Flight controller comparison
Pixhawk 6C, 6C Mini, 6X or 6X Pro: which flight controller should you choose?
The four names describe two quite different products. Two of them are a finished flight controller; two of them are a compute module that does nothing until you have chosen a baseboard as well. Getting that branch right first makes the rest of the comparison short.
Decide the packaging before you compare the processors
The Pixhawk 6C and 6C Mini are complete controllers: the compute, the sensors and the connectors are in one housing, and the connector set you get is the connector set the manufacturer chose. You buy one part number, bolt it in and wire it up.
The Pixhawk 6X and 6X Pro are compute modules built to the Pixhawk Autopilot Bus standard. They carry the processor and the sensors — including, on the 6X Pro, sensor isolation inside the module itself — while every connector and the mounting footprint belong to a separate baseboard that you select. Our catalogue records this in each product's line: 6C and 6C Mini are grouped as "flight controller with integrated baseboard", 6X and 6X Pro as "requires a separate baseboard".
That difference decides more than price. On a 6C the aircraft is designed around a fixed I/O set. On a 6X the I/O is a design variable, which is what you want when the airframe has an unusual sensor count, when the vehicle is not an aircraft at all, or when a companion computer has to sit on the same board. It is also what you do not want when the schedule is short and the requirement is ordinary.
Source: Pixhawk 6C technical specification · Pixhawk 6X technical specificationWhat a separate baseboard buys, and what it costs
The catalogue lists five baseboards for the 5X, 6X, 6X-RT and 6X Pro modules: a Standard Baseboard V2A and V2B, a Mini Baseboard for tight airframes, a Jetson baseboard that carries an NVIDIA companion module on the same board, and an RPi CM4 baseboard that does the same for a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4.
The gain is real: a repairable aircraft where a damaged connector means replacing a baseboard rather than an autopilot, a footprint you can pick to fit the frame, and — with the Jetson or CM4 boards — a companion computer wired to the autopilot without a hand-built harness between two separately mounted boards.
The cost is that you now have two part numbers, two revisions and two sets of documentation to keep straight, and a bill of materials that is wrong if either is missing. A 6X ordered without a baseboard is not a flight controller. It is worth saying plainly because it is the single most common way this order goes wrong.
Source: Pixhawk standard baseboard V2 ports · Pixhawk Mini baseboard portsThe 6C variants: the difference is the case, not the electronics
The catalogue carries the Pixhawk 6C as two part numbers that differ in housing: 6C Plastic (SKU 11054) and 6C Aluminum (SKU 11055). The aluminium case is the one to specify where the controller sits near a video transmitter or a high-current harness, or where the airframe gives it no thermal path of its own; the plastic case is lighter and cheaper and is the right answer on a small aircraft with an uncrowded electronics bay.
The 6C Mini is sold as Model-A (SKU 11088) and Model-B (SKU 11079). These are variant markers on the same controller, not a performance ladder, and they are exactly the kind of suffix a purchase order drops. Quote the SKU rather than "a 6C Mini", and confirm which connector and cable set the quotation includes.
None of these four is a redundancy decision. If your requirement mentions redundancy, the question to interrogate is not the case material — it is how many independent inertial measurement units and how many independent power inputs the whole architecture actually has, which is decided by the controller, the power modules and the wiring together.
Source: Pixhawk 6C technical specification · Pixhawk 6C Mini technical specificationRedundancy is a property of the system, not of the product name
Redundancy is not uniform across this family, and the difference is documented. The Pixhawk 6C has two analog power inputs; the 6C Mini has one. The 6X and 6X Pro modules carry two power inputs with digital sensing. So "a Pixhawk" is not a redundant-supply architecture — a particular model is, or is not.
A second IMU lets the estimator reject one that has failed or saturated. Whether that helps depends on how the two are mounted, and here the documentation is specific rather than general: on the 6X Pro the ADIS16470 (±40 g) and IIM-42652 (±16 g) are isolated within the module, while the ICM-45686 (±32 g) is hard-mounted. That isolation belongs to the autopilot, not to the baseboard you bolt it to — which is worth knowing before you attribute all of your vibration performance to a carrier or a set of rubber mounts.
Vehicle-level mounting still matters, and it is a separate problem: isolating sensors from a resonance the airframe produces is not something the module can do for you. A second power input likewise only helps if the two inputs are fed from different sources — two leads from one regulator is one supply with extra wiring.
So write the redundancy requirement as an architecture, not a part number: two independent supplies, from two sources, on two connectors; sensor isolation that damps the frequency your airframe actually produces. Then choose the controller that supports it. The sensor set, port count and power inputs for each of these models are on their product pages, taken from the manufacturer's own specification — and on the 6X they are revision-dependent, so confirm which revision is being supplied.
Source: Pixhawk 6C Mini technical specification · Pixhawk 6X Pro technical specification · Power module comparisonDimensions: on a 6X, measure the baseboard
For the 6C and 6C Mini the controller's own dimensions are the dimensions you design around. For the 6X and 6X Pro they are not: the module plugs into the baseboard, and it is the baseboard's outline, mounting-hole pattern and connector faces that have to fit the electronics bay. A Mini Baseboard and a Jetson baseboard hold the same module and need very different amounts of space.
