STM32F407 vs STM32F405: Which ARM Cortex-M4 MCU for Your Project?
STM32F407 vs STM32F405: Which ARM Cortex-M4 MCU for Your Project?
If you have spent any time in the STM32 ecosystem, you have almost certainly faced this exact choice: STM32F407 or STM32F405? They share the same core, the same clock speed, and the same package options. The datasheets look nearly identical at first glance. Yet picking the wrong one can add unnecessary cost to your BOM — or leave you without the peripheral you need halfway through firmware development. Here is how to make the right call.
What They Share: The Cortex-M4F Foundation
Both the STM32F405 and STM32F407 are built on the same silicon platform: an ARM Cortex-M4F core running at 168 MHz with a single-precision FPU, DSP instructions, and the ART Accelerator for zero-wait-state flash execution. They share the same memory architecture — up to 1 MB of flash and 192 KB of SRAM (plus 4 KB of battery-backed backup SRAM). The core performance is identical: 210 DMIPS and 566 CoreMark at 168 MHz.
Peripheral-wise, the overlap is extensive. Both include three 12-bit ADCs, two DACs, up to 17 timers, multiple USART/UART, SPI, and I2C interfaces, dual CAN 2.0B controllers, and a full-speed USB 2.0 OTG controller. If your design uses only these peripherals, the two chips are functionally interchangeable.
| Feature | STM32F405 | STM32F407 |
|---|---|---|
| Core and Clock Speed | Cortex-M4F, 168 MHz | Cortex-M4F, 168 MHz |
| Flash / SRAM | Up to 1 MB / 192 KB | Up to 1 MB / 192 KB |
| Ethernet 10/100 MAC | No | Yes (MII/RMII) |
| Camera Interface (DCMI) | No | Yes (parallel 8-14 bit) |
| USB OTG High-Speed (ULPI) | FS only | HS + FS dual OTG |
| Crypto / Hash Accelerator | No | AES, DES, MD5, SHA-1 |
| GPIO Count (LQFP-100) | 82 | 82 |
| Approx. Unit Price (1ku) | 10-20% lower | Baseline |
The Deciding Factor: Four Extra Peripherals
The STM32F407 carries four hardware blocks that the STM32F405 simply does not:
Ethernet 10/100 MAC with MII/RMII. This is the headline feature. If your product needs wired network connectivity — an industrial gateway, a Modbus TCP node, a web-configurable instrument — the F407 saves you from adding an external Ethernet controller and its associated BOM cost. The integrated MAC talks directly to a low-cost external PHY like the LAN8720 or DP83848.
Digital Camera Interface (DCMI). For embedded vision applications, the F407 can ingest parallel pixel data from CMOS sensors (OV2640, OV7670) without bit-banging GPIO or adding an FPGA. The F405 cannot.
USB OTG High-Speed with ULPI. The F405 has only a full-speed (12 Mbps) USB OTG. The F407 adds a second OTG controller capable of 480 Mbps high-speed operation via an external ULPI PHY — useful for USB audio streaming, high-speed data loggers, or fast firmware updates over USB.
Hardware Cryptographic Accelerator. The F407 includes an AES, DES/TDES, and hash (MD5, SHA-1) engine. For secure boot, encrypted firmware updates, or TLS session acceleration, this offloads significant CPU cycles from the Cortex-M4 core.
When the STM32F405 Is the Smarter Buy
If your design does not require Ethernet, a camera, high-speed USB, or hardware crypto, the STM32F405 offers the same Cortex-M4F compute performance at a 10-20% lower unit price. This adds up quickly in volume production — on a 10,000-unit run, choosing the F405 over the F407 can save hundreds of dollars with no firmware compromise.
Common F405 applications include motor control (FOC), drone flight controllers (Betaflight, INAV), sensor fusion hubs, and industrial PID controllers — all tasks that need raw DSP throughput and fast ADC sampling but no network stack. The F405 also draws marginally less idle current without the Ethernet PHY interface logic active, making it slightly better for battery-powered designs where every microamp counts.
Pin assignments on shared packages (LQFP-64, LQFP-100, LQFP-144) are largely identical across both parts, so a late-stage decision to switch from F407 to F405 is often a one-respin PCB change rather than a complete redesign — just make sure your board does not route any signals to the Ethernet or DCMI pins you would lose.
Quick Decision Checklist
| Your Requirement | Pick |
|---|---|
| Wired Ethernet (Modbus TCP, HTTP, MQTT, web server) | STM32F407 |
| Camera / machine vision input | STM32F407 |
| High-speed USB 480 Mbps | STM32F407 |
| Secure boot / encrypted OTA firmware update | STM32F407 |
| Pure DSP / motor control / sensor fusion only | STM32F405 |
| Aggressive BOM cost target, no connectivity | STM32F405 |
The bottom line is simple: the STM32F407 is the F405 plus Ethernet, DCMI, high-speed USB, and a crypto engine — for roughly 15-20% more. If your product uses any one of those four peripherals, the F407 pays for itself by eliminating external controller chips. If none are needed, the F405 delivers identical compute performance for less. Both remain excellent Cortex-M4F choices in 2026, with mature HAL/LL driver support and broad ecosystem backing from STM32CubeIDE. Whether you are designing an industrial gateway or a high-speed motor controller, Aplus Components stocks both variants across multiple package options to keep your production line moving.
