Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Scratch VS Arduino

Compare Scratch VS Arduino and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Scratch logo Scratch

Scratch is the programming language & online community where young people create stories, games, & animations.

Arduino logo Arduino

Build your own electronics
  • Scratch Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-17
  • Arduino Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-08-01

Scratch features and specs

  • Engaging Interface
    Scratch offers a visually appealing and user-friendly interface that makes it accessible for kids and beginners to learn programming concepts.
  • Community Support
    The platform has a large and active community where users can share projects, get feedback, and collaborate with others, fostering a sense of community and support.
  • Educational Value
    Scratch is designed with a strong pedagogical foundation, helping users to develop problem-solving skills, logical thinking, and creativity.
  • Drag-and-Drop Programming
    The block-based coding in Scratch eliminates syntax errors and simplifies the process of learning programming logic, making it ideal for beginners.
  • Free to Use
    Scratch is completely free to use, which makes it accessible to a wide audience without any financial barriers.
  • Portable
    Being web-based, Scratch can be accessed from any device with an internet connection, providing ease of access and flexibility.

Possible disadvantages of Scratch

  • Limited Advanced Capabilities
    Scratch is mainly designed for beginners and might not offer the depth or complexities needed for more advanced programming projects.
  • Performance Issues
    Larger projects can sometimes become slow or unresponsive, particularly on less powerful devices.
  • Simplified Programming
    The drag-and-drop nature of Scratch, while educational, might limit exposure to the syntax and intricacies of written programming languages.
  • Internet Dependency
    Scratch primarily requires an internet connection, which could be a limitation in areas with poor connectivity.
  • Age Focus
    The platform is highly targeted towards younger audiences, which might not be appealing or suitable for older learners or adults seeking beginner resources.
  • Privacy Concerns
    As with any online community, there are potential privacy and security risks, especially for younger users, which require careful monitoring and guidance.

Arduino features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Arduino provides a user-friendly platform, especially for beginners, with an intuitive IDE and a wide range of libraries that simplify coding and hardware control.
  • Large Community
    A vast, active community of users and developers who share knowledge, projects, and provide support through forums, tutorials, and documentation.
  • Open Source
    Both the hardware and software are open source, allowing users to modify, enhance, and create custom projects with the freedom provided by open standards.
  • Diverse Range of Boards
    Arduino offers a wide variety of boards and shields with different capabilities, allowing users to choose the right platform for their specific needs.
  • Cost-Effective
    Arduino boards are generally affordable, making it accessible for hobbyists, students, and educators to experiment and prototype without significant investment.

Possible disadvantages of Arduino

  • Limited Processing Power
    Compared to other microcontrollers and development platforms, Arduino boards typically have lower processing power, which might not be suitable for projects requiring heavy computation.
  • Limited Memory
    Most Arduino boards have limited RAM and storage, which can restrict the complexity of the programs and projects they can handle.
  • Less Suitable for Advanced Projects
    For complex projects requiring more power or advanced features, professional developers might find Arduino's capabilities to be limiting.
  • Dependency on an External Computer
    Arduino's development process often requires a computer for programming and debugging, which might not be ideal in some standalone or embedded applications.
  • Limited Support for Multitasking
    Arduino’s architecture isn't inherently designed for multitasking, which can pose challenges when trying to run multiple processes simultaneously.

Scratch videos

Scratch 3.0 Review: My Thoughts About Scratch 3.0

More videos:

  • Review - Numark PT01 Scratch Review
  • Review - Meguiar's scratch X 2.0 review

Arduino videos

Arduino Starter Kit REVIEW

More videos:

  • Review - 🔴 Arduino Unboxing: Arduino vs Elegoo Uno R3 Starter Kit: best kits for your projects
  • Review - The 5 Best Arduino Starter Kits for 2021

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Scratch and Arduino)
Kids Education
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Game Development
100 100%
0% 0
IoT Platform
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Scratch and Arduino

Scratch Reviews

  1. Pratham shah
    · nothing at none ·
    TOO GOOD

    It is just awesome. you can make so many things WITHOUT A TEAM! If you are starting then this is an awesome place to start at.

