Introduction

The Raspberry Pi is a Linux-based single-board computer with an ARM processor. It is about the size of a credit card. It was developed by the University of Cambridge in 2011.

With a price of around fifty euros, it was initially designed to encourage learning computer programming and to promote access to technology.

Much more powerful than an Arduino board, the Raspberry Pi allows you to build projects that require more resources, graphical interfaces, or even IoT projects, for example.

The Raspberry Pi can be used both as a desktop computer with Raspberry Pi OS and its many installable applications, or as part of an electronics project thanks to its input/output pins that allow you to control components.

One of the greatest strengths of this electronic board is its community, which is centered around Raspberry Pi OS. This community develops many libraries to easily connect your components, as well as software to make the board easier to use. You’ll also find plenty of support on dedicated forums to help solve any problems you might encounter.

Raspberry Pi Boards

Over the years, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has developed different Raspberry Pi boards to suit various needs. Let’s now take a look at the different Raspberry Pi models so you can choose the one that best fits your project:

  • Raspberry Pi 5

The flagship Raspberry Pi model, the 5th version was released in 2023. It features a 2.4GHz Arm Cortex-A76 processor and comes in two versions: 4GB and 8GB of RAM.

It has 4 USB ports, an Ethernet port, and 40 GPIO pins to build all kinds of projects. The price is around €70 for the 4GB version and €90 for the 8GB version.

This is the Raspberry Pi board we recommend if you’re just getting started with embedded Linux.

  • Raspberry Pi Zero 2W

The Raspberry Pi Zero 2W is the smallest available Raspberry Pi board. It costs around €29 and measures only 65mm x 30mm—about the size of half a credit card. It’s powered by a 1GHz Arm Cortex-A53 processor.

It comes with 512MB of RAM, which may be a bit limited if you plan to use the graphical interface of Raspberry Pi OS. This board doesn’t include an Ethernet port, but it does feature built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

It has a mini HDMI port, so you’ll need an adapter to connect it to a display. It also uses a micro USB port instead of a standard USB port, which means you’ll need a converter to plug in a keyboard. This board is great for space-constrained projects based on Linux. However, you’ll need to adapt to the different connectors and be mindful of its more limited resources compared to the Raspberry Pi 5.

  • Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+

The Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+ is a lighter version of the Raspberry Pi. It costs around €35 and features a 1.4GHz Cortex-A53 processor. It has 512MB of RAM—similar to the Zero 2W—which may be a bit tight for running a graphical interface.

Unlike the Zero 2W, this board includes a full-size HDMI port and one standard USB port. However, you might need a USB hub if you need more than one USB connection. There is no Ethernet port, but it does come with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

  • Compute Module 4

The Compute Module 4 is intended for advanced electronics users. It’s designed to be embedded directly onto a printed circuit board (PCB). It doesn’t come with connectors—you’ll need a carrier board (baseboard) to program and use it with your own custom hardware.

It features a 1.5GHz Cortex-A72 processor and comes with 1, 2, 4, or 8GB of RAM. It also includes onboard eMMC storage (0, 8, 16, or 32GB), used to store Raspberry Pi OS.

We do not recommend the Compute Module 4 for beginners. It’s mainly designed for industrial use or for experienced users working in custom hardware development.

  • Raspberry Pi Pico

The final Raspberry Pi board in this list is the Pico. This one is different from the others because it doesn’t support running an embedded Linux OS like Raspberry Pi OS. It was released as a competitor to the Arduino Uno. You can program it in C or MicroPython.

You can use the Arduino IDE or a Python interpreter with dedicated libraries for the Raspberry Pi Pico to program it.

It features 26 GPIO pins, including 3 analog pins. You can get one starting at around €12. This board is similar to an Arduino Nano in terms of size and purpose.

Just a reminder: this board is fundamentally different from the others listed above and does not support running Linux. We recommend it if you’re starting out in electronics.

Raspberry Pi OS

Raspberry Pi OS, formerly known as Raspbian, is an operating system based on Debian, specifically designed for Raspberry Pi single-board computers. It is developed and maintained by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, offering an optimized platform to make the most of the Raspberry Pi’s hardware features.

This operating system is widely used by Raspberry Pi enthusiasts, educators, DIY hobbyists, and developers for a wide range of projects — from simple learning experiments to complex industrial applications.

To install Raspberry Pi OS or find more information, you can read our dedicated course on this OS.