Raspberry Pi vs. Beaglebone Black

Pi Model CPU RAM features
Zero ARMv6 512 MB LPDDR2 low power consumption, single-core CPU.
4 ARMv8 (A72) 1..8 GB LPDDR4 quad-core CPU, GPU, Bluetooth 5, 802.11ac, gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0
3+ ARMv8 (A53) 1 GB LPDDR2 quad-core CPU, GPU, Bluetooth 4.2 / 802.11ac, gigabit Ethernet
2 ARMv8 (A53) 1 GB LPDDR2 no onboard wireless.
1 ARMv6 512 MB LPDDR2 high power consumption, single-core CPU.

The benchmarks for Raspberry Pi 2 and Raspberry Pi 3 show far faster performance than the Raspberry Pi 1 / Zero. Using the graphical desktop and 4 GB of RAM, the Raspberry Pi 4 is useful for modest desktop use. The new CPU-direct USB and Ethernet of the Raspberry Pi 4 brings drastically faster IO.

The Raspberry Pi Zero has an ARMv6 single core CPU but much lower idle power for battery-powered applications.

Beaglebone deterministic IO due to the PRU is a key advantage for certain applications. The Beaglebone DDR3L RAM, and ARMv7 CPU is nearly twice as powerful as the Raspberry Pi Zero, native Ethernet, onboard SSD (eMMC), better onboard I/O (for local sensors), etc. However, CPU or GPU demanding tasks should consider the latest Raspberry Pi or Intel NUC, etc. instead.