The Raspberry Pi household of single-board computers keeps growing. This Raspberry Pi buyers usher lists what's disposable and includes recommendations astir which committee is perfect based connected the user.
There are a batch of single-board computers retired there, aimed astatine makers, hobbyists and education. From tiny Arduinos to NVIDIA's AI Jetsons, they tin beryllium utilized for astir thing you tin deliberation of. There's 1 marque that stands out, though: Raspberry Pi.
Inspired by the 1980s 8-bit computers that turned a procreation of Britons into developers, the Raspberry Pi Foundation was acceptable up to present a low-cost machine that could bash the aforesaid for today's schoolkids. Their archetypal device, the Raspberry Pi Model B, was launched successful 2012, with 256MB of representation and a 26-pin GPIO enlargement port. Over the adjacent decennary the archetypal ARM-based instrumentality has grown into a household of devices, including a full-blown computer, a microcontroller CPU, and a bid of modules that tin beryllium utilized to physique much analyzable devices.
Most Raspberry Pis usage a microSD paper for storage. This tin beryllium slow, with a hazard of hitting flash constitute cycles connected peculiarly dense workloads. More caller devices volition footwear from USB-connected SSDs, with third-party cases with M.2 module supports available. The enactment of utilizing inexpensive microSD cards remains fashionable successful schools, wherever students tin beryllium issued with a representation paper for their programs and data, sharing the much costly single-board computers betwixt classes.
It's present gained its ain OS, a Debian-based 32-bit Linux, Raspberry Pi OS. Recently upgraded to the Bullseye release, it comes bundled with coding tools and the acquainted LibreOffice productivity suite. As there's nary 32-bit ARM physique of Chrome, the main browser is the unfastened root Chromium release. Most extensions volition enactment connected a Pi, though immoderate cardinal Chrome features, similar past and bookmark sync, aren't supported.
A modular 40-pin GPIO larboard has allowed an ecosystem of HATs, Hardware Attached connected Top boards, to develop. These let you to rapidly adhd caller features to your device, including enactment for Power Over Ethernet connections for distant devices. Other hardware enactment includes a communal camera connection, with respective camera modules presently available, including a 12-megapixel instrumentality that works with S-mount lenses. If you privation to usage a committee with a straight connected display, you person the enactment of utilizing a GPIO-connected show via the device's I2C ports oregon a module utilizing the built-in show connector. Many Raspberry Pi displays enactment touch, allowing you to usage them to enactment UIs for IOT projects.
Recent developments person included its ain silicon, the RP2040, astatine the bosom of the Raspberry Pi Pico board, arsenic good arsenic customized hardware from galore shaper vendors. That's been followed by a caller silicon bundle design, squeezing Raspberry Pi 3 hardware into a caller mentation of the tiny low-cost Raspberry Pi Zero.
So which Raspberry Pi is close for you? We circular up the full family.
Raspberry Pi 4
Raspberry Pi 4
Image: Raspberry Pi
Launched successful 2019, the Raspberry Pi 4 remains the company's flagship. Built astir the BCM2711 microcontroller, it comes successful 4 versions. These person 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB of RAM, respectively, with gigabit Ethernet, USB 3, and dual micro-HDMI ports. Recent releases person a caller CPU revision, which allows it to tally faster and cooler, truthful you don't request a processor instrumentality for astir loads.
If you're buying a Pi today, the Raspberry Pi 4 is apt to beryllium your archetypal choice. It has plentifulness of connectivity, with wireless and wired connections, and with an 8GB option, capable representation to powerfulness a 64-bit desktop Linux similar Ubuntu arsenic an alternate to its ain Raspberry Pi OS. The acquainted 40-pin GPIO plug works with a wide enactment of HATs, including plug-in displays and the fashionable AstroPi acquisition shaper board.
Raspberry Pi's authoritative case, rodent and keyboard fto you rapidly crook your Pi 4 into a desktop Linux PC, though you whitethorn similar to usage a third-party lawsuit with a built-in instrumentality and enactment for SSD hard drives.
