The Raspberry Pi 5 2GB now costs $77.50 USD, Phoronix reports, and Eben Upton calls RAM costs "unsustainable." Earlier hikes spared the 1GB and 2GB boards. This one does not.
Before you pay up, ask a narrower question: what does your workload actually need? For several popular projects, the answer is not a Pi 5.
One caveat first. Phoronix confirms the $77.50 figure, dated October 1, 2026. This article does not quote prices for the other boards, so the table links to vendor pages instead. RAM costs drive the increase, so expect prices to keep moving, and check each page before ordering.
What the Pi 5 2GB actually buys you
The Pi 5 is the fastest board in Raspberry Pi's lineup. Confirm current specs and stock on the official product page. The extra CPU speed helps with compiling, emulation, desktop use and anything that stresses a single core. It matters far less for services that mostly wait on the network.
The 2GB capacity is the real limit. It handles a headless server running a few lightweight services. It is tight for a desktop with a modern browser, and tight for a stack of Docker containers. If you need 4GB or more, check the larger model's price on the vendor page. The gap may look smaller once you add up the whole kit, so settle your RAM needs before your budget.
Match the workload to the board
The minimum RAM figures below are practical guidance and inference, not vendor-stated requirements. Verify them against each project's documentation. For more on this, see read about how to write an agents.md file for your linux project.
| Use case | Practical minimum RAM | Recommended option | Price check (not verified Oct 1, 2026 unless noted) | |---|---|---|---| | Pi-hole / DNS filtering | 512MB | Pi Zero 2 W or any spare older Pi; wired Ethernet helps | Zero 2 W page | | Home Assistant | 2GB, 4GB with many add-ons | Pi 4 or Pi 5, or a used mini PC with an SSD | Install options | | Media server (direct play) | 2GB | Pi 4 or Pi 5 with USB or NVMe storage | Pi 4 page | | Media server (transcoding) | 4GB | Used mini PC with an Intel iGPU | Used market, varies by listing | | Retro gaming, 8/16-bit and PS1 | 1GB | Older Pi or Pi 4 | Pi 4 page | | Retro gaming, N64, Dreamcast, PSP | 2GB or more | Pi 5 or used mini PC | Pi 5 page | | Light desktop | 4GB | Higher-RAM Pi 5 or a used mini PC | Pi 5 page | | GPIO and sensor projects | 512MB | Zero 2 W, or a Pico-class microcontroller for simple tasks | Zero 2 W page | | Pi 5 2GB baseline | 2GB | $77.50 USD per Phoronix, Oct 1, 2026 | Phoronix report |
The pattern is simple. Network-bound jobs like DNS, MQTT brokers and sensor logging barely tax a CPU. CPU-bound jobs like emulation, transcoding and desktop use are where the Pi 5 earns its premium.
Total cost: the board is only part of it
Comparing board prices alone misleads. A cheap board that needs a separate PSU, SD card, case and cooling can cost more than a used mini PC that arrives with a power brick and an SSD.
Use this checklist and price every line from current vendor pages:
- Board: the exact RAM variant.
- Power supply: The Pi 5 draws more power than older models, so check the official page for the recommended PSU rather than reusing an old phone charger.
- Storage: a reliable microSD card, or an SSD plus an adapter or HAT for NVMe on the Pi 5.
- Case and cooling: The Pi 5 benefits from active cooling under sustained load. A Zero 2 W usually does not need it.
- Cables and adapters: micro-HDMI on the Pi 5, plus any USB-to-Ethernet or GPIO accessories.
- Shipping, taxes and import fees: these can erase a small price advantage.
- Electricity: count it if the device runs 24/7.
Used mini PCs change the math. They typically include an enclosure, a PSU and an M.2 or SATA slot, and they usually take standard DDR RAM you can upgrade later.
The downsides are higher idle power draw than an SBC and no GPIO header. The power-draw point is an inference, so confirm it with a plug-in power meter. Buy refurbished units from sellers with a return policy, and check the CPU generation before you commit.
Software support and community: what you give up
The Pi's strongest advantage does not show up on a price tag. Raspberry Pi OS is built for the hardware, camera and GPIO libraries are well documented, and nearly every tutorial assumes a Pi. When something breaks, a search usually turns up someone who hit the same error.
Rival SBCs from vendors like Radxa and Orange Pi often match or beat the Pi on paper. Their support leans more on vendor-supplied kernels and images, and update timelines vary by board. Check how long a vendor has maintained images for older boards before you buy. Budget extra troubleshooting time to cover the thinner documentation.
A used x86 mini PC sits at the other extreme. Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora and Arch all install with standard media, mainline kernels work, and Docker images are routinely published for amd64. For a homelab, that means fewer ARM-specific surprises. You lose GPIO and the Pi-specific ecosystem, which only matters if your project needs them.
Buy now, wait, or switch
RAM pricing is the stated cause, so prices may ease when memory costs do. Phoronix reports no timeline, so treat any "it will drop soon" claim as speculation.
Buy now if you need Pi 5 features specifically: PCIe/NVMe, stronger emulation, or a compact desktop with Raspberry Pi's software support. Buy now, too, if your project has a deadline. Consider the 4GB model if you will run a browser or containers, since 2GB leaves little headroom.
Wait if your project is a nice-to-have. In the meantime, use an old Pi or a Pi 4 you already own. Watch the vendor pages rather than reseller listings, and compare options before any price-driven panic buy.
Switch to a used mini PC if you run Home Assistant, a media server with transcoding, Docker stacks or a Linux desktop, and you do not need GPIO. The total cost often lands lower once PSU, storage and case are included, and you can upgrade the RAM.
Stay small for Pi-hole, sensor nodes and GPIO tinkering. A Zero 2 W or a spare older Pi does the job, and paying $77.50 for a Pi 5 2GB to run DNS is hard to justify.
Try another SBC brand only if you are comfortable with vendor images and thinner documentation, and Raspberry Pi cannot offer the specs you need at a comparable price.
Pick the cheapest board that clears your workload's RAM and CPU needs, price the full kit, and recheck the vendor pages on the day you order.
