Raspberry Pi 5 Launches $45 1GB Model, But Price Hikes Hit Other Variants

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has just announced a significant shift in its product lineup, delivering a mixed bag of news for enthusiasts, hobbyists, and professional single-board computer (SBC) users. The headline? A new, more affordable 1GB RAM variant of the flagship Raspberry Pi 5 is now available for just $45.

However, this launch is coupled with the less welcome news of price increases across several existing Raspberry Pi 4 and Raspberry Pi 5 models. This strategic move aims to address mounting memory supply challenges driven by the rapidly expanding global AI infrastructure market.

The New Baseline: Raspberry Pi 5 1GB

The introduction of the $45 Raspberry Pi 5 1GB variant serves a critical purpose: lowering the barrier to entry for users who need the powerful performance of the Pi 5’s architecture without the need for extensive memory resources.

This new entry-level SBC is ideal for dedicated, embedded projects and IoT applications where a full desktop environment is unnecessary. It retains the core, state-of-the-art features of the higher-tier Pi 5 models:

• Processor: Quad-core 2.4GHz Arm Cortex-A76 CPU (delivering 2–3x the performance of the Pi 4).
• Graphics: VideoCore VII GPU with OpenGL ES 3.1 and Vulkan 1.3 support.
• I/O: Dedicated PCI Express 2.0 interface for high-speed peripherals (e.g., NVMe SSDs).
• Connectivity: Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 / BLE.

This new 1GB model effectively replaces the traditional $35 starting price point with a substantial performance increase, making it the most powerful **$45 computer** available today.

Navigating the Price Adjustments

While the 1GB model offers a cheaper way to access the Pi 5 platform, the global strain on LPDDR4 memory supply has forced the Foundation to increase prices on higher-density boards.

According to CEO Eben Upton, this increase is necessary to “secure memory supplies” in an increasingly constrained market, largely due to high demand from the cloud and AI roll-out. This price restructuring affects most of the popular models in the Raspberry Pi 4 and Raspberry Pi 5 lineup, creating a clearer tiered pricing structure for the SBC hardware.

Raspberry Pi 4 and Pi 5 New Pricing

The following table details the new official pricing for the affected single-board computers. The original 35 USD for Pi 4 with 1GB and 45 USD for Pi 4 with 2GB models remain unaffected.

The Foundation maintains that these increases are considered temporary, expressing a commitment to unwinding them once memory costs abate globally. However, for now, users purchasing high-RAM variants of the Pi 4 or Pi 5 must budget for the higher cost.

Who is the 1GB Pi 5 For?

The debut of the 1GB model doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right choice for everyone. The community consensus highlights that 4GB RAM is generally the minimum required for a smooth Linux desktop experience involving web browsing and standard productivity suites.

The 1GB Raspberry Pi 5 is perfectly suited for use cases such as:

• Headless Servers: Running network services like Pi-hole, web servers, or Docker containers without a desktop interface.
• Automation: Dedicated controllers for robotics, smart home IoT devices, or digital signage.
• Retro Gaming/Emulation: Many lightweight emulation projects can run efficiently on 1GB of fast LPDDR4X memory.

This release provides a strategic entry point, ensuring the powerful Pi 5 platform remains accessible to a wider range of budget-conscious Linux hardware enthusiasts and embedded developers. While the price hikes for larger variants are a tough pill to swallow, the market now offers a comprehensive range of Raspberry Pi 5 options tailored to specific project needs.