10 Best Raspberry Pi 4 Alternatives You Can Buy in 2019
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For tech hobbyists and tinkerers, Raspberry Pi 4 is the one machine they can’t live without. Either you want to run a VPN server or control home automation, Raspberry Pi 4 gets everything done. However, for some time, users have been looking for alternatives in search of a more powerful single-board computer. Apart from that, the recent faulty Type-C design forced many users to look south. So, if you are still on a lookout, we have put together a list of 10 best Raspberry Pi 4 alternatives which are quite powerful and come with several ports. Now having said that, let’s begin the article without any delay.
Best Raspberry Pi 4 Alternatives
Here, we have sorted the 10 best alternatives to Raspberry Pi 4 which are not only powerful but also power-efficient. Apart from that, we have kept low-pricing as our key factor before finalizing the list so that you get similar performance without breaking your bank. Now without further ado, let’s get started with the first pick.
1. ODROID-N2
Odroid-N2 is one of the best single-board computers out there and easily rivals Raspberry Pi 4 in terms of both specs and pricing. The N2 comes with a quad-core ARM Cortex-A73 CPU with a dual-core Cortex-A53 cluster integrated to the main board which is clocked at 1.8GHz. In essence, it’s more powerful than RPi 4’s A72 CPU which is clocked at 1.5GHz. On the RAM front, it comes in 2GB and 4GB models so that is great for multi-taskers. And the best part about the processor is that it’s built on the 12nm fabrication process so it’s much more power-efficient than RPi 4’s 16nm chipset.
Apart from that, the board is equipped with Mali-G52 GPU which is powerful enough to stream 4K content at 60FPS. Further, there is a metal heatsink at the bottom which can minimize throttling by dissipating heat. In terms of port selection, you have a Gigabit LAN port, headphone jack, HDMI port, 4 USB 3.0 ports and more. Considering all the points, Odroid N2 seems a much powerful single-board computer and it can easily replace Raspberry Pi 4.
Buy from ODROID: (Starts at $60)
2. ROCKPro64
RockPro64 is another great alternative to Raspberry Pi 4. And I say this because RockPro64 enjoys similar community support and has excellent documentation for all the hardware and software SDKs. Apart from that, RockPro64 has a powerful Hexa-core Rockchip RK3399 SoC which comprises dual A72 and quad A53 cores clocked up to 2GHz. Looking at the specs on paper, the RockPro64 is definitely a powerful tiny machine. Besides that, you have Mali T860 MP4 GPU which is powerful enough to run graphics-heavy content.
Having said that, it comes with a dual-channel 4GB LPDDR4 RAM and with a module socket for eMMC card storage. Moreover, the board is packed with Gigabit Ethernet, USB Type C, USB 3.0, HDMI, headphone jack and several other ports. All in all, RockPro64 is among the best single-board computers and I have qualms in recommending it over the Raspberry Pi 4. There are also many single-board computers on its website so do check those before finalizing your purchase.
Buy from Pine Store: (Starts at $59.99)
3. Nano Pi M4
NanoPi M4 is a popular Raspberry Pi 4 alternative which is built by another open-source company, FriendlyARM. The single-board computer comes with Rockchip RK3399 CPU which is clocked up to 2GHz. The Rockchip SoC is using a dual-core Cortex-A72(clocked up to 2.0GHz) and quad-core Cortex-A53( clocked up to 1.5GHz) which essentially means that Nano Pi M4 is on par with Raspberry Pi 4 in terms of performance. On the GPU side, it has a powerful Mali-T864 GPU which is capable of rendering 4K content without any issue.
The board comes in two variants of 2GB and 4GB of DDR3 RAM without any onboard storage. Apart from that, there is also WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity so that is awesome. In terms of port selection, the Nano Pi M4 is housed with USB 3.0, USB Type-C, 3.5mm headphone jack, and Gigabit Ethernet port. Having said that, the best part about Nano Pi M4 is that it can play 4K video content at 60FPS. To sum up, if you want a powerful board like Raspberry Pi 4 with all the modern features and tech then Nano Pi M4 is simply a great pick.
