Raspberry Pi 5 vs Raspberry Pi 500+

Benchmarks, specifications, and real-world performance data

Tested by Bret Weber Last updated 15 September 2026

Raspberry Pi 5vsRaspberry Pi 500+

Fastest

Raspberry Pi 5

2,188 GB6 multi-core

Best value

Raspberry Pi 5

11.6 GB6 pts/$ at $189

Most efficient

Raspberry Pi 5

6.5W under load

Comparison Summary

This comparison puts the Raspberry Pi 5 and the Raspberry Pi 500+ side by side using benchmark results from our own testing of each board. CPU performance is close: the Raspberry Pi 5 scores 2,188 in Geekbench 6 multi-core against 2,121 for the Raspberry Pi 500+, a gap of just 3%. For budget-focused builds, the Raspberry Pi 5 wins the value contest at 11.6 multi-core points per dollar at $188.92. The Raspberry Pi 5 is the most frugal under load, drawing 6.5W.

Read our individual reviews:

Raspberry Pi 5 →Raspberry Pi 500+ →

Multiple benchmark runs available. Perfect for seeing how different OS versions, kernels, and carrier boards may impact performance numbers. For example, Raspberry Pi OS vs Ubuntu on the Raspberry Pi 5, or official vs third-party carrier boards for your CM5.

Specification	Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB) 4 runs available	Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)
Basic Specifications
Benchmark Run	8GB - Debian 12	—
Price	$188.92 AMZ**OFF	$442.62 OFF
RAM	8GB	16GB
SoC	Broadcom BCM2712 VideoCore VII	Broadcom BCM2712 VideoCore VII
Architecture	ARM	ARM
CPU Cores	4 cores 4× Cortex-A76 @ 2.4GHz	4 cores 4× Cortex-A76 @ 2.4GHz

Connectivity
USB Ports	4× USB ports 2× USB-A 2.0, 2× USB-A 3.0	4× USB ports 2× USB-A 2.0, 2× USB-A 3.0
Display Ports	2× micro-HDMI 2.0	2× micro-HDMI 2.0
Ethernet	1.0Gbps (PoE via HAT)	1.0Gbps
WiFi	802.11ac	802.11ac
Bluetooth	5.0, BLE	5.0, BLE
Storage & Expansion
SATA Ports	None	None
M.2 Slots	N/A	N/A
PCIe Support	PCIe 2.0 (3.0 configurable)	N/A
Power & I/O
Power Requirements	5V/5A	5.1V
Power Inputs	GPIO, PoE+ HAT, USB-C	USB-C
GPIO	40-pin RPi compatible	40-pin RPi compatible
Features
Real-Time Clock	Yes	No
Power Button	Yes	Yes
Fan Header	Yes	No
Mainline Linux	No	No
Armbian Support	Official	Official

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Environment	Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB) 4 runs available	Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)
Last Tested	15 September 2026	15 September 2026
System Configuration
OS Version	Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)	Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)
Kernel Version	6.12.34+rpt-rpi-2712	6.12.34+rpt-rpi-2712
CPU Governor	performance	performance
RPi Firmware	69471177	000d3ca2
GPU Information
GL Renderer	V3D 7.1.7.0	N/A
GL Vendor	Broadcom	N/A
GL Version	3.1 Mesa 25.0.7-2+rpt4	N/A
Vulkan Device	V3D 7.1.7.0	N/A
Vulkan Driver Version	104857607	N/A
Hardware Setup
Boot Device	Crucial P5 Plus 1024GB (M.2 NVMe)	Raspberry Pi 256GB 256GB (M.2 NVMe)

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.

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Detailed Reviews

Read our comprehensive reviews from bret.dk featuring data and benchmarks from sbc.compare:

•Raspberry Pi 5 Review

•Raspberry Pi 500+ Review

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)

CPU Performance

Processor performance across single and multi-core workloads

Geekbench 6

Higher Scores are Better

Single-Core

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)902

902

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)892-1%

892-1%

Multi-Core

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)2,188

2,188

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)2,121-3%

2,121-3%

7-Zip Benchmark

Higher Scores are Better

Single-Core Combined

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)3,334 MIPS-1%

3,334 MIPS-1%

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)3,356 MIPS

3,356 MIPS

Multi-Core Combined

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)12,000 MIPS

12,000 MIPS

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)11,979 MIPS

11,979 MIPS

High Performance Linpack

Higher Scores are Better

Performance

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)36.6 GFLOPS

36.6 GFLOPS

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)35.15 GFLOPS-4%

35.15 GFLOPS-4%

Performance/Watt

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)3.16 GFLOPS/W

3.16 GFLOPS/W

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)2.66 GFLOPS/W-16%

2.66 GFLOPS/W-16%

UnixBench

Higher Scores are Better

Single Core

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)1,654

1,654

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)1,646

1,646

Multi Core

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)4,920

4,920

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)4,884-1%

4,884-1%

PassMark CPU

Higher Scores are Better

CPU Score

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)2,394

2,394

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)2,384

2,384

CPU Mining (cpuminer-multi)

Higher Hashrates are Better

Single Core

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)3.86 kH/s

3.86 kH/s

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)3.86 kH/s

3.86 kH/s

Multi Core

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)15.43 kH/s

15.43 kH/s

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)15.43 kH/s

15.43 kH/s

Memory Performance

Memory bandwidth and throughput benchmarks

PassMark RAM

Higher Scores are Better

RAM Score

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)1,374-4%

1,374-4%

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)1,432

1,432

GPU Performance

Graphics rendering with OpenGL and Vulkan, plus raw Vulkan compute throughput

glmark2 (OpenGL)

Higher Scores are Better

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)1080p: 6574K: 150

Only this board has been tested so far, so there is nothing to compare against yet.

vkmark (Vulkan)

Higher Scores are Better

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)1080p: 4064K: 93

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

Tokens/sec

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)12.02 tok/s

12.02 tok/s

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)10.26 tok/s-15%

10.26 tok/s-15%

Tokens/Watt

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)1.24 tok/W

1.24 tok/W

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)0.88 tok/W-29%

0.88 tok/W-29%

Tokens/Dollar

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)0.06 tok/$

0.06 tok/$

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)0.02 tok/$3.0× slower

0.02 tok/$3.0× slower

Storage Performance

Disk I/O throughput measured with FIO

fio Storage Performance - microSD

Higher Speeds are Better • Raspberry Pi 64GB (64GB microSD)

4K Random Read

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)22 MB/s

22 MB/s

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)21.7 MB/s-1%

21.7 MB/s-1%

4K Random Write

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)15.1 MB/s

15.1 MB/s

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)14.9 MB/s-1%

14.9 MB/s-1%

fio Storage Performance - M.2 NVMe

Higher Speeds are Better • Crucial P5 Plus (1024GB M.2 NVMe), Raspberry Pi 256GB (256GB M.2 NVMe)

4K Random Read

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)866.5 MB/s

866.5 MB/s

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)301.4 MB/s2.9× slower

301.4 MB/s2.9× slower

4K Random Write

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)590.6 MB/s

590.6 MB/s

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)267.4 MB/s2.2× slower

267.4 MB/s2.2× slower

Network Performance

Ethernet and WiFi throughput measured with iPerf3

iPerf3 Network Performance

Higher Speeds are Better

Ethernet Up

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)937 Mbps

937 Mbps

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)937 Mbps

937 Mbps

Ethernet Down

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)941 Mbps

941 Mbps

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)941 Mbps

941 Mbps

WiFi Up

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