ʻO ka ʻokoʻa nui ma waena o ARM a me X86 ka mea hana, hahai ke kaʻina hana ARM i kahi hoʻolālā RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) ʻoiai ʻo nā mea hana X86 he CISC (Complex Instruction set Architecture. ʻO ke ʻano kēia he maʻalahi ka ARM ISA a hoʻokō ka hapa nui o nā kuhikuhi i hoʻokahi pōʻaiapuni uaki, ʻoiai ʻo nā kuhikuhi CISC he paʻakikī, e lawe ana i nā pōʻaiapuni CPU he nui e hoʻokō i kēlā me kēia kuhikuhi.