Arduino is one of the most popular open source electronics platforms around the world. It is the best way to get started with electronics and programming. It’s easy-to-use hardware and software enables you to create interactive DIY electronics projects.
Therefore investing in a quality Arduino starter kit is the first step to kickstart your Arduino journey. These kits provide all the necessary components in a single package which are required to get started with Arduino.
In this article, we’ve compiled a list of the best Arduino starter kits available. We have covered all the necessary details including what they offer, contents of the kits, price, and what types of projects can be created with the kit. This will help you choose the best kit for you.
How to Select the Right Arduino Starter Kit?
Here are some considerations to keep in mind when selecting a kit:
- Ensure that the kit is compatible with popular Arduino boards such as the Arduino Uno, Arduino Nano, or Arduino Mega.
- Look for kits that include a variety of components such as sensors, LEDs, motors, and breadboards. Having a diverse range of components will allow you to explore different projects.
- If you are a beginner then check if the kit comes with detailed guides and tutorials to help you get started. Clear instructions and example projects can help you in your learning process.
Best Arduino Starter Kits Reviews
1. Official Arduino Starter Kit
This is the official Arduino starter kit. This kit is great for beginners which will help you learn the basics of Arduino and electronics in a quick and easy way.
The kit includes the original Arduino Development Board and over 100 electronic components. It also has a 170 page Project Book that contains step-by-step instructions of 15 DIY Electronics projects. Actuators and sensors are also provided that can help you to understand the concept of digital and analog signals.
Some of the Arduino projects you can build using this kit are:
- Colour Mixing Lamp (produce any colour with a lamp)
- Spaceship Interface (designing the control panel for spaceship)
- Keyboard Instrument (play music with this keyboard)
- Digital Hourglass (a light-up hourglass)
- Knock Lock (a secret code which is used to open the door)
- Hacking Buttons (create a master control for all your devices)
- Mood Cue (clue people in to how you’re doing),
- Light Theremin (create a musical instrument that you can play by waving your hands)
- Zoetrope (create a mechanical animation that you can play forward or reverse)
- Crystal Ball (a mystical tour to answer all your questions)
As compared to others on the list this kit is a bit expensive but it has high-quality components and its performance is also good as it features 2KB RAM for storing the information.
This kit includes the following components:
- Arduino Projects Book
- Arduino UNO
- USB cable
- Breadboard 400 points (1)
- Solid core Jumper Wires (70)
- Stranded jumper wire
- Wooden base
- 9V battery snap
- 16×2 Alphanumeric LCD display
- LEDs (1 x Bright White, 1 x RGB, 8 x Red, 8 x Green, 8 x Yellow and 3 x Blue)
- Phototransistors (6)
- 10KΩ Potentiometers (3)
- Pushbuttons (10)
- Small DC motor (6/9V)
- Small servo motor
- Temperature sensor TMP36
- H-bridge motor driver L293D (1)
- Tilt sensor
- Piezo capsule [PKM22EPP-40],
- Optocouplers 4N35 (2)
- Transparent gels (red, green, blue)
- 1 male pin strip (40×1)
- MOSFET Transistors [IRF520] (2)
- Capacitors (3 x 100µF)
- Diodes [1N4007] (5)
- Resistors (20 x 220Ω, 5 x 560Ω, 5 x 1KΩ, 5 x 4.7Ω, 20 x 10KΩ, 5 x 1MΩ, 5 x 10MΩ)
2. Elegoo Mega R3 Project Ultimate Starter Kit
Next on the list is Elegoo Starter Kit. This is one of the best kits available on the market to get started with microcontrollers. This kit is great for beginners as well as experienced users.
The most important parts in this kit are the MEGA controller board and expansion board. The controller is the clone of the Arduino board but works exactly the same as the original Arduino. It includes more than 200 components, of which 63 are different with premium quality, and compatible with Arduino IDE. It also includes some good modules and sensors like an RFID reader, water level sensor, LED matrix, motion sensor, ultrasonic sensor, accelerometer/gyroscope module, and much more. Another great thing is that pins and wires on some of the parts like LCD16502 and motors have been pre-soldered which is very convenient.