Buy from FriendlyARM: (Starts at $50)
4. Banana Pi M4
Banana Pi M4 is one of the cheapest Raspberry Pi 4 alternatives in this list. It costs around $38 which is pretty close to RPi 4’s $35 offering. The single-board computer features a Realtek RTD1395 processor which comes with a quad-core 64 Bit ARM Cortex-A53 cluster. It also has a dedicated Mali 470 MP4 GPU for smooth graphics rendering which is on par with Raspberry Pi 4. Other than that, the base variant comes with 1GB of LPDDR4 RAM and can be upgraded up to 2GB. There is 8GB of onboard storage as well and you can expand the storage up to 256GB using a microSD card.
Talking about the ports, the board is equipped with HDMI, Ethernet, USB Type C, USB 2.0, headphone jack and more. And similar to Raspberry Pi 4, you have access to onboard Bluetooth and WiFi which is simply great. So, given the low price, Banana Pi 4 is an excellent single-board computer and a worthy alternative to Raspberry Pi 4.
Buy from AliExpress: (Starts at $38)
5. ASUS Tinker Board S
Asus Tinker Board S is our next pick for the best Raspberry Pi 4 alternative. While it’s not as low-cost as Raspberry Pi 4, the Asus single-board computer offers a reliable and stable experience because of its solid internals. It’s packed with Rockchip RK3288 SoC which is clocked up to 1.8GHz and has 2GB of DDR3 RAM. The board is equipped with Mali – T764 GPU which is said to have better rendering capability. However, the best part is that it comes with 16GB onboard storage which the Raspberry Pi 4 lacks.
In terms of port selection, you don’t have to worry as there are plenty of options available. You have Gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0, HDMI and lots of GPIO ports for your tinkering purpose. Besides that, the Asus Tinker board also features Bluetooth and WiFi. So, if you are looking for a powerful single-board computer which can replace Raspberry Pi 4 then Asus Tinker Board S can be a great pick. The only downside is that it’s significantly expensive than Raspberry Pi 4.
Buy from Amazon: ($101)
6. Libre Renegade
Libre is another open-source company which is pretty transparent about its hardware and software programs. And for this very reason, it is a suitable alternative to Raspberry Pi 4. Given its open-source stand, Libre enjoys community support in varying degrees which is very comparable to Raspberry Pi Foundation. Coming to specs, it features a Quad-core 64-bit 1.4GHz ARM Cortex-A53 processor along with Mali-450 GPU. The best part is that just like RPi 4, it can also render 4K content at 60FPS without breaking a sweat.
Besides that, you get 4GB of DDR4 RAM, but without any onboard storage. The Libre board is equipped with several ports including superfast Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0, eMMC module, HDMI and lots of GPIO slots. To sum up, Libre Renegade is an excellent choice for tinkering with Linux and Android systems and you can definitely give it a try.
Buy from Amazon: (Starts at $30)
7. Orange Pi PC Plus
Orange Pi PC Plus is among the cheapest alternatives to Raspberry Pi 4 with decent hardware and performance. It comes with a Quad-Core 1.3GHz Cortex-A7 CPU along with Mali 400MP2 GPU. While the processor is not as powerful as Raspberry Pi 4, it can be used for low-intensive tasks like running a daemon service or a VPN server. Further, the board packs 1GB of DDR3 RAM and 8GB of onboard storage. There are also a few ports which include Ethernet, HDMI, GPIO, USB 2.0, and more. As I said above, if you want to run simple tasks which do not require many resources then Orange Pi PC Plus can be a decent alternative to Raspberry Pi 4.
Buy from Amazon: ($38.89)
8. LattePanda
LattePanda is a unique Raspberry Pi 4 alternative which is designed to run Windows 10 instead of open-source operating systems like Linux or Android. While it’s not that powerful to run full-fledged Windows, you can use the standard Windows 10 Home Edition without any problem. The board is powered by Intel Z8350 CPU which is clocked up to 1.92GHz. It also ships with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The mini board is equipped with Bluetooth and WiFi so that is great. Apart from that, in terms of ports, you get HDMI, Ethernet, USB 2.0 and a few GPIO ports. All in all, if you are looking for a Raspberry Pi 4 alternative which can run Windows natively then LattePanda is a great pick despite its few shortcomings.
