Raspberry PI sind seit Jahren Standard Conputer für Bastler und Programmierer. Diese lassen sich in vielen Bereichen einsetzen.
These are already used by hobbyists in the following areas.
With Raspberry Pis, you can easily set up your home as a smart home.
Another point is that these computers consume very little power, allowing you to create a cost-effective home server.
Raspberry Pis are also very well suited for retro games.
They are also great machines for learning to program.
Raspberry Pis are also good devices for IoT projects.
However, the market for hobbyist computers has changed significantly.
Many users need more power, and new manufacturers are entering the market. Some of these manufacturers have better specifications than Raspberry.
Let's compare the exciting alternatives to Raspberry
Why look for alternatives at all?
Raspberry Pi is no longer the cheapest solution. For powerful models, prices are higher.
There is limited computing power for modern AI applications.
More RAM is becoming increasingly important.
Users want: Local AI, home servers, Docker, virtualization, and media servers.
Typical use cases would be:
Home Assistant, Netcloud, Plex, Jellyfin, Pi-hole, VPN server, local chatbots.
Alternativen:
Orange Pi 5 Plus – Das Kraftpaket
One alternative would be the Orange Pi 5 Plus.
This features a Rockchip RK3588 processor and can have up to 16GB of RAM. It has NVMe SSD support and fast networking. Furthermore, USB 3.0 ports.
Advantages:
It has more power than the Raspberry 5. It is ideal for multiple services simultaneously. AI applications are possible. It has fast data transfer.
Practical examples would be:
Ideal for home servers
Similar to the Raspberry, the Orange Pi 5 Plus is also well-suited as a home server. Similarly, you can use it for a Smart Home Hub. It is also well-suited for video streaming. You can also use it well to build your own cloud.
However, the Orang Pi comes with the following disadvantages
There is a much smaller community and unfortunately fewer tutorials.
Odroid N2+ – The Workhorse
The Odroid N2+ is very energy-efficient and is highly recommended for stable continuous operation. It also has good Linux support.
The Odroid N2+ is well-suited for your NAS system. Furthermore, it can be used well for your Home Assistant.
It can also be used as a Docker. It would also be well-suited as a VPN gateway.
Furthermore, it can be used well as a Pi-hole. Pi-hole is a network-wide ad blocker and DNS sinkhole that blocks ads, trackers, and malware for all devices on your home network.
Its advantages are as follows:
The Odroid has low power consumption. It is reliable and has good cooling.
It is interesting for 24/7 activity usage.
Rock 5B – For Multimedia and AI
The Rock 5B has a powerful GPU.
It has 8K support.
It also features a modern ARM architecture.
The model is well-suited as a media server, for video editing, local AI models, and computer vision.
Examples include: surveillance camera with AI, facial recognition, image analysis, and voice assistant.
The advantages are high performance and it is future-proof.
The disadvantage is the higher price.
Libre Computer – The Budget Alternative
The Libre Computer is interesting because it is inexpensive for getting started. It is Raspberry Pi compatible and many projects work directly.
Libre Computers are suitable for students, beginners, and for programming courses.
Good projects would be a weather station, smart home sensors, small web servers, learning processes.
Khadas VIM4 – Die Premium-Klasse
The Khadas ViM4 is of higher quality construction than the other models. It features powerful hardware and this has modern interfaces.
The target audience is developers, professionals, and multimedia enthusiasts.
Areas of application include those with a smart display, media center, AI features, or digital signage.
Mini PCs as an alternative to single-board computers
The reasons why mini PCs are becoming increasingly popular compared to single-board computers are: they offer more performance, run Windows or Linux operating systems, and are expandable.
Examples of mini PCs include Beelink, Minusgorum, and Geekom.
Use cases include local AI, home labs, virtualization, and your own cloud.
Advantages over Raspberry Pi include more RAM, faster SSDs, and more powerful processors.
Welche Alternative passt zu welchem Nutzer?
Smart Home nutzer sollten zu einem Odroid N2+ oder einem Home Assistantgreifen.
Heimserver Betreiber empfehlen wir Orange Pi 5 Plus.
KI-Enthusiasten greifen am besten zu einem Rock 5B oder einem Mini-PC.
Einsteiger haben es am besten mit einem Libre Computer und Multimedia Fans sind am besten beraten mit einem Khadas VIM4.
Outlook 2026 and beyond
The development is that AI will come directly to single-board computers. ARM processors are becoming more powerful. There will be more local applications instead of cloud. Smart homes are also growing continuously.
Conclusion
The Raspberry Pi remains important. However, the competition is getting stronger. Users benefit from an ever-increasing selection. For almost every use case, there is now a better alternative. The future belongs to powerful, energy-efficient mini-computers.