Raspberry Pi has raised the price of its 16GB Raspberry Pi 5 by $80, bringing the board to $385 with immediate effect. The increase was announced by Raspberry Pi chief Eben Upton, who attributed it to steep increases in memory costs over the past two years.
The 16GB Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 is also becoming more expensive, with its price increasing by $40. Both products have already risen considerably from their launch prices of $120 for the 16GB Raspberry Pi 5 and $135 for the 16GB Compute Module 5.
Upton said Raspberry Pi had been working to limit the costs passed on to customers and noted that other computer manufacturers have made similar adjustments. The company’s latest guidance also urges buyers to ensure they are not paying for more memory than their projects require.
The 16GB Raspberry Pi 500+ all-in-one computer is not receiving a price increase in this round. Its price remains $485, although that model was already more expensive than the boards affected by the latest changes.
The new increases follow earlier adjustments across the Raspberry Pi range. In the previous month, the 2GB Raspberry Pi 4 and 2GB Raspberry Pi 5 each became $12.50 more expensive, reaching $67.50 and $77.50 respectively. The source also notes that 1GB models have not recently received price increases.
Rising prices may make the full-sized Raspberry Pi and Compute Module products less attractive for some hobbyists and makers. For simpler projects, Pico and ESP32 microcontroller boards are increasingly being considered as lower-cost alternatives. At the other end, entry-level x86 single-board computers and mini PCs can offer stronger processing, graphics and neural-processing capabilities, along with greater flexibility and expandability for more demanding tasks.
Sources: Tom's Hardware.