    🏁 Competitors: Python, Java, Code.org
    👍 Pros:    Good UI|Remix|Works perfectly|100% free|Many, many languages

Top 15 educational software to streamline the learning process
Scratch lets students create interactive stories, games, and animations. The coding projects allow students to experiment and express their ideas, developing 21st-century skills like computational thinking and creativity. Scratch introduces students to programming, STEM and digital literacy in a fun way.
16 Scratch Alternatives
It can even permit anyone to access its junior program through which kids can learn how to make any app by taking their focus on the study related to programming. Scratch also comes with facilitating users with the permission to mix all the programming blocks so that they can create multiple characters for singing, jumping, dancing, moving, and more.
Coding Websites That Help Kids Learn Programming In A Fun Way in 2023
Scratch, created by MIT students, teaches coding by allowing students to create tales, games, and animations using programming blocks. There is a vibrant online community as well as a step-by-step tutorial to assist those who are just getting started. Students can also use an offline editor to revise their work. ScratchJr, a simplified version of the software, is targeted at...
20 Best Scratch Alternatives 2023
Unlike Scratch, Snap targets not only kids but also high school and college students. The platform provides a solution for serious computer science study, while Scratch focuses on just the basics.

Arduino Reviews

We have no reviews of Arduino yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Scratch should be more popular than Arduino. It has been mentiond 569 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Scratch mentions (569)

  • TikTok Is Harming Children at an Industrial Scale
    I anticipate my kid needing to live in a word with capitalism, it doesn't ncessarily mean that they need a Mastercard at 4 years old. Same with many other things: condoms, keys to a car, access to alcohol. There is a time for everything, and at the age of 4, a young human probably has not yet maxxed out on analog stimuli opportunities. I learned YouTube when it came out in 2006 and I was 21. I've got 19 years of... - Source: Hacker News / 29 days ago
  • How I Got Started in IT: My Journey to Becoming an Apprentice Support Engineer 🚀
    I've always been fascinated by the technology. I spent many hors playing video games and the first dive into the world of development was when I had to code a game on Scratch. The excercise looked pretty easy: Create a Tamagotchi-like game. Let me tell you - It wasn't easy at all for someone of a young age! There were many things that I needed to pay attention to: Things I have never heard of before! - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Principles of Educational Programming Language Design
    I would be surprised if your first program was C++? Specifically, getting a decent C++ toolchain that can produce a meaningful program is not a small thing? I'm not sure where I feel about languages made for teaching and whatnot, yet; but I would be remiss if I didn't encourage my kids to use https://scratch.mit.edu/ for their early programming. I remember early computers would boot into a BASIC prompt and I... - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • There is no such thing as a global method (in Ruby)
    I've been teaching a teenager how to code with smalltalk (Scratch): https://scratch.mit.edu/. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Ask HN: Platform for 11 year old to create video games?
    A good place to start with kids that age is Scratch: https://scratch.mit.edu/. - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
View more

Arduino mentions (63)

  • Tips
    I was gonna say the arduino.cc site but that works too. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Help? DFR Nano Unresponsive
    When you write your code and compile it, what environment are you doing it in? Are you using an online cloud service like arduino.cc's IoT cloud? Or have you downloaded and installed the Arduino IDE application from arduino.cc's software download page? Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Need help with a sound module
    There are tons of libraries for the Arduino platform that people have written and there are many available for use with this module, so you don't have to do any super heavy lifting programming-wise. In the Arduino IDE you can download from arduino.cc I installed a couple of libraries just now as a test. The reason I installed them is because almost every library comes with several short example programs showing... Source: almost 2 years ago
  • What to do after Paul McWhorter's New Arduino Tutorials?
    Did all of it make sense? Could you do the projects he shows by yourself without starting and stopping the video? That might show areas that you would want to brush up on. Another great idea is to go through all of the commands on the arduino.cc language reference page. Make sure you instinctively understand what each function listed does and experiment with any that you aren't familiar with. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • LCD on pc
    There are also IoT cloud style dashboards at places like arduino.cc that let you add various widgets for dials and controls to represent the data you have locally with your Arduino. Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Scratch and Arduino, you can also consider the following products

Godot Engine - Feature-packed 2D and 3D open source game engine.

Iotellect - Iotellect helps businesses on all continents to develop, deliver and operate IoT/IIoT solutions, services and products.

Code.org - Code.org is a non-profit whose goal is to expose all students to computer programming.

Ubidots - A cloud service to capture and make sense of sensor data

GDevelop - GDevelop is an open-source game making software designed to be used by everyone.

Amazon AWS - Amazon Web Services offers reliable, scalable, and inexpensive cloud computing services. Free to join, pay only for what you use.