Raspberry Pi 5 Price History: How Far Have Prices Come?

Raspberry Pi 5 Price History: How Far Have Prices Come?

The Raspberry Pi 5 has been on the market for a while now, and if you’ve been watching the price tags, you’ve probably noticed some wild swings. From launch-day shortages that pushed prices through the roof to a more mature market where you can actually find stock at reasonable rates, the Pi 5’s journey has been a rollercoaster. Let’s walk through what happened, where we are now, and what it all means for developers trying to pick the right SBC for their next project.

The Early Days: Shortages and Scalping

When the Raspberry Pi 5 first dropped, it was a monster—quad Cortex-A76 cores, a new VideoCore VII GPU, and PCIe 2.0 x1. Everyone wanted one. But the supply chain was still recovering from the chip shortage, and Pi 4s were already hard to find. The result? Third-party sellers on Amazon and eBay routinely listed the 8GB model for $200–$300, and the 4GB version hovered around $150–$180. If you were lucky enough to snag one at MSRP from a reseller like Pimoroni, you paid $80 for the 4GB or $120 for the 8GB. But those windows closed fast.

For months, the situation was frustrating. Developers and hobbyists either had to camp out restock alerts or pay a premium. The official Raspberry Pi store eventually capped orders, but the secondary market stayed hot.

Where We Are Now: Pricing in July 2026

Fast forward to today. The supply chain has largely stabilized, and a wave of competing SBCs from Rockchip and other vendors has put pressure on the Pi 5’s price. As a result, we’re seeing a much more rational pricing landscape. According to ChipRadar.io’s price tracking database, here are the current street prices for the Raspberry Pi 5 and 4 (via Amazon):

Model RAM Current Price ASIN (for reference) Raspberry Pi 5 2GB $93.76 B0DDL91V2R Raspberry Pi 5 4GB $96.49 B0CK3L9WD3 Raspberry Pi 5 8GB $199.00 B0CK2FCG1K Raspberry Pi 5 16GB $349.99 B0DSPYPKRG Raspberry Pi 4 4GB $120.00 B09TTNF8BT Raspberry Pi 4 8GB $188.41 B0899VXM8F

Notice something interesting? The 2GB and 4GB Pi 5 models are actually cheaper than the 4GB Pi 4. The 8GB Pi 5, however, is still $199—a jump from its initial MSRP of $120. That’s because the 8GB variant has been in shorter supply, and the 16GB model is a new SKU that commands a premium for memory-intensive workloads like running LLMs or heavy data processing.

How Competition Reshaped the Market

The Raspberry Pi 5 isn’t the only game in town anymore. Rockchip-based SBCs like the Orange Pi 5, Rock 5B, and Radxa Rock 5C have been steadily gaining traction. They offer comparable (or even better) performance, often with more RAM and faster storage options (NVMe, eMMC). For example, the Orange Pi 5 8GB typically sells for around $130–$150, undercutting the Pi 5 8GB by a solid $50–$70. That’s a big deal if you’re building a home server, a NAS, or a retro gaming rig.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation had to respond. They’ve been shipping more units, improving availability, and introducing the 2GB and 16GB variants to segment the market. The 2GB model at $93.76 is a great entry point for lightweight projects, while the 16GB model at $350 is aimed at edge computing and AI inference. But the middle ground—the 8GB at $199—still feels a bit pricey compared to the competition.

Real-World Performance: Is the Pi 5 Worth It?

Let’s talk numbers. The Raspberry Pi 5’s Cortex-A76 cores are a massive leap over the Pi 4’s Cortex-A72. In Geekbench 6, a Pi 5 8GB scores around 1,600 single-core and 3,800 multi-core, while the Pi 4 4GB manages about 600 single-core and 1,500 multi-core. That’s roughly 2.5x the CPU performance. The GPU is also significantly faster, with the VideoCore VII delivering about 2x the fill rate of the VideoCore VI.

For developers, this means:

• Compilation times are cut in half. Building a Linux kernel on a Pi 5 takes about 20 minutes; on a Pi 4, it’s closer to 45 minutes.
• Desktop usage is smoother. The Pi 5 can handle multiple browser tabs, VS Code, and a terminal without breaking a sweat.
• AI/ML workloads are more feasible. With the 16GB model, you can run small models like LLaMA 2-7B (with quantization) or even a local Whisper transcription server.

But if you’re just running a simple headless server (Pi-hole, Home Assistant, Plex), the Pi 4 is still perfectly capable and now cheaper on the used market. The Pi 5’s edge only matters if you need the extra horsepower.

What Would I Buy?

If I were building a new project today, here’s my honest take:

• For a home server / NAS: Get the Raspberry Pi 5 4GB at $96.49. It’s the best value—fast enough for basic file serving, Docker containers, and network routing. Add a USB-to-SATA adapter or an NVMe hat later.
• For a desktop / coding workstation: Spring for the Pi 5 8GB at $199. That extra RAM helps with browser tabs and IDEs. But if you can find an Orange Pi 5 8GB for ~$130, I’d go that route instead—better value for money.
• For AI / heavy multitasking: The 16GB model at $349.99 is tempting, but at that price you’re almost in used Mini PC territory (e.g., an HP EliteDesk 800 G4 with an i5-8500). Unless you really need the GPIO pins for a robotics project, I’d recommend a x86 mini PC instead.
• For budget projects: The 2GB Pi 5 at $93.76 is fine for simple GPIO control, LED displays, or a lightweight RetroPie build. But a Pi 4 2GB (if you can find one) would be even cheaper.

Overall, the Pi 5 4GB is the sweet spot. It’s under $100, it’s fast, and it’s widely available. The hype has cooled, and the price has finally settled into a reasonable range. Not bad for a single-board computer that can run a full desktop OS.

Prices tracked live at ChipRadar.io.

Prices as of July 2026. Track live prices and get deal alerts at ChipRadar.io.