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Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi Pico

RP2040-based board — dual Cortex-M0+ at 133MHz, 26 GPIO on a breadboard-friendly 40-pin header, no wireless.

SC0915 · Raspberry Pi Ltd

🍌 Simulates in-browser
Voltage
1.8–5.5V
Package
Module
Pins
40
Interfaces
I2C, SPI, UART
Lifecycle
Active
Footprint
Not verified

Overview

The classic Raspberry Pi Pico (not the Pico W) is built around Raspberry Pi's own RP2040 chip: two Cortex-M0+ cores, 264KB of SRAM, and an onboard SMPS regulator that can run the board from anything between 1.8V and 5.5V on VSYS. It has no WiFi or Bluetooth radio — for that, use the Pico W (a different board). Programmable via the Arduino IDE (arduino-pico core) or MicroPython/C SDK; this catalogue entry follows the Arduino pin-default convention (Wire → I2C0 on GP4/GP5, SPI → SPI0 on GP16-19).

Wiring tip: 3.3V logic only, no WiFi/BT on the plain Pico — default I2C is SDA=GP4/SCL=GP5

Ecosystem: raspberry-pi, arduino

rp2040raspberry-pidevboard3.3vno-wifi

Pins & wiring

01Pin map
40 positions · top view
Raspberry Pi Pico

Physical dual-header orientation shown from above.

PowerGroundGPIOAnalogI2CSPIUARTControl

All pins

Selected pin

GP0

UART
Direction
Bidirectional
Absolute maximum
3.3 V
5 V tolerant
No

Verified capabilities

  • UART TX
  • GPIO
  • PWM
  • I2C
  • SPI
  • UART0_TX

UART0 TX (default Serial1 TX).

Full pin table
PinNameRoleDirectionVoltageNote
1UARTBidirectionalUART0 TX (default Serial1 TX).
2UARTBidirectionalUART0 RX (default Serial1 RX).
3GroundPassive
4GPIOBidirectional
5GPIOBidirectional
6I2CBidirectionalDefault Wire SDA (I2C0).
7I2CBidirectionalDefault Wire SCL (I2C0).
8GroundPassive
9GPIOBidirectional
10GPIOBidirectional
11GPIOBidirectional
12GPIOBidirectional
13GroundPassive
14GPIOBidirectional
15GPIOBidirectional
16GPIOBidirectional
17GPIOBidirectional
18GroundPassive
19GPIOBidirectional
20GPIOBidirectional
21SPIBidirectionalDefault SPI MISO (SPI0 RX).
22SPIBidirectionalDefault SPI CS (SPI0 CSn).
23GroundPassive
24SPIBidirectionalDefault SPI SCK (SPI0 SCK).
25SPIBidirectionalDefault SPI MOSI (SPI0 TX).
26GPIOBidirectional
27GPIOBidirectional
28GroundPassive
29GPIOBidirectional
30ControlIn3.3 VRP2040 global reset/enable — pull low to reset the chip, leave floating for normal operation.
31AnalogBidirectionalADC0 input. Also default Wire1 SDA (I2C1).
32AnalogBidirectionalADC1 input. Also default Wire1 SCL (I2C1).
33GroundPassive
34AnalogBidirectionalADC2 input.
35PowerPower3.3 VADC reference voltage input (filtered from 3V3 on the Pico) — sets full-scale for GP26/27/28.
36PowerPower3.3 V3.3V output from the onboard SMPS regulator — a few hundred mA available for external circuitry.
37ControlIn3.3 VEnable input for the onboard 3V3 regulator (pulled high by default); tie to GND to disable the 3V3 rail.
38GroundPassive
39PowerPower1.8 – 5.5 VMain system input, 1.8-5.5V — feeds the onboard SMPS that generates 3V3 and can power the board from an external source.
40PowerPower5 VUSB 5V bus voltage (present only when powered over the Micro-USB connector).

Wiring examples

Power-up

Any 3.3V host

Runs from its Micro-USB port with no extra wiring. The onboard LED (GPIO25) isn't broken out to the header, so it isn't wireable to anything else.

Raspberry Pi Pico pinConnects toNote
  • All GPIO are 3.3V logic and NOT 5V tolerant — a 5V sensor's output needs a divider or level shifter before any GPxx pin.
  • Only GP26/27/28 are ADC-capable; there's no ADC on most of the header, unlike an AVR board where every analog pin doubles as digital.

Specifications

Electrical

Core
Dual ARM Cortex-M0+ (RP2040)src
Max Clock
133 MHzsrc
Flash
2 MBsrc
SRAM
264 KBsrc
Logic Voltage
3.3 Vsrc
Onboard Regulator
Yessrc
Operating Voltage
1.8 – 5.5 Vsrc

Interface

GPIO Count
26src
ADC Channels
3src
ADC Resolution
12 bitsrc
Wi-Fi
Nosrc
Bluetooth
Nosrc
Interfaces
i2c, spi, uartsrc

Physical

USB Connector
micro-usbsrc
Package
Modulesrc
Length
51 mmsrc
Width
21 mmsrc
Weight
3 gsrc
Mounting
thtsrc
Header Format
breadboard-friendlysrc

Footprint

No independently verified physical footprint is on file for this part yet.

Alternatives

Upgrades

Strictly better on the headline spec, but expect to touch firmware or wiring to actually use the difference.

Same rough price bracket, but adds WiFi and Bluetooth if the project needs to get data off the board.

Compare with Raspberry Pi Pico
  • Wi-Fi: noyes

Similar parts

Does the same job with a different part. Expect wiring and library changes — a starting point, not a guarantee.

5V-tolerant AVR alternative when a shield/sensor is 5V-only.

Compare with Raspberry Pi Pico
  • Logic Voltage: 3.3V5V
  • Core: Dual ARM Cortex-M0+AVR 8-bit

Documents

Datasheets

Frequently asked questions

What voltage does the Raspberry Pi Pico run at?

The Raspberry Pi Pico runs at 1.8–5.5V, per the spec sheet below. Always double-check against the specific board you have — some breakouts add an onboard regulator that changes the usable input range.

How many pins does the Raspberry Pi Pico have?

The Raspberry Pi Pico has 40 pins, communicating over I2C, SPI, UART. See the full pinout table in Pins & wiring for each pin's role.

Can I simulate the Raspberry Pi Pico before ordering hardware?

Yes — the Raspberry Pi Pico has a live in-browser simulation model, so you can exercise the circuit before ordering any hardware.

Where is the Raspberry Pi Pico datasheet?

Linked in the Documents section on this page, and cited on every spec that came from it.

Build it, do not just look it up

Describe your circuit in one sentence and Banana Board wires it to these exact pins, validates it, and lays out a fab-ready PCB.

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