Cheap Arduino Nano at €3.22: Chinese list slashes prices
Arduino Nano for €3.22, ESP8266 for €3.14 and Maple Mini for €4.48: a component list with Chinese store prices and voltage warnings.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Arduino Nano at €3.22: A price list from Chinese stores
An Arduino Nano for €3.22 without cable, or €3.37 with it. Half the cost of DX. This data doesn't come from an official store or authorized distributor: it comes from a shopping list accumulated by a hobbyist while building their own irrigation system, which ended up becoming the reference catalog for half a dozen domestic projects. It's not just about the price. Behind it lies a method: which module to buy, what voltage it supports, and what burns out if connected incorrectly.
The inventory starts with the Arduino Micro r3 ATmega32u4 at €8.57, offering 25% more RAM than the Nano and extra I/O pins. Next is a lithium battery charger via micro-USB for €1.53 — there are others a few cents cheaper, but this one includes 1A discharge protection —, a DC-DC step-up converter with USB output for €1.47 and up to 96% efficiency, and an I2C real-time clock with included rechargeable button battery for €1.68. The WiFi ESP8266 module in ESP-01 version stays at €3.14; the ESP-201, with external antenna, at €4.38. The 2.2-inch TFT screen with SPI SD card reader costs €5.19.
The detail that separates the hobbyist from blind buyers
The list isn't a showcase. It's a warning. The ESP8266 works at 3.3V and standard Arduino at 5V: without a level shifter, the module won't start or will destroy the inventory. The converter costs €2.98 for a batch of five. The TFT screen is 3.3V and "supports 5V without burning out, but doesn't work," a nuance corrected on the fly after verification. For data lines, two 5K resistors and two 10K resistors are needed, or two converter modules.
That's where the real value of the compilation lies: not the price, but the fine print that no product datasheet tells you. A lithium charger with discharge protection prevents fires; an unprotected coin-cell battery does not. The difference between a build that lasts and one that ends in a drawer is often just one euro.
From Nano to Maple Mini: Under €5 on AliExpress
For those wanting more power, the jump is to the ARM STM32 at 72MHz in Maple Mini format, at 3.3V, for €4.48 per unit or €21.49 for a batch of five. It runs with Arduino 1.6 via a plugin. And for those who want to build their own, there's a route: request samples of the ATmega328PU from Atmel by registering as a company —"note, it's not as easy as it seems"— and assemble a Hackduino for less than a euro, provided another Arduino is available to burn the bootloader. An Attiny85 is sufficient for one or two sensors and one or two outputs.
Supply has its own logistics. On Banggood, the cart groups products by warehouse and each group travels in a separate package, with different dates. That, combined with declaring low amounts, helps with customs. Signing up for the dropshipping program can yield a 3% discount. The price to pay is the lead time: a month of waiting, with the website search engine down for some days.
What can be built with this
The thread doesn't stop at the catalog. An autonomous irrigation system combines a 5V Nano, humidity sensor, pump, SD adapter for logging, real-time clock, WiFi, lithium battery, 3.5W solar panel with 6V USB output and converters. The cheapest humidity sensor costs €1.72, with the warning that they tend to rust; there are alloy versions that last longer. The water pump from 2.5 to 6V costs €1.80.
There are also telemetry projects for an old car, with rain and light sensors sending data via Bluetooth to a phone, and SD storage for when there's no link. And a shapes and colors game for P3 children (preschool) built on an ESP201 and a TFT screen, powered by four AA batteries and a converter that, although marked 5V, works from 4.2 to 10V.
The most uncomfortable warning comes from the chemical side: low-cost sensors "are like having a ruler that measures in hand spans." Any gas or dissolved ions sensor requires prior calibration with four or five known reference points. Without that, the data is useless for decision-making. Buying cheap is easy. Knowing what you're buying, isn't.
How much of that saving is real and how much is the cost of learning by burning modules?
An Arduino Nano for €3.22 without cable, or €3.37 with it. Half the cost of DX. This data doesn't come from an official store or authorized distributor: it comes from a shopping list accumulated by a hobbyist while building their own irrigation system, which ended up becoming the reference catalog for half a dozen domestic projects. It's not just about the price. Behind it lies a method: which module to buy, what voltage it supports, and what burns out if connected incorrectly.
The inventory starts with the Arduino Micro r3 ATmega32u4 at €8.57, offering 25% more RAM than the Nano and extra I/O pins. Next is a lithium battery charger via micro-USB for €1.53 — there are others a few cents cheaper, but this one includes 1A discharge protection —, a DC-DC step-up converter with USB output for €1.47 and up to 96% efficiency, and an I2C real-time clock with included rechargeable button battery for €1.68. The WiFi ESP8266 module in ESP-01 version stays at €3.14; the ESP-201, with external antenna, at €4.38. The 2.2-inch TFT screen with SPI SD card reader costs €5.19.
The detail that separates the hobbyist from blind buyers
The list isn't a showcase. It's a warning. The ESP8266 works at 3.3V and standard Arduino at 5V: without a level shifter, the module won't start or will destroy the inventory. The converter costs €2.98 for a batch of five. The TFT screen is 3.3V and "supports 5V without burning out, but doesn't work," a nuance corrected on the fly after verification. For data lines, two 5K resistors and two 10K resistors are needed, or two converter modules.
That's where the real value of the compilation lies: not the price, but the fine print that no product datasheet tells you. A lithium charger with discharge protection prevents fires; an unprotected coin-cell battery does not. The difference between a build that lasts and one that ends in a drawer is often just one euro.
From Nano to Maple Mini: Under €5 on AliExpress
For those wanting more power, the jump is to the ARM STM32 at 72MHz in Maple Mini format, at 3.3V, for €4.48 per unit or €21.49 for a batch of five. It runs with Arduino 1.6 via a plugin. And for those who want to build their own, there's a route: request samples of the ATmega328PU from Atmel by registering as a company —"note, it's not as easy as it seems"— and assemble a Hackduino for less than a euro, provided another Arduino is available to burn the bootloader. An Attiny85 is sufficient for one or two sensors and one or two outputs.
Supply has its own logistics. On Banggood, the cart groups products by warehouse and each group travels in a separate package, with different dates. That, combined with declaring low amounts, helps with customs. Signing up for the dropshipping program can yield a 3% discount. The price to pay is the lead time: a month of waiting, with the website search engine down for some days.
What can be built with this
The thread doesn't stop at the catalog. An autonomous irrigation system combines a 5V Nano, humidity sensor, pump, SD adapter for logging, real-time clock, WiFi, lithium battery, 3.5W solar panel with 6V USB output and converters. The cheapest humidity sensor costs €1.72, with the warning that they tend to rust; there are alloy versions that last longer. The water pump from 2.5 to 6V costs €1.80.
There are also telemetry projects for an old car, with rain and light sensors sending data via Bluetooth to a phone, and SD storage for when there's no link. And a shapes and colors game for P3 children (preschool) built on an ESP201 and a TFT screen, powered by four AA batteries and a converter that, although marked 5V, works from 4.2 to 10V.
The most uncomfortable warning comes from the chemical side: low-cost sensors "are like having a ruler that measures in hand spans." Any gas or dissolved ions sensor requires prior calibration with four or five known reference points. Without that, the data is useless for decision-making. Buying cheap is easy. Knowing what you're buying, isn't.
How much of that saving is real and how much is the cost of learning by burning modules?
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (90 replies).
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