Buy from Amazon: (Starts at $99)
9. BeagleBone Black
If you need a low-powered machine to run Linux distros or cloud IDEs then BeagleBone is a great pick. The single-board computer comes with AM335x 1GHz ARM® Cortex-A8 processor with a dedicated 3D graphics accelerator. You also get onboard storage of 4GB and 512MB of DDR3 RAM. While there is no WiFi or Bluetooth connectivity, it has USB connectors for enabling radio communication. You can simply attach a WiFi or Bluetooth adapter and you can use radio services without any problem. Apart from that, you get a few ports including Ethernet, HDMI, USB 2.0 and more. Simply put, if you want a low-configuration single-board computer, you can give BeagleBone a shot.
Buy from Amazon: ($74.99)
10. NVIDIA Jetson Nano
If you are a developer and use Raspberry Pi 4 for testing AI applications then let me offer you a better alternative. Nvidia, a popular GPU manufacturer has created a low-cost single-board computer which is capable of running AI tests without needing much power and resources. The Jetson Nano can deliver high performance with its powerful GPU and without taking much time. Nvidia also provides Developer Kit to get started on this mini-computer. There are HDMI, USB, Ethernet and several GPIO ports which can be pretty helpful for running hardware-based AI tests. To conclude, if you want a single-board computer like Raspberry Pi 4 with a powerful GPU for AI experiments then Jetson Nano by Nvidia is a solid pick.
Buy from Amazon: ($90)
| Alternatives | CPU | GPU | RAM | Storage | Price |
| ODROID-N2 | Amlogic S922X 4 Cores ARM [email protected] Quad and 2 Cores ARM [email protected] | Mali-G52 @864MHz | 2GB/4GB | microSD card slot | Starts at $60 |
| ROCKPro64 | Rockchip RK3399 Hexa-Core (dual ARM Cortex A72 and quad ARM Cortex A53) 64-Bit Processor | Mali T-860 Quad-Core GPU | 2GB/4GB | microSD card slot | Starts at $59.99 |
| Nano Pi M4 | Rockchip RK3399 Cortex-A72(up to 2.0GHz), Cortex-A53(up to 1.5GHz) | Mali-T864 GPU | 2GB/4GB | microSD card slot | Starts at $50 |
| Banana Pi M4 | Realtek RTD1395, 64-bit quad-core A53 | ARM Mali-470 | 1GB/2GB | 8 GB of eMMC | Starts at $38 |
| ASUS Tinker Board S | Rockchip RK3288 Quad-core ARM SoC up to 1. 8GHz | Mali - T764 GPU | 2GB | 16 GB of eMMC | $101 |
| Libre Renegade | ROC-RK3328 Quad 64-bit 1.4GHz ARM Cortex-A53 | ARM Mali-450 | 1GB/2GB/4GB | microSD card slot | Starts at $30 |
| Orange Pi PC Plus | H3 Quad-core Cortex-A7 | Mali400MP2 GPU | 1GB | 8GB eMMC Storage | $38.89 |
| LattePanda | Intel Z8350 CPU @ 1.92GHz | Intel HD Graphics | 2GB/4GB | 4GB/64GB of onboard storage | Starts at $99 |
| BeagleBone Black | AM335x 1GHz ARM® Cortex-A8 | 3D graphics accelerator | 512MB | 4GB of onboard storage | $74.99 |
| NVIDIA Jetson Nano | Quad-core ARM® A57 | 128-core NVIDIA Maxwell™ architecture-based GPU | 4 GB | microSD card slot | $90 |
SEE ALSO: 10 Best Raspberry Pi 3 Alternatives You Can Buy
Pick the Best Raspberry Pi 4 Alternative
So that was our list of the 10 best Raspberry Pi 4 alternatives which are ranked on performance to price ratio. We have tried to include single-board computers which are modern and come with A72 cores, Type-C port, and powerful GPU. Be assured, with the top 5 picks, you will get top-notch performance just like the Raspberry Pi 4. Anyway, that is all from us. If you liked our selection, do comment down below and let us know.
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