Raspberry Pi 4 vs Raspberry Pi 5 - Which one is right for you?

The processing power is a crucial factor that differentiates these two models. Raspberry Pi 5 comes with a 2.4GHz Quad-core ARM Cortex-A76 CPU which is a significant leap from the 1.5GHz Quad-core ARM Cortex-A72 CPU of the Raspberry Pi 4. Similarly, the GPU on the Raspberry Pi 5 is the newer VideoCore VII, which supports higher graphics standards like OpenGL ES 3.1 and Vulkan 1.2, providing potentially better graphics performance compared to the VideoCore VI GPU on the Raspberry Pi 4.

Both models offer 4GB or 8GB LPDDR4 variants, but the Raspberry Pi 5 takes the lead with its faster LPDDR4X-4267 SDRAM compared to the Raspberry Pi 4’s LPDDR4-3200 SDRAM. This difference in memory speed could potentially result in smoother multitasking and better performance in memory-intensive applications.

Connectivity and interface options are expanded in the Raspberry Pi 5 with doubled peak SD card performance and USB bandwidth. Additionally, the Pi 5 introduces a single-lane PCIe port and supports M.2 NVMe SSDs, providing more flexibility and options for high-speed storage and peripheral connectivity which are not available in the Raspberry Pi 4.

With dual 4Kp60 HDMI output support, the Raspberry Pi 5 stands out in terms of display capabilities. This feature is a step up from the Raspberry Pi 4 which supports either dual 4Kp30 or a single 4Kp60 HDMI output, offering more flexibility for high-definition dual-display setups.

Networking features are relatively similar in both models with Gigabit Ethernet and dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi. However, the Raspberry Pi 5 comes with a newer version of Bluetooth (Bluetooth 5.0 / BLE), which may offer improved connectivity and lower energy consumption compared to the Bluetooth version in Raspberry Pi 4.

The Raspberry Pi 5 has introduced several new features including a high-speed microSD card interface with SDR104 mode support, and a power button. These features enhance usability, data transfer speed, and the overall user experience compared to the Raspberry Pi 4.

The Raspberry Pi 5, with its enhanced features and capabilities, comes at a starting price of $60 for the 4GB variant and $80 for the 8GB variant. On the other hand, the pricing for Raspberry Pi 4 may vary and could be found at a starting price of $55 for the 4GB variant and $75 for the 8GB variant, making it a more budget-friendly option for those who are cost-conscious.