The Raspberry Pi 4 ranges successful terms from $35-$75.
Raspberry Pi 3 A+ and B+
Raspberry Pi 3
Image: Raspberry Pi
The venerable Raspberry Pi 3 remains a unit to beryllium reckoned with, providing a astonishing magnitude of bang for your buck, adjacent aft each these years. If your fund doesn't agelong to the Pi 4, past the Pi 3 B+'s 1GB of RAM and its azygous full-size HDMI larboard should enactment good capable for you. Four USB ports, Ethernet and Wi-Fi enactment alongside the modular 40-pin GPIO larboard to springiness you plentifulness of connectivity. If you're gathering a sensor array that needs a batch of section compute, the Pi 3 is inactive worthy a look.
However, if you don't request Ethernet, the caller Raspberry Pi Zero 2 with the aforesaid processor, for $20 less, is astir apt a amended choice. As a result, you should expect to spot the Pi 3 articulation the database of bequest industrial-only hardware successful the adjacent year.
The Raspberry Pi 3 A+ is $25, and the Raspberry Pi 3 B+ is $35.
Raspberry Pi 400
Raspberry Pi 400
Image: Raspberry Pi
While the Raspberry Pi 4 was the archetypal Pi that could truly tally a Linux desktop, the Raspberry Pi 400 went a measurement further and became the archetypal existent location machine from the organization. Based connected the acquainted Raspberry Pi keyboard, the Raspberry Pi 400 uses a caller circuit committee to embed a variant of the 4GB Pi 4. With astir of the aforesaid ports arsenic a Pi 4, it's casual to usage the Raspberry Pi 400 arsenic a improvement PC oregon to tally astir of the tools you'll find connected a Linux desktop—and with fashionable distributions similar Ubuntu available, it makes an effectual alternate to a Chromebook without resorting to locked down hardware.
As they usage a caller mentation of the Raspberry Pi 4 firmware, each Pi 400s tin footwear from SSD drives implicit USB. That comes successful useful erstwhile utilizing them arsenic acquisition computers, erstwhile each you request is simply a show and USB rodent to rapidly kit retired a tiny classroom. With budgets constrained, delivering a afloat desktop acquisition for astir $200 is simply a bully deal, particularly erstwhile the bundle it runs is the aforesaid arsenic you'll find connected immoderate Linux PC.
The Raspberry Pi 400 sells for $70.
Raspberry Pi CM4
Raspberry Pi CM4
Image: Raspberry Pi
Not each projects request a full-size Raspberry Pi 4, particularly if you're gathering hardware for resale oregon designing compact systems for deployment connected the borderline of the network. Raspberry Pi's compute modules are designed to beryllium astatine the bosom of customized hardware, with modular socket connections to present the afloat suite of Raspberry Pi connectivity.
The CM4 is the latest compute module, gathering connected the Raspberry Pi 4, utilizing the aforesaid processor and representation options. Built-in eMMC retention options means determination are 32 variants of the CM4, including respective that region the wireless connectivity features. A modular committee pin-out makes designing hardware easy, and Raspberry Pi and partners marque a bid of improvement boards.
One large alteration betwixt the Raspberry CM4 and the Pi 4 is the removal of the USB 3.0 ports. Instead they're replaced with a PCIe interface, suitable for usage with storage, networking oregon adjacent graphics cards. Compute Modules are perfect for compact borderline hardware and tin beryllium utilized to physique tiny Kubernetes clusters.
The Raspberry Pi CM4 sells for $25-$90.
Raspberry Pi Pico
Raspberry Pi Pico
Image: Raspberry Pi
The RP2040 is Raspberry Pi's archetypal silicon, a microcontroller-class instrumentality based connected the ARM Cortex M0 halfway design. Two cores and 264KB of RAM springiness it astir of what you request to physique each kinds of projects, and the Raspberry Pi Pico adds 2GMB of flash storage. 26 GPIO pins link your codification to the world, with programs loaded implicit the aforesaid USB larboard that powers your device. An on-board somesthesia sensor helps you get started.
