size of a DIP-24 0.6in chip - probably the smallest ARM development kit with built-in debugger ever.

I added it to the list. I think it could be cool if you could expose both the STM and SAML SWD pins (Maybe this is already the case).

[technix]

I have just cooked up SushiBits M23 Mini Pro, an ATSAML11D16A board with a STM32F042F6P6 as an onboard CMSIS-DAP debugger. It should be available at $9.99 + shipping on Tindie once I get the built-in debugger firmware ready. It has the same physical size of a DIP-24 0.6in chip - probably the smallest ARM development kit with built-in debugger ever.

I added it to the list. I think it could be cool if you could expose both the STM and SAML SWD pins (Maybe this is already the case).

It is already the case. However I don't think I can make it within US$10 right now due to what few vendors that carries SAM L11 jacking up prices.

If you step up to the sub-$30 bracket I have a lot more offerings, all of which Arduino capable:
* SushiBits One Pro v6 (designed for STM32F103/F303/L152, but also supports Chinese chips like GD32F103/F303, AT32F403 etc, built-in debugger based on DAP42)
* SushiBits ARM Classic Pro v2 (LPC2103 with DAP42 onboard debug, ARM7TDMI core)

Take another step up to sub-$50, you get Linux boards in form factors other than Arduino
* SushiBits Media 64 (Allwinner V3s with 64MB built-in DDR2, 64MB SPI Flash)
* SushiBits Media 512 (Allwinner A13 with 512MB DDR3 and 16GB or 32GB eMMC)

[rsjsouza]

TI is at it again. 10% off some kits and free shipping (not sure if worldwide)
http://www.ti.com/info-store/featured/october2018.html?HQS=ecm-tistore-promo-october2018-bhp-lp-null-wwe

[ogden]

10$ for Quad 64-bit ARM Cortex-A53 CPU board:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/librecomputer/la-frite-open-source-fries

Note that 10$ (512MB) and 15$ (1GB) boards have only bootloader (uBoot!) flash. Either USB flash, network boot or proprietary eMMC module shall be used. Actually 30$ offer which includes 8GB eMMC, 2.5A PSU and HDMI cable is kinda good.

[AloyseTech]

Some Nuvoton boards are available for 2-2.5$ on this site for a limited time (no idea of the end date) : https://www.techdesign.com/market/nuvoton?utm_source=tdc%20edm&utm_campaign=tdc%20edm_Nuvoton_DevKitSale_190311&tab=product

International shipping is 6.99$

Ref: NuTiny-NUC029
NuMaker-M031
NuMaker-ML51

[AloyseTech]

Added the ST Microcelectronic STM32G0 serie development board (8 pin Cortex M0 MCU).

[Nominal Animal]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/librecomputer/la-frite-open-source-fries

I got mine a month or two ago (I was an original backer; it was delayed by months), but haven't played with it yet.  More info on the board here.  For me, the main point was that the Amlogic AML-S805X support should be upstream; no vendor kernels, can use standard Linux kernels.

(So it is not a microcontroller, but a full Linux single-board computer with HDMI output, in case anyone is wondering.)

[AloyseTech]

Just added the MIMXRT1010-EVK, the new sub 10$ evaluation board from NXP with their i.MX RT1010 Cortex-M7 (500MHz with high speed USB)

[thm_w]

$10.10 is surely just the promo price. Regular price must be closer to Digi-Key's $84.

Its $10 on digikey too?
https://octopart.com/search?q=MIMXRT1010-evk

[ebclr]

VPN is there for this

https://nordvpn.com/

[andersm]

$10.10 is surely just the promo price. Regular price must be closer to Digi-Key's $84.

Its $10 on digikey too?
https://octopart.com/search?q=MIMXRT1010-evk

NXP's product page says it's a promo running to the end of the year.

[donotdespisethesnake]

Just added the MIMXRT1010-EVK, the new sub 10$ evaluation board from NXP with their i.MX RT1010 Cortex-M7 (500MHz with high speed USB)

That must be the fastest micro board at the price point?

And what's next!

[GeorgeOfTheJungle]

And what's next!

Bit banged ethernet?

[andersm]

Bit banged ethernet?

Been done already, though maybe you can achieve better than half-duplex 10Base-T.

[GeorgeOfTheJungle]

Bit banged ethernet?

Been done already, though maybe you can achieve better than half-duplex 10Base-T.

LOL. There's also a bit banged USB 1.0 low speed somewhere, I think.

[jhpadjustable]

LOL. There's also a bit banged USB 1.0 low speed somewhere, I think.

That would be V-USB, and it's everywhere.
Have some bit-banged VGA, on an ATmega88 no less.

Bit-banged DVI next?

[GeorgeOfTheJungle]

That's sweet, but to call it VGA is a bit of a stretch For (fast) ethernet you need 125 MHz, VGA @ 640*480*60 => a 20 something MHz pixel clock, that poor 328p can't cope (neither speed nor RAM) thus the pixelation. USB low speed is 1.5 Mbit/s, that's why it's more doable.

[AloyseTech]

Silicon Labs currently has a "Hands-On Virtual Bluetooth Workshop". You receive a free EFR32BG22 (BLE ready Cortex-M33) Thunderboard Kit (MCU + debugger + sensors). The online workshops session are scheduled in may.
https://www.silabs.com/about-us/events/virtual-bluetooth-workshop

[Scrts]

Just added the MIMXRT1010-EVK, the new sub 10$ evaluation board from NXP with their i.MX RT1010 Cortex-M7 (500MHz with high speed USB)

I have difficulties coming up with an application where it would require such a high speed with no special peripherals, except the general communications...

[ogden]

Just added the MIMXRT1010-EVK, the new sub 10$ evaluation board from NXP with their i.MX RT1010 Cortex-M7 (500MHz with high speed USB)

I have difficulties coming up with an application where it would require such a high speed with no special peripherals, except the general communications...

IC have two audio I/O peripherals. If you still can't come-up with any application, then to mention just few: real-time audio beam forming, noise cancelling.

[AloyseTech]

Silabs launched a development board based on the BGM220P (Bluetooth LE 5 SoC on a PCB module with antenna). I added it to the list.
Basic (no peripheral) but cheap ($9.99). And it has a JLink programmer onboard.