If you’re in the market for a sub-$100 computer to tinker with, chances are that you’ve considered the Raspberry Pi family. With its tiny form factor and ability to run 24×7 without registering on your power bill, there’s almost no downside to it. But even though we now have the Raspberry Pi 5, it won’t replace the four-year-old Pi 4 on store shelves. The two models will target different budgets too. So with all of these differences, it’s worth asking: what’s the difference between the Raspberry Pi 5 vs Raspberry Pi 4? And more importantly, is the newer Pi 5 worth buying?
Raspberry Pi 5 vs Raspberry Pi 4: Specs at a glance
| Raspberry Pi 5 | Raspberry Pi 4 | |
|---|---|---|
| SoC | CPU: 4x Cortex-A76 at 2.4 GHz GPU: VideoCore VII @ 800 MHz |
CPU: 4x Cortex-A72 at 1.8 GHz GPU: VideoCore VI @ 500 MHz |
| RAM | 4GB or 8GB LPDDR4X-4267 |
1GB, 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB LPDDR4-3200 |
| Display output | Two 4K 60Hz displays via miniHDMI ports | 4K 60Hz (single display) or two 4K 30Hz displays via miniHDMI ports |
| USB | 2x USB 2.0 2x USB 3.0 @ 5Gbps |
2x USB 2.0 2x USB 3.0 |
| Boot storage | MicroSD card slot (UHS-I) 104 MBps |
MicroSD card slot 52 MBps |
| Connectivity | Dual band Wi-Fi 5 Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Gigabit Ethernet |
Dual band Wi-Fi 5 Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Gigabit Ethernet |
| Power | 5V 5A recommended via USB-C port PoE+ support Onboard power button |
5V 3A minimum via USB-C port PoE support |
| Accessory support | 40-pin GPIO PCIe 2.0 interface (adapter required) Fan header Camera connector |
40-pin GPIO 4-pole audio and video port Camera connector |
Raspberry Pi 5 vs Raspberry Pi 4: Performance
