Thanks, AI: The Raspberry Pi is a widely used platform for custom computing devices and other DIY projects. Unfortunately, the British company is making some of its most successful products more expensive. A Raspberry Pi 5 now costs significantly more than when the device was introduced.
Earlier this week, Eben Upton, co-founder and CEO of Raspberry Pi, announced another price increase, this time affecting the 16GB variant of the Raspberry Pi 5. The company’s highest-capacity single-board computer will cost $80 more, bringing the final price to $385. A “measly” SBC now costs more than a full mini PC, although Upton hopes the price increases can be reversed at some point.
The latest increase follows a long list of increases announced last year. The original Raspberry Pi 5 launched in 2023 for $80 for the 8GB model, while the 16GB version launched in January 2025 for $120. The latter is now one of the most expensive products that Raspberry Pi has ever sold.
Upton said the company was essentially forced to raise the price. It still lacks a suitable alternative source for 16GB DRAM modules and, like the rest of the IT industry, is facing several component shortages. At the very least, Raspberry Pi is trying to avoid “blanket” price increases across its product lineup.
The Pi 5 is one of the company’s most popular SBCs and the 16GB model is its top configuration, meaning Raspberry Pi is facing major supply chain difficulties to continue offering new boards to customers. The 16GB Compute Module 5 is also getting a $40 price increase, while the premium all-in-one Raspberry Pi 500+ remains at its current price despite having 16GB of RAM.
In any case, the new increases will be felt by both do-it-yourselfers and custom equipment manufacturers. The change was “inevitable,” Upton said, but existing users can try to avoid higher expenses by optimizing memory usage or switching to lower-density Pi variants in their projects. Developers can also ask for help on the Raspberry Pi forums, where the company’s engineers often answer questions directly.
Upton described today’s storage market as extremely complex and difficult, but said the problem is ultimately temporary. Price increases could eventually be rolled back as memory chip costs normalize, hopefully in the not-too-distant future.
