Why Do We Use Arduino Instead of Microcontroller?

Some people don’t know this (including me when I first started) but Arduino is not the same thing as a microcontroller. A microcontroller is basically like a subgroup of Arduino, so as a result, people often wonder:

“Why do we use Arduino instead of microcontroller?”

Many people choose Arduino over microcontroller because it offers more functionalities, is easier to use, and offers more resources. Even though a microcontroller is cheaper than Arduino, many still choose Arduino because it’s designed for beginners, and it’s great for prototyping.

The rest of this article is dedicated to understanding in what ways Arduino is superior to a microcontroller and instances where you would choose a microcontroller over Arduino.

Arduino vs. Microcontroller: Functionalities

Arduino is a microcontroller development board that uses an Atmel microcontroller (or more specifically, the ATmega328P). But because the Arduino doesn’t only use a microcontroller, it offers more functionalities.

That’s why an Arduino Uno can cost over $20 while a microcontroller can be bought for less than $1.

Hardware

First off, a microcontroller only contains the following: memory, peripherals, input/output (I/O), and a processor. Since it’s a small chip, the microcontroller uses less power and is very similar to a computer.

On the other hand, Arduino has all those capabilities (because it uses a microcontroller itself) in addition to the following: analog input pins, TX RX LEDs, digital pins, voltage regulator, power port, crystal oscillator, reset button, USB interface chip, and USB (Universal Serial Bus) port.

Software

Additionally, because Arduino is a hardware and software company, they’ve created their own IDE (Integrated Development Environment) for their Arduino. The IDE is where you type code to upload to the Arduino, which gives it more functionality.

For the microcontroller, you’d also need to program it to give it more abilities. It has many IDEs, such as Mbed, Eclipse, or Qt.

Even though there are more IDEs for microcontrollers, I personally like the usability and user interface that the Arduino IDE provides.

Arduino vs. Microcontroller: Ease of Use

The overall goal of the Arduino company is to make electronics accessible to everyone, including beginners. As a result, their Arduino product does exactly that with an easy-to-understand Arduino IDE and hardware.

Arduino Starter Kit

It’s designed with the beginner in mind. An Arduino Starter Kit is a great product for those wanting to start their Arduino journey.

If you’re still deciding whether Arduino is good or not, go read my article on the pros and cons of Arduino. It contains great information on whether Arduino is right for you.

I know I initially got into Arduino because I wanted to become an engineer, and it seemed that Arduino was easier to learn and use compared to using a microcontroller by itself. That’s why I bought the starter kit, and it was really easy to follow along.

The starter kit comes with all the electrical components you need for 15 projects such as diodes, capacitors, resistors, a potentiometer, a battery snap, a DC motor, a servo motor, etc.

Moreover, the kit includes an interactive book that explains everything you need to know regarding Arduino basics. The topics can range from programming to the components that you’d use and how they all work.

Microcontroller

On the flip side, when you buy a microcontroller, all you’re getting is a microcontroller. You need to have experience with tech like this when purchasing it, or else you don’t know what to do with one.

Arduino vs. Microcontroller: Resources

Arduino offers so much more resources compared to microcontrollers because there is a fan base surrounding it, and the Arduino company has dedicated itself to provide some resources too.

Arduino Community

The Arduino community is very large. According to Wikipedia, as of February 2020, there is a recorded number of 30 million people who use Arduino.

Consequently, there is a whole Arduino forum created and dedicated for Arduino users. Beginners can easily ask and post a question to the forum, and those who have experience will helpfully answer them.

It even spills over into other forums like Quora or Reddit, so you can ask your questions there if you’re really stuck.

Moreover, there are YouTube channels that cover Arduino and the projects you can make with an Arduino. Even the Arduino company itself posts videos regularly on YouTube, covering the projects included in their Official Arduino Starter Kit.

If you still struggle with Arduino despite all the resources I’ve mentioned, you can buy courses online like at Udemy or Coursera where college professors can teach it to you for free or for money to get a certificate. You can also buy books about Arduino.

When Would You Use Microcontroller Over Arduino?

Engineers like electrical engineers or those who have a good, solid technical background would prefer microcontrollers over Arduino. They need less hand-holding because they’ve had experience with it before.

However, a few engineering students may take advantage of Arduino by incorporating them into their projects.

There are professors (whose accounts I’ve read on Quora) who dislike their students using Arduino because it’s so easy to use and implementing it in their projects doesn’t showcase their students’ abilities. As a result, they can’t tell whether the student truly understands electronics fundamentals or not.

People who have graduated from working with Arduino will also find themselves using microcontrollers over Arduino. They may have a project where they’ll need less of the functionalities that Arduino provides.

Microcontrollers are way smaller than Arduino, so they can enjoy their freedom from being restricted to the capabilities and built-in components Arduino has, making their projects even better.

Summary – tl;dr (Too Long; Didn’t Read)

Here are the key takeaway points you should keep in mind after reading this article:

• To better understand the Arduino and microcontroller, let’s compare them to a phone and battery, respectively. In this analogy, the Arduino is the phone since they’re both easy to use for inexperienced individuals, and the microcontroller is the battery in this situation because it’s a component of the Arduino (just like how a battery is a component for a phone).
• Moreover, they both require some expertise and knowledge to use and implement them correctly.
• Now, the decision is all up to you. Do you want to work with a phone or a battery; an Arduino or a microcontroller?
• Each one has its own benefits, so you need to carefully weigh your options and pick the one that best suits your skil level, expertise, and/or the project you want to make.
• If you’re a beginner, I’d highly recommend you sticking with an Arduino. It will be the gateway for you to start exploring other electronics, even a microcontroller by itself if you really want to.
• Some people prefer Arduino over microcontroller since it’s easier to use and learn. Moreover, you can get support from the Arduino community.
• You would use a microcontroller over an Arduino if you’re more skilled and want to design a project that doesn’t have all the extra components that Arduino has.

If you want to dive deeper into Arduino, microcontrollers, and embedded systems, I’d suggest you read my guide on differentiating between an Arduino, a microcontroller, and an embedded system.

It contains more information, and I’ll also discuss what an embedded system is and its purpose.

In the end, I hope that this article helped micro-chip in with your understanding of Arduinos and microcontrollers!