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Best single-board computers (2026)

Raspberry Pi and its rivals for small servers, retro gaming, robotics and learning. Ranked on performance, software support and I/O. Compare all single-board computers side by side

Researched, not hands-on tested.How we review ›

updated 24 Oct 2026 · ranked by score, value and age
  1. #1

    Raspberry Pi 5 4GB

    7.9/10verdict: buy

    The Raspberry Pi 5 4GB is for homelabbers and developers who want a small Linux board with official OS support and a standard 40-pin GPIO header. It suits people moving up from a Pi 4 who want more CPU performance for services, projects or display output. Buyers should be ready to sort out a proper 5A power supply and think about cooling.

    Broadcom BCM2712, quad-core Arm Cortex A76 processor @ 2.4GHz, 512KB L2 per core and 2MB shared L3 cacheLPDDR4X-4267 SDRAM, offered in 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB and 16GB variantsmicroSD card slot with SDR104 support; M.2 storage needs a separate adapter over PCIe 2.0 x1Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0/BLE, Gigabit Ethernet; PoE+ needs a separate HAT
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    Raspberry Pi 5 4GB
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  2. #2

    ZimaBoard 2

    6.3/10verdict: wait for deal

    The ZimaBoard 2 is for homelabbers who want a compact x86 board for a small NAS or Docker host. It offers an Intel N150, dual 2.5GbE and two SATA ports, with 8GB or 16GB of soldered RAM. It suits people who value low power draw and quiet running over upgradeability.

    Intel N150 (4 cores, 4 threads, up to 3.6GHz)8GB (832) or 16GB (1664) LPDDR5 4800 MHz, soldered and not upgradable32GB (832) or 64GB (1664) onboard eMMC; two SATA 6Gbps portsDual 2.5GbE
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    ZimaBoard 2
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  3. #3

    Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 1GB

    7.0/10verdict: wait for deal

    The Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 1GB is for beginners, tinkerers and homelabbers who want official Raspberry Pi OS support and an active community for light, low-memory jobs. It suits GPIO projects, small services and learning Linux, where the software ecosystem matters more than raw capacity. It is less suited to anyone who needs fast native storage or plans to run it hot without cooling.

    Broadcom BCM2711, quad-core Cortex-A72 (ARM v8) 64-bit SoC at 1.5-1.8GHz (sources conflict: 1.8GHz on the manufacturer page, 1.5GHz in the datasheet and Amazon listing)1GB, 2GB, 3GB, 4GB or 8GB LPDDR4-3200 SDRAM (depending on model); the 1GB variant is one optionMicro-SD card slot for loading operating system and data storage; no M.2 or NVMe interface listed2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz IEEE 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 5.0, BLE; Gigabit Ethernet (PoE requires a separate add-on PoE HAT)
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    Price unavailable right nowCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)

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  4. #4

    Raspberry Pi 3 Model B

    6.4/10verdict: wait for deal

    The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B suits people who want a small board for GPIO projects, simple services or learning. It fits builders who need a 40-pin header with camera and display ports. It is a poor fit for anyone who needs fast networking, USB 3 or storage beyond a microSD card.

    Broadcom BCM2837, quad-core 64-bit ARM Cortex-A53 at 1.2 GHz1GB RAMmicroSD slot only, for OS and data100Base Ethernet; wireless LAN and Bluetooth
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    Raspberry Pi 3 Model B
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  5. #5

    Arduino UNO Q 4GB (ABX00173)

    5.1/10verdict: skip

    The Arduino UNO Q 4GB suits makers who want Linux and real-time Arduino code on one UNO-format board. It is aimed at projects that mix sensors and actuators with software running on Debian. It is a weaker fit for anyone who wants a general-purpose mini computer with wired networking and storage expansion.

    Qualcomm Dragonwing QRB2210, quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 @ 2.0 GHz, 64-bit, Adreno 702 GPU @ 845 MHz, plus separate STM32U585 MCU (Cortex-M33, up to 160 MHz)4GB LPDDR432GB onboard eMMC; no SD or M.2 slot listedDual-band Wi-Fi 5 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac) and Bluetooth 5.1 on module WCBN3536A; no Ethernet port listed
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    Arduino UNO Q 4GB (ABX00173)
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  6. #6

    Raspberry Pi Zero WH

    5.9/10verdict: skip

    The Raspberry Pi Zero WH is for people who want a small, low-power board with GPIO ready to use straight away. It suits single-purpose projects that need Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and header-based add-ons rather than much processing power. It is not aimed at anyone who needs wired networking, fast storage or several services running at once.

    Broadcom BCM2835 with a 1 GHz single-core 32-bit ARM11 CPU and 400 MHz VideoCore IV GPU512 MB LPDDR2 RAM at 450 MHzmicroSD slot only2.4 GHz 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.0 with BLE per Raspberry Pi (4.1 per The Pi Hut); no wired Ethernet port
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    Raspberry Pi Zero WH
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Questions

Raspberry Pi or a mini PC?

A Pi is cheaper, smaller and has GPIO for electronics. Once you add a case, power supply and SSD, an Intel N100 mini PC is often similar money and much faster.