The basic Arduino Nano board has been around for a while now. Based on the same ATMega328P processor as several other mainstream Arduino boards, it has more than adequate performance for many tasks. Have a look at what else the range has to offer.
New Nano Alternatives
If your project has greater needs than can be met by the humble Nano, there are now alternatives in the same form factor. The Arduino Nano Every boasts a processor with more memory while the new Nano33 series add wireless communications. Wireless connectivity (BT, BLE and WiFi) demand faster processors with more memory. At the top of the range, the Nano33 BLE and Nano33 BLE Sense use a very capable nrf52840 processor that includes hardware arithmetic options.
Be aware that the Nano33 boards are not 5 Volt compatible and may require a change to existing circuits before they can be used as a replacement for the Nano and Nano Every.
Looking on the Arduino store seems to indicate that the ordinary Nano is being phased out although the clone manufacturers are likely to continue to make them for some time to come.
Arduino Nano Performance Table
The following table shows the main differences between the boards in terms of resources and performance. You can clearly see that the nrf52840 gives a very significant boost to the available processing power for all operations but particularly where its hardware floating point unit is used. If Arduino Nano performance is important to you, then this table may help you decide.
| nano 328p | nano every | nano33 iot | nano33 ble | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | ATMega328P | ATMega4809 | ATSAMD21 | NRF52840 | |
| Flash | 32K | 48K | 256K | 1024K | |
| RAM | 2K | 6K | 32k | 256K | |
| EEPROM | 1024 | 256 | none | none | |
| Voltage | 5V | 5V | 3.3V | 3.3V | |
| Clock | 16MHz | 16MHz | 48MHz | 64MHz | |
| nop | 0.09 | 0.08 | 0.03 | 0.02 | usec |
| micros() | 3.22 | 6.68 | 1.67 | 7.72 | usec |
| millis() | 1.31 | 1.50 | 0.22 | 9.92 | usec |
| fadd | 9.25 | 9.70 | 2.65 | 0.11 | usec |
| fsub | 8.62 | 9.08 | 2.92 | 0.12 | usec |
| fmul | 8.30 | 8.25 | 3.05 | 0.12 | usec |
| fdiv /= | 7.77 | 7.86 | 2.67 | 0.33 | usec |
| fdiv 2/x | 31.16 | 30.98 | 10.19 | 0.31 | usec |
| dadd | 9.18 | 9.50 | 4.09 | 1.56 | usec |
| dsub | 8.56 | 8.87 | 4.64 | 1.59 | usec |
| dmul | 6.08 | 6.28 | 4.32 | 0.83 | usec |
| ddiv | 6.01 | 6.22 | 4.00 | 1.19 | usec |
| sin() | 115.40 | 112.38 | 94.15 | 2.99 | usec |
| cos() | 109.36 | 106.50 | 85.90 | 2.72 | usec |
| tan() | 130.74 | 127.49 | 178.06 | 4.27 | usec |
| acos() | 165.88 | 162.59 | 118.37 | 4.46 | usec |
| asin() | 172.36 | 168.89 | 112.47 | 4.82 | usec |
| atan2() | 191.40 | 187.60 | 158.92 | 7.57 | usec |
| sqrt() | 31.90 | 31.55 | 10.48 | 1.01 | usec |
| iadd8 | 0.51 | 0.63 | 0.20 | 0.10 | usec |
| isub8 | 0.52 | 0.64 | 0.20 | 0.10 | usec |
| imul8 | 0.72 | 0.84 | 0.20 | 0.11 | usec |
| idiv8 | 5.93 | 5.66 | 0.60 | 0.11 | usec |
| iadd16 | 1.00 | 1.24 | 0.20 | 0.11 | usec |
| isub16 | 1.00 | 1.24 | 0.20 | 0.10 | usec |
| imul16 | 1.56 | 1.75 | 0.20 | 0.10 | usec |
| idiv16 | 13.64 | 13.46 | 1.09 | 0.11 | usec |
| iadd32 | 1.97 | 2.37 | 0.17 | 0.10 | usec |
| isub32 | 1.97 | 2.38 | 0.17 | 0.09 | usec |
| imul32 | 6.32 | 6.41 | 0.17 | 0.10 | usec |
| idiv32 | 37.77 | 38.16 | 0.52 | 0.10 | usec |
| iadd64 | 4.25 | 5.08 | 0.34 | 0.27 | usec |
| isub64 | 4.26 | 5.08 | 0.34 | 0.28 | usec |
| imul64 | 22.86 | 22.47 | 1.68 | 0.23 | usec |
| idiv64 | 33.74 | 34.25 | 6.36 | 1.76 | usec |
| memcpy128 | 57.66 | 49.11 | 27.35 | 12.94 | usec |
| memset128 | 5.50 | 2.29 | 0.44 | 0.46 | usec |
| delay_ms(1) | 1008.40 | 1010.92 | 1002.77 | 997.07 | usec |
| delay_us(1000) | 1008.96 | 1008.76 | 1010.01 | 1007.57 | usec |
I am 81 and I have built a standard ukmarsbot for maze solving. The instructions are very helpful and this upgrade to a Nano33 BLE is very exciting. Just connecting the 5v to the 3.3 v works very well. Much of the software needs tweaking, particularly the interrupts for encoder and sensor readings. But it does work well. Floodfill is much easier to Implement.
I’ve also designed a four sensor front end which I’ve just got board printed. Should be better for 45degree long runs. Thank you all so so much for your inspiration and dedication!!
Hi
I am glad you are finding the robot a fruitful source of inspiration. We love to hear about people using them.
The four-sensor board is a good idea. I did have some made but can’t seem to find them now.
The nano33 BLE is a big step up in performance. At some point, I will be modifying the code samples to better support the more interesting processor options.