You tin constitute codification successful C++ oregon MicroPython, making it perfect for some experts and beginners. Code loads implicit USB and runs arsenic soon arsenic you restart your device. A concern with Microsoft ensures that plug-ins and tooling are acceptable for usage with the escaped cross-platform Visual Studio Code improvement tool.
The Raspberry Pi Pico is possibly champion thought of arsenic Raspberry Pi's Arduino equivalent. It's designed to go the bosom of hardware projects, with a committee that tin solder into different hardware. The RP2040 is being utilized by third-party vendors to thrust customized keyboards and programmable lighting among different hardware projects.
The Raspberry Pi Pico sells for $4.
Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W
Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W
Image: Raspberry Pi
The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W is the latest subordinate of the Pi family, and a caller variation of the tiny Raspberry Pi Zero. A $15 device, it takes a acquainted plan and supercharges it with the aforesaid processor arsenic the Raspberry Pi 3. Projects that utilized to request a full-size Pi tin present beryllium built successful little than fractional the space, with capable powerfulness to tally a desktop environment. Your lone bounds is memory, with 512MB of RAM.
You'll request to solder connected a header to usage the GPIO port, but that doesn't necessitate excessively overmuch soldering accomplishment and determination are solderless third-party options. Other ports see a USB powerfulness port, a USB-OTG connector, a modular CSI-2 camera port, and a micro-HDMI port. They're each successful the aforesaid spot arsenic connected the erstwhile Raspberry Pi Zero releases, truthful you won't request to put successful caller cases oregon powerfulness supplies.
The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W is disposable for $15.
Raspberry Pi Zero
Raspberry Pi Zero W
Image: Raspberry Pi
Designed to present an entry-level Pi experience, the Raspberry Pi Zero took the basal Pi bundle and hardware and built it into a tiny signifier origin board. While representation is limited, it's an effectual debased powerfulness strategy suitable for galore projects. The basal Raspberry Pi Zero has nary connectivity, lone a acceptable of USB ports. You volition request to adhd your ain header for the GPIO ports.
A 2nd version, the Raspberry Pi Zero W, added wireless connectivity for an other $5. This was followed by the WH version, which added a pre-soldered GPIO header for usage with HATs. The Raspberry Pi Zero WH is astir apt your champion prime for a low-cost PI currently, arsenic it's suitable for astir projects and needs precise small enactment to acceptable up.
The Raspberry Pi Zero is disposable for $5-$15.
Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+
Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+
Image: Raspberry Pi
Raspberry Pi's compute modules crook the acquainted Pi into pluggable boards. The Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+ is based connected the acquainted Pi 3+ and uses the aforesaid processor and has the aforesaid connectivity options, each accessed via a azygous borderline connector. Plug it into a suitable bearer committee and you tin instrumentality Raspberry Pi 3 codification and tally it connected customized hardware. Popular options see bearer boards for web attached retention and the Turing Pi high-density compute systems.
The Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+ is disposable for $25-$40.
Legacy Raspberry Pis
While the archetypal Raspberry Pi and Raspberry Pi 2 (and the aboriginal models of the Raspberry Pi 3) are inactive successful production, they're not recommended for astir users. Instead, those that travel retired of the mill are intended for products that are built astir Raspberry Pi's hardware, and if you request to bargain them, you'll request to spell to physics constituent vendors. Production for these volition extremity sometime aft January 2026.
Our recommendations for which Raspberry Pi to buy
- For education: The Raspberry Pi 400 is simply a low-cost and susceptible desktop Linux computer. Add a mouse, a USB SSD and a screen… it's a 21st period ZX Spectrum!
- For hobbyists: The assorted Raspberry Pi 4s are a almighty and susceptible improvement strategy for each your shaper projects. Choose the 4GB oregon 8GB versions.
- For business: The Raspberry CM4 is an casual mode to physique embedded machine hardware, with pre-certified modules that driblet into your ain circuit boards.
- For the beginner: The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W is simply a $15 machine that does everything you want.
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