It also includes a CD with a PDF file in it, which includes more than 35 lessons. The best part is it provides you with pictures of assembled circuits and all the necessary source codes and libraries that you can copy the code from a CD.
The kit includes following Components:
- MEGA2560 Controller Board
- Breadboard
- 65 Jumper Wire
- Female-to-male DuPont Wire (20)
- Buzzers (1 x Active, 1 x Passive)
- LEDs (5 x Yellow, 5 x Red, 5 x Green, 5 x Blue, 1 x RGB)
- Ceramic Capacitor(22pf & 104pf) (10)
- Photoresistor (2)
- Thermistor
- Diode Rectifier (1N4007) (5)
- Electrolytic Capacitor (10UF 50V & 100UF 50V) (4)
- NPN Transistor (PN2222 & S8050 ) (10)
- Tilt Switch
- Button (small) (2)
- 5V Relay
- 1 digit 7-segment Display
- 4 digit 7-segment Display
- Sound Sensor Module
- LCD1602 Module (with pin header)
- IC L293D
- IC 74HC595
- RTC Module
- DHT11 Temperature and Humidity Module
- Potentiometer (2)
- Keypad Module
- HC-SR501 PIR Motion Sensor
- Ultrasonic Sensor
- GY-521 Module
- IR Receiver Module
- Servo Motor (SG90)
- Stepper Motor
- ULN2003 Stepper Motor Driver Board
- Power Supply Module
- Remote
- MAX7219 Module
- Rotary Encoder Module
- Joystick Module
- 9V 1A Power Supply
- Water Lever Sensor
- 9V Battery with DC
- RC522 RFID Module
- USB Cable
- Prototype Expansion
- Resistor (10Ω, 100Ω, 220Ω, 330Ω, 1KΩ, 2KΩ, 5.1KΩ, 10KΩ, 100KΩ, 1MΩ) x 120
All these things come in a plastic box to keep everything organised, plus an extra mini box to store small parts.
This kit contains a few advanced modules like a joystick module, motors, DHT11 sensor, ultrasonic sensor. You can use these modules to create some advanced projects related to robotics, motor control etc.
Overall, the Elegoo starter kit is affordable and the performance is also good.
3. ELEGOO UNO Project Super Starter Kit
The next starter kit on this list is also from Elegoo. The main difference between this and the previous kit is that it comes with a UNO R3 microcontroller which is a clone of the original one, and includes fewer items. But it includes all the components that are enough for beginners to start learning Arduino.
It also includes a CD and PDF having 24 tutorials with DIY projects. This kit is a great option for beginners as it provides high quality components at an affordable price.
The parts of the Elegoo Starter Kit are as follows:
- Elegoo UNO R3 (Compatible with Arduino Uno)
- Breadboard
- Breadboard Expansion Board
- Breadboard Power Supply Module
- 1 digit 7-segment Display
- 4 digit 7-segment Display
- 16×2 LCD Module (with pin header)
- IR Receiver
- Ultrasonic Sensor
- Servo Motor (SG90)
- Stepper Motor
- ULN2003 Stepper Motor Driver Board
- DHT11 Temperature and Humidity Module
- 9V Battery
- 65 Jumper Wires
- USB Cable
- Buzzer (Active and Passive)
- Potentiometer
- 5V Relay
- Remote
- Tilt Switch
- Button (5)
- Resistor (120)
- Photoresistor (2)
- Thermistor
- Diode 1N4007 (2)
- P2N2222 NPN Transistor (2)
- IC 74HC595 Shift Register
- Joystick Module
- Female-to-male DuPont Wire (10)
- LEDs (5x Yellow, 5x Blue, 5x Green, 5x Red, 1x RGB)
4. SunFounder Project Complete Starter kit
The SunFounder starter kit is another valuable kit on the list. It provides 250+ High-quality Components including a development board compatible with Arduino UNO, 1602 LCD, motors, and ultrasonic modules.
It also provides 42 detailed online tutorials that include a circuit diagram with detailed explanations and tested code.