Take the mounting pattern and stack height from the baseboard's drawing, and remember the third dimension: the module sits on top of the board, and the cables leave the connectors sideways. Bays that fit on a two-dimensional layout regularly fail on the loom's bend radius.
One thing that follows from this is worth planning for deliberately. Because the module and the baseboard are separate, a vehicle can be upgraded along either axis — a newer module on the same baseboard, or a different baseboard under the same module — without redesigning the airframe. On a 6C, a change of controller is a change of everything it touches.
Source: Pixhawk 6X technical specification · Pixhawk 6X Pro technical specificationThe exact-variant checklist
Six lines, and they are the six that decide whether what arrives is what the aircraft needs. Send them with the enquiry and put them on the order.
1. The SKU, not the family name. "Pixhawk 6C" covers two part numbers and "6C Mini" covers two more. 2. Baseboard, for a 6X or 6X Pro. Name it explicitly, including whether a case is included — the Jetson baseboard is listed both with (11072A) and without (11072) one.
3. The cable and connector set. Confirm what is in the box against the ports you intend to use, including the GPS, power and telemetry leads. 4. Firmware and stack. State PX4 or ArduPilot and the release you are targeting, because that is what decides whether a given peripheral is supported on a given port.
5. The peripherals it must talk to. List the GNSS receiver, power module, telemetry radio, airspeed sensor and companion computer by model, with the interface each one uses. 6. Quantity and spares policy. A development programme that will fly the aircraft hard should price a spare controller against the cost of a grounded airframe.
The four variants, and what each one commits you to
Every cell below is from the catalogue's own product records. The rows are grouped by the decision that actually separates them — whether the connectors come with the controller, or with a baseboard you choose next.
| Variant | Holybro SKU | Baseboard | Distinguishing feature | What decides the I/O |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pixhawk 6C (Plastic) | 11054 | Integrated | Plastic housing; lighter and lower cost | The controller |
| Pixhawk 6C (Aluminum) | 11055 | Integrated | Aluminium housing | The controller |
| Pixhawk 6C Mini Model-A | 11088 | Integrated | Smaller footprint; Model-A variant | The controller |
| Pixhawk 6C Mini Model-B | 11079 | Integrated | Smaller footprint; Model-B variant | The controller |
| Pixhawk 6X | 11073 | Separate, required | Modular compute on the Pixhawk Autopilot Bus | The baseboard you choose |
| Pixhawk 6X Pro | 11070 | Separate, required | Higher-tier module in the same modular family | The baseboard you choose |
| Pix32 v6 | 11056 | Separate, required | Modular alternative with its own baseboard range | The baseboard you choose |
Part numbers and product-line grouping are from the Holybro price list held in the Vebix Automation catalogue. Processor, sensor, interface and mechanical figures are Holybro's published specifications, cited below and carried in full on each product page. Several change between hardware revisions — the 6C Mini Model-A has two mechanical revisions and the 6X two sensor revisions — so the pages label those rather than picking one. Put the SKU on the purchase order and confirm the revision.
Source: Pixhawk 6C technical specification · Pixhawk 6C Mini technical specification · Pixhawk 6X technical specification · Pixhawk 6X Pro technical specificationOne unit, or two parts you have to order together
This is the branch the rest of the decision hangs off. On the left, everything arrives in one box and the connector set is settled. On the right, the module is half the order, and the half you choose next decides the connectors, the footprint and whether a companion computer shares the board.
Products discussed
The parts this guide names.
Specifications on each page are the manufacturer's. Confirm the exact variant and document revision before ordering.
Pixhawk 6C Aluminum
Integrated controller, aluminium case. SKU 11055.
Pixhawk 6C Mini Model-B
Integrated controller in the smaller footprint. SKU 11079.
Pixhawk 6X
Modular compute module. Order a baseboard with it. SKU 11073.
Pixhawk 6X Pro
Higher-tier module in the same modular family. SKU 11070.
Pixhawk Standard Baseboard V2B
General-purpose baseboard for 5X, 6X, 6X-RT and 6X Pro.
All autopilots and baseboards
The full range, with every SKU and baseboard option.
Sources & basis
What this is based on.
- Part numbers, product-line grouping and variant names for the Pixhawk 6C, 6C Mini, 6X, 6X Pro and Pix32 v6, and for the five compatible baseboards, as published in the Vebix Automation catalogue.
- Interface counts, sensor sets, power inputs, dimensions and mass are Holybro's published figures, read from the documentation cited below on 7 September 2026. Several are revision-dependent and are labelled as such; confirm the revision supplied against the SKU on your quotation.
- The variant checklist is procurement guidance drawn from how these orders go wrong, not a manufacturer compatibility statement.
- Pixhawk 6C technical specification (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Pixhawk 6X technical specification (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Pixhawk standard baseboard V2 ports (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Pixhawk Mini baseboard ports (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Pixhawk 6C Mini technical specification (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Pixhawk 6X Pro technical specification (accessed 2026-09-07)
- Power module comparison (accessed 2026-09-07)
Published 7 September 2026. Last revised 7 September 2026. Corrections to sales@
Talk to an engineer
Choosing between Pixhawk variants?
Send your controller model and required interfaces — the peripherals it must talk to, the space available and your firmware stack — and we will come back with a compatible component shortlist, including the baseboard and cable set. Request a component quotation for your project in India.
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