Skip to content
sudopicks
esc

Banana Pi BPI-M2 Berry vs Raspberry Pi 5 4GB

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

all judged against single-board computers at a similar price

The Raspberry Pi 5 4GB scores 7.9/10 overall, ahead of the Banana Pi BPI-M2 Berry at 4.4/10.

The Raspberry Pi 5 4GB leads on software support, performance, storage, I/O and networking and value.

The biggest difference is software support, where the Raspberry Pi 5 4GB scores 10/10 to the Banana Pi BPI-M2 Berry's 5/10.

Banana Pi BPI-M2 Berry

Banana Pi BPI-M2 Berry

4.4/10verdict: skip

The Banana Pi BPI-M2 Berry is for hobbyists who want a small quad-core board with gigabit Ethernet, WiFi and a Raspberry Pi 3-style GPIO header. It suits light single-purpose jobs such as a sensor hub, a small network service or a GPIO project. It is less suited to anyone who needs more than 1GB of RAM, USB 3 or NVMe storage.

Typically about £46.99 in the UK when we researched itCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)

Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Details

Raspberry Pi 5 4GB

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.

Typically about £105.60 in the UK when we researched itCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)

Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Details

Scores, criterion by criterion

CriterionWeightBanana Pi BPI-M2 BerryRaspberry Pi 5 4GB
Software support30%5/1010/10
Performance25%3/108/10
Storage15%4/106/10
I/O and networking15%6/107/10
Value15%4/106/10
Overall4.4/107.9/10

Specifications

SpecBanana Pi BPI-M2 BerryRaspberry Pi 5 4GB
Processor (SoC)Allwinner A40i/R40/V40; quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU; dual-core Mali-400 MP2 GPU at 500MHzBroadcom BCM2712, quad-core Arm Cortex A76 processor @ 2.4GHz, 512KB L2 per core and 2MB shared L3 cache
Memory1GB DDR3 at 733MHz, shared with GPULPDDR4X-4267 SDRAM, offered in 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB and 16GB variants
Storage optionsMicroSD (TF) slot; SATA supported; no onboard eMMC; no M.2 or NVMe listedmicroSD card slot with SDR104 support; M.2 storage needs a separate adapter over PCIe 2.0 x1
Networking10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet (Realtek RTL8211E/D); WiFi 802.11 b/g/n (AP6212 module); Bluetooth 4.0Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0/BLE, Gigabit Ethernet; PoE+ needs a separate HAT
GPIO40-pin header with 28 GPIO; UART, I2C, SPI, PWM and I2S on some pins; matches Raspberry Pi 3 headerStandard 40-pin header
Video outputsHDMI V1.4 TV-out; 4-lane MIPI DSI or RGB/LVDS panel; H.264 decode up to 1080p60Dual 4Kp60 HDMI output with HDR support; VideoCore VII GPU; micro-HDMI connector
Power input5V/2A via micro USB; no 3.7V battery support5V/5A DC via USB-C with Power Delivery support

Strengths and weaknesses

Banana Pi BPI-M2 Berry

  • + Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 on board
  • + 40-pin header matches Raspberry Pi 3
  • + SATA supported alongside microSD
  • − Only 1GB RAM, shared with the GPU
  • − USB 2.0 only, no USB 3
  • − No eMMC, M.2 or NVMe

Skip it if:

  • Buyers who need more than 1GB of RAM for containers or VMs
  • Anyone who wants USB 3 or NVMe storage
  • Projects that need direct 3.7V battery power
Read the full Banana Pi BPI-M2 Berry review ›

Raspberry Pi 5 4GB

  • + Official Raspberry Pi OS images built for the Pi 5
  • + Quad Cortex A76 cores at 2.4GHz; owners report big gains
  • + Standard 40-pin header, two USB 3.0 ports, dual 4K HDMI
  • − Owners report high temperatures, throttling and shutdowns
  • − Needs a 5A supply; some 3A and laptop chargers fail
  • − M.2 storage needs a separate adapter; Ethernet is Gigabit only

Skip it if:

  • Buyers who need 2.5GbE or faster wired networking on the board
  • Anyone who wants native M.2 NVMe without buying an adapter
  • Buyers who cannot supply a 5A USB-C power supply or plan for cooling
Read the full Raspberry Pi 5 4GB review ›

More comparisons

Compare all single-board computers · Best single-board computers