Raspberry Pi has announced another round of price hikes as the rising cost of memory continues to affect its popular single-board computers. For IT professionals, developers, and enthusiasts planning new projects, the higher prices make choosing the right hardware trickier than ever.
The 8GB Raspberry Pi 5 is currently listed at $199.95 on Amazon, but the CanaKit Raspberry Pi 5 Starter Kit Pro costs just $60 more. It includes the same 8GB board, along with a case, cooling system, storage, power supply, and cables.
8GB Raspberry Pi 5 board: $199.95
This single-board computer features a 2.4GHz quad-core Cortex-A76 processor, 8GB LPDDR4X RAM, VideoCore VII graphics, dual 4K HDMI outputs, USB 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, PCIe expansion, and microSD storage support.
Canakit 8GB Raspberry Pi 5 Starter Kit Pro: $259.95
This kit includes an 8GB Raspberry Pi 5, 128GB microSD card with Raspberry Pi OS, Turbine Black case, cooling fan, heatsink, USB-C power supply, two display cables, and card reader.
Raspberry Pi prices continue to rise
Because memory costs have risen steeply over the past two years, Raspberry Pi has been forced to increase prices to cover production expenses. Most recently, the price of the 2GB versions of the Raspberry Pi 4 and Raspberry Pi 5 were upped to $67.50 and $77.50 respectively.
The price increases have led to the company encouraging customers to think carefully about how much memory their projects actually require, and to consider older hardware, including the Raspberry Pi 3B, 3A+, and 3B+, where the additional performance of newer models isn’t necessary.
The 8GB Raspberry 5 features a quad-core Arm Cortex-A76 processor running at 2.4GHz, 8GB of LPDDR4X memory, and a VideoCore VII GPU. It includes dual micro-HDMI outputs capable of driving two 4K displays at 60Hz, USB 3.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, wireless networking, and PCIe expansion support.
It sells for $199.95 on Amazon, and while that sounds expensive, I’ve found a better option. The Canakit Raspberry Pi 5 Starter Kit Pro kit costs $60 more and in addition to the 8GB Raspberry Pi 5, it includes a Turbine Black case, a low-noise cooling fan, a large aluminum heatsink, a USB-C power supply, two six-foot display cables, a microSD card reader, and a GPIO reference card. It also comes with a 128GB microSD card preloaded with the 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS.
Is the CanaKit bundle better value?
For just $60 more, the CanaKit bundle gives you everything needed to power, cool, protect, and boot the 8GB Raspberry Pi 5 computer, plus the cables for connecting displays.
The CanaKit bundle won’t suit every project. If you already have a compatible power supply, case, cooling solution, and storage, buying the board separately will be the better and cheaper option. Also, if you’re planning to use NVMe storage, a specialized enclosure, or a custom cooling system, buying those components individually will be the way to go.
That said, for IT professionals and enthusiasts who want to start a new Raspberry Pi 5 project running without sourcing all the extras individually, the $259.99 CanaKit Starter Kit Pro is an easy recommendation.
