Raspberry Pi 5 vs Raspberry Pi 500
Benchmarks, specifications, and real-world performance data
Tested by Bret Weber Last updated
Fastest
Raspberry Pi 5
2,188 GB6 multi-core
Best value
Raspberry Pi 5
11.6 GB6 pts/$ at $189
Most efficient
Raspberry Pi 500
6.0W under load
Comparison Summary
The Raspberry Pi 5 and the Raspberry Pi 500 go head to head below, with every figure taken from our own hands-on testing. CPU performance is close: the Raspberry Pi 5 scores 2,188 in Geekbench 6 multi-core against 2,162 for the Raspberry Pi 500, a gap of just 1%. Factor in price and the Raspberry Pi 5 makes the strongest case, working out to 11.6 Geekbench 6 points per dollar at $188.92. The Raspberry Pi 500 is the most frugal under load, drawing 6.0W (3.0W at idle).
Read our individual reviews:
Every figure above comes from hardware run in-house by Bret Weber, on the exact OS build, kernel, firmware and boot device listed here. Boards are tested to a fixed procedure so results stay comparable between them: see our testing methodology for how each benchmark is run.
Detailed Reviews
Full write-ups on bret.dk, using the same benchmark data:
CPU Performance
Processor performance across single and multi-core workloads
Geekbench 6
Higher Scores are Better
Where they sit among all 72 tested boards
Where they sit among all 72 tested boards
7-Zip Benchmark
Higher Scores are Better
Where they sit among all 118 tested boards
Where they sit among all 113 tested boards
High Performance Linpack
Higher Scores are Better
Where they sit among all 80 tested boards
Where they sit among all 74 tested boards
UnixBench
Higher Scores are Better
Where they sit among all 118 tested boards
Where they sit among all 109 tested boards
PassMark CPU
Higher Scores are Better
Where they sit among all 95 tested boards
CPU Mining (cpuminer-multi)
Higher Hashrates are Better
Where they sit among all 108 tested boards
Where they sit among all 104 tested boards
Memory Performance
Memory bandwidth and throughput benchmarks
PassMark RAM
Higher Scores are Better
Where they sit among all 87 tested boards
GPU Performance
Graphics rendering with OpenGL and Vulkan, plus raw Vulkan compute throughput
glmark2 (OpenGL)
Higher Scores are Better
Only this board has been tested so far, so there is nothing to compare against yet.
vkmark (Vulkan)
Higher Scores are Better
Only this board has been tested so far, so there is nothing to compare against yet.
AI & LLM Performance
Large Language Model inference performance
Ollama LLM Benchmark
Higher Scores are Better
Where they sit among all 66 tested boards
Where they sit among all 64 tested boards
Where they sit among all 59 tested boards
Storage Performance
Disk I/O throughput measured with FIO
fio Storage Performance - microSD
Higher Speeds are Better • Raspberry Pi 64GB (64GB microSD)
fio Storage Performance - M.2 NVMe
Higher Speeds are Better • Crucial P5 Plus (1024GB M.2 NVMe)
Only this board has been tested so far, so there is nothing to compare against yet.
Network Performance
Ethernet and WiFi throughput measured with iPerf3
iPerf3 Network Performance
Higher Speeds are Better
Power & Thermal
Power consumption at idle and under various workloads
Power Consumption
Lower is "Better"
Cooling & Thermal Testing
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is faster, the Raspberry Pi 5 or the Raspberry Pi 500?
The Raspberry Pi 5 is faster in our testing, scoring 2,188 in Geekbench 6 multi-core versus 2,162 for the Raspberry Pi 500, a 1% advantage.
Which board is the best value?
Of the boards in this comparison, the Raspberry Pi 5 offers the best performance per dollar: 11.6 Geekbench 6 multi-core points per dollar at $188.92.
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