Raspberry Pi 4 vs Pi 5: Which One Should You Buy?

Most people should buy the Raspberry Pi 5. It has a faster processor, more memory options and a PCIe interface for an SSD. Buy the Raspberry Pi 4 only if you already have a Pi 4 case and power supply and the job is simple, or if your project needs hardware H.264 video encoding, which the Pi 5 dropped. If your goal is a home server that does a lot, a mini PC is often the better buy, as we explain in our complete guide to mini PCs for a home server.

Quick answer: Pi 4 or Pi 5?

• Starting from scratch: Raspberry Pi 5. Raspberry Pi rates it up to three times faster than the Pi 4, and it takes more memory (up to 16GB).
• Already have a Pi 4 kit: stay with the Pi 4 for simple jobs. The Pi 5 doesn't fit the Pi 4 case, and a Pi 4 power supply may be under-powered for it.
• Want a fast SSD: Pi 5. It has a PCIe interface for one, though you buy an M.2 HAT or another adapter separately. The Pi 4 has no PCIe interface.
• Recording or streaming H.264 video: Pi 4. It has hardware H.264 encoding; the Pi 5 has none.
• Want a quiet board: the Pi 4 runs without a fan for light jobs, but add a heatsink if it will work hard for long periods. The Pi 5 performs best with active cooling.
• Want a proper always-on home server: look at a mini PC, or another board, instead of either. See Best Mini PCs for a Home Server and our Raspberry Pi alternatives guide.

Raspberry Pi 4 vs Pi 5: side-by-side specs

Everything in this table comes from Raspberry Pi’s product pages and documentation, read on 29 September and 18 October 2026.

What you actually notice in daily use

Speed. Raspberry Pi calls the Pi 5 "up to three times faster than the previous generation", and the newer Cortex-A76 cores at 2.4GHz back that up on paper against the Pi 4's Cortex-A72 at 1.8GHz. You will notice it most in a desktop browser, compiling code and anything that leans on the processor; a Pi-hole or a sensor logger won't feel any different.

Memory. The Pi 5 goes up to 16GB, the Pi 4 up to 8GB. Both are sold in fixed memory sizes, and you choose the size when you buy, so pick for the most you expect to run.

Storage. Both boards boot from a microSD card. The Pi 5 adds a PCIe interface for an M.2 SSD, which needs a separate M.2 HAT or other adapter. The Pi 4 has no such interface. For anything that runs all day, an SSD is the better home for your data than a memory card.

Networking. No change. Both have Gigabit Ethernet and the same dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0. If you need faster than Gigabit on a wired connection, neither board has it; the x86 ODROID-H5 in our Raspberry Pi alternatives guide has 10GbE.

Small conveniences. The Pi 5 adds a real-time clock (kept running by an external battery), a power button and a UART debug port. The Pi 4 has none of them.

Video. This is the gotcha. The Pi 5 has a hardware HEVC (H.265) decoder for 4Kp60, but no hardware H.264 decoder and no hardware encoder at all; Raspberry Pi says other codecs run in software on the processor. The Pi 4 has hardware H.264 decode (1080p60) and encode (1080p30) as well as HEVC decode. Software H.264 adds load to the Pi 5's processor, and if your project records or streams H.264, such as a camera, a video doorbell or a streaming box, the Pi 4 does that work in hardware and the Pi 5 doesn't. Both boards have two micro-HDMI ports and drive two 4K displays.

Who should buy which

Buy the Raspberry Pi 5 if

• you are buying your first board, or building a new setup;
• you want to boot from and store data on an SSD;
• you want more than 8GB of memory;
• you like having a power button and a real-time clock.

Buy the Raspberry Pi 4 if

• you already have a Pi 4 case and a 15W USB-C power supply;
• the job is simple and always on, and you prefer a board that runs without a fan;
• your project records or streams H.264 video and you want hardware encoding;
• you want a board that stays in production until at least January 2034.

Buy neither if

• you need a network faster than Gigabit, several drives, or a computer that also runs desktop software;
• you want a Plex media server that transcodes. Neither board has the Intel Quick Sync hardware Plex uses, and the Pi 5 has no hardware encoder at all, so see Best Mini PCs for Plex first.

Power, cooling and accessories to plan for

The two boards do not share everything, and the differences add up when you buy the extras.

• Power supply. The Pi 4 needs 5V at a minimum of 3A, which its 15W USB-C supply provides. The Pi 5 wants a good 5V/5A USB-C supply such as Raspberry Pi's 27W model, and a Pi 4 supply may be under-powered for it.
• Case. The Pi 5 doesn't fit the Pi 4 case. Raspberry Pi's case for the Pi 5 clips together and has a built-in fan, full GPIO access and case stacking.
• Cooling. The Pi 5 performs best with active cooling, and Raspberry Pi sells an Active Cooler for use without a case. The Pi 4 runs without a fan for light jobs, but both boards slow their processors between 80°C and 85°C, so a Pi 4 doing sustained heavy work needs at least a heatsink.
• Storage. A microSD card on both. For an SSD on the Pi 5, add an M.2 HAT or another PCIe adapter.
• Display cables. Both boards use micro-HDMI, so your Pi 4 cables work on a Pi 5.
• Operating system. The Pi 5 runs Raspberry Pi OS Trixie (current) and Bookworm (previous), but not older versions.

When a mini PC makes more sense

A Raspberry Pi is a good, small board for learning and for simple always-on jobs. It stops being the obvious choice when you want a server for a home office: faster wired networking, room for more storage, a memory slot you can upgrade, and a normal desktop operating system.

The two mini PCs in our home-server guide, the ASUS NUC 14 Essential and the MINIX Z150-0dB, have 2.5G Ethernet and Intel processors that run standard PC software, and the ASUS has two M.2 slots. Read the full breakdown in Best Mini PCs for a Home Server: How to Choose. If you want a Pi-sized board from another maker, our Raspberry Pi alternatives guide covers boards with GPIO headers.

How we put this comparison together

This comparison is research-based. We have not tested either board or run benchmarks. Every figure comes from Raspberry Pi’s own product pages and documentation, linked under Sources. We read Raspberry Pi’s product pages and the Pi 4 specifications on 29 September 2026, and its processor and getting-started documentation on 18 October 2026. We linked shops that had the exact model in stock, and we don’t compare prices. The 8GB Pi 5 and the 4GB Pi 4 are examples; both come in other memory sizes, so pick the size you need.