The Raspberry Pi is a small computer that punches well above its weight in terms of price to performance. While it was once the only game in town, there are plenty of rival devices that give it a run for its money.
Let's take a look at some of the most compelling alternatives, how they excel, and where they fall behind.
Mini PCs based on Intel's N-series chips
Intel
Intel's N-series chips have found favor among homelab enthusiasts looking to expand their setup (or replace the Raspberry Pi entirely). Though popular in laptops and embedded devices, the N-series really comes into its own when used in a mini PC server setup.
Chips like the N95, N97, N100, and N150 each have four E-cores and four threads, with an integrated Intel UHD Graphics chip that's capable of AV1 decode (something that the Raspberry Pi cannot do). This makes them great for hosting services like Home Assistant, Plex or Jellyfin, and all the Docker containers a modest homelab setup might need .
Put simply, you get a lot more overhead with a mini PC running a slightly thirstier x86 chip than you do a single-board computer running an outdated ARM one. Mini PCs also come with solid-state storage, comparable RAM capacity, and pre-installed heatsinks or active coolers.
Even Raspberry Pi enthusiasts like Jeff Geerling have conceded that even cheaper N-series mini PCs with older DDR4 RAM outperform the Raspberry Pi 5, though things are much closer at the cheap end (especially considering the existence of a Raspberry Pi 1GB model now ).
More powerful boards like the ArmSoM Sige 7
ArmSoM
If the form factor is what's most important to you in a Raspberry Pi, and you're happy to spend a bit more to really amp up the performance, consider something like the ArmSoM Sige 7 or its pricier siblings. Starting at $255 for 4GB of RAM and 32GB on-board eMMC storage, this single-board computer feels like a Pi 5 on steroids.
At its heart is the Rockchip RK3588, a system-on-chip that's capable of 8K video encoding and decoding, a four-core GPU, and a built-in NPU that's capable of up to 6-TOPS for AI-related operations. It supports up to three displays and comes with dual 2.5Gb Ethernet, Wi-Fi 6, USB 3.0, HDMI, and a ton of interfaces, including three MIPI, M.2, 40-pin GPIO, and microSD.
It's a great alternative to the Pi for GPU-intensive tasks, including running local AI models, transcoding video on the fly, and 3D rendering. It's broadly Linux compatible, and even comes with its own (admittedly small) family of first-party add-ons.
If you want even more performance, you can pay $312 and $361, respectively, for 8GB/64GB and 32GB/128GB models.
ESP32 and variants
Adam Davidson/How-To Geek
The ESP32 isn't in direct competition with the full-fat Raspberry Pi, but it's definitely comparable to the Pi Zero 2 and Pi Pico. Espressif's ESP32 platform provides incredible value for money, with plenty of variants available that make it perfect for small projects, smart home sensors, and other low-power, high-efficiency tasks.
An ESP32 is smaller and far more power-efficient than a Pi Zero 2, thanks to its deep sleep capabilities. This makes it ideal for battery-powered tasks, such as use in temperature, motion, and other sensors. It's also more powerful than the comparably priced Pi Pico, with all sorts of varieties available from the barebones base model to the more capable Zigbee and Thread-ready C6.
While the Raspberry Pi often takes the crown for its user-friendly nature, community, and software, projects like ESPHome make it easier than ever to build and deploy an ESP32 in all sorts of situations, including a selection of ready-made projects . Just like the Raspberry Pi, the ESP32 is hugely popular, and the internet is flooded with guides that use them.
RISC-V boards like the Orange Pi and VisionFive2
Orange Pi
RISC-V is an open-source processor architecture that anyone can use without having to pay licensing fees (which are otherwise passed on to you, the consumer). The Raspberry Pi Foundation put this architecture to use in the Raspberry Pi Pico 2, but the more capable Pi 5 uses an ARM-based processor instead.
Orange Pi (OPi) offers a range of single-board computers that are comparable to the Raspberry Pi, while generally offering better performance-per-dollar spent. Opting for an OPi model over something like the Pi 5 is a bit like taking the stabilizers off your bike and improving its aerodynamics at the same time. You're going to go faster, but there's less support available to you when you fall. VisionFive2 (VF2) is another RISC-V alternative.
The "official" Raspberry Pi makes use of the actively maintained official OS, excellent software support, and an expansive community of enthusiasts. These benefits come at the cost of raw performance and fewer hardware variants than what OPi and VF2 offers. If you know that you can definitely make use of the power, these might be better buys.
A used Apple silicon Mac mini
Corbin Davenport / How-To Geek
Apple's Mac mini might be just another mini PC, but the Apple silicon models still stand out. They use Apple's own processor architecture, the ARM-based Apple silicon, and if you're hunting one down on the used market, it will almost certainly be running macOS when you get it home.
I personally run my Home Assistant server and a whole bunch of Docker containers on a used M1 Mac mini with 16GB of RAM, and you couldn't convince me to ditch it for a Raspberry Pi. I use macOS and iOS elsewhere; I'm very comfortable with the platform and ecosystem, so it slips nicely into my existing Apple setup.
I have come nowhere near maxing out what the Mac mini is capable of, and it only cost me $160. I know that Apple's walled-garden approach isn't for everyone, but for existing Apple users, this is such an easy jumping-on point that "just works" as you'd expect. It's not going to replace the Raspberry Pi in projects like cyberdecks and robotics, but for static tasks like smart home and media servers, it's a solid choice.
If you hate macOS and crave the taste of Linux, you can choose to run Asahi Linux instead.
The Raspberry Pi isn't going anywhere any time soon, but the industry has changed, and there are now some very compelling alternatives. Even so, there are plenty of ways to make use of even an old and outdated Raspberry Pi that's not doing anything.