Some projects that you can create using this kit are:
- Blinking LED
- Flowing LED Lights
- Doorbell
- Low Temperature Alarm
- Rotating Fan
- Colorful Balls
The SunFounder Super Starter Kit includes the following components:
- SunFounder R3 Board
- SunFounder Mega Board
- Breadboard
- Capacitor
- Diode
- 74HC595
- L293D
- LEDs (5x Yellow, 5x Blue, 5x Green, 5x Red, 5x White, 1x RGB)
- 7-segment Display
- 4-Digit 7-Segment Display
- LCD1602
- Buzzer
- DC Motor
- Stepper Motor
- Servo
- Relay
- Power Supply Module
- Button
- Potentiometer
- Joystick Module
- Photoresistor
- Thermistor
- Tilt Switch
- IR Receiver Module
- Ultrasonic Module
- Humidity & Temperature Sensor Module
- Dupont wires (10)
- NPN Transistor (2)
- Jumper Wires (65)
- Resistor (10Ω, 100Ω, 220Ω, 330Ω, 5.1Ω, 2KΩ, 1KΩ, 10KΩ, 100KΩ, 1MΩ)
5. Vilros Arduino Uno Ultimate Starter Kit
This Vilros Arduino Starter Kit is another great option for beginners. It includes over 190 electronic parts and components. Although it does not come with advanced modules and sensors, it includes temperature sensor, motors, and all the essential components to learn the basics.
The kit comes with a 72 page Instruction Manual that includes introduction to Arduino programming as well as step by step tutorials on how to use each component in this kit.
The contents of the Arduino Starter Kit by Vilros are as follows:
- Arduino Uno R3
- 16×2 LCD Module with Presoldered pin headers
- Breadboard
- Arduino & Breadboard Holder
- USB Cable
- Shift Register 74HC595
- 2N3904 Transistors (2)
- 1N4148 Diodes (2)
- DC Motor with wires
- Small Servo
- 5V Relay
- Temperature Sensor TMP36
- Jumper Wires (65)
- Photocell
- LEDs (1x RGB, 10 x Red, 10 x Yellow)
- 10K Trimpot
- Piezo Buzzer
- Big 12mm Buttons (2)
- Resistors (45 x 330Ω and 45 x 10KΩ)
6. Samraza Ultimate Starter Kit
Next kit on the list is the Samraza Starter Kit. This kit includes over 30 parts and 150 commonly used components. Also, it comes with a PDF having tutorials for more than 15 projects with all instructions and source codes included. The controller board is compatible with Arduino UNO.
This kit is good for beginners as it comes with all the basic components that are needed for creating Arduino projects.
The Smraza Starter Kit includes following components:
- R3 Controller Board
- Breadboard Holder
- 400 tie-points Breadboard
- Servo Motor
- 5V Relay
- IC 74HC595
- 5V DC Motor
- Active Buzzer
- Precision Potentiometer
- 2N3904 Transistors (2)
- 1N4148 Diodes (2)
- DHT-11 (Temperature and Humidity Sensor)
- Photoresistor (2)
- LEDs (5 x Yellow, 5 x Red, 5 x Green, 5 x Blue, 1 x RGB)
- 12mm Buttons (large)(4)
- 9V Battery Adapter
- USB Cable
- Jumper Wire (65)
- Resistors (50 each 330Ω, 10KΩ)
- Fan
- Key cap ( 1 x White, 1 x Yellow, 1 x Green, 1 x Red)
- 4 digit 7-segment display
Everything is packed in a convenient plastic container, helping you stay organised. Note that capacitors are not included in this kit.
Getting Started with Arduino/Arduino-compatible Starter Kit
Once you’ve selected the right Arduino starter kit, it’s time to learn electronics and programming. Here’s a step-by-step guide to getting started with your kit:
-
Unboxing: Carefully unpack your Arduino starter kit and familiarise yourself with its contents. Check if all components are included and in good condition.
-
Setup: Install the Arduino IDE on your computer and connect your Arduino board to your PC using a USB cable. Follow the instructions provided in the kit’s manual to set up your board.
-
Basic Tutorials: Start with basic Arduino tutorials included in the kit’s manual. Start with simple projects like blinking an LED or reading sensor data.
-
Explore Projects: Once you understand the basics, explore more advanced projects and experiment and innovate with your Arduino kit. Combine different components, modify existing projects, and create your own unique projects. The possibilities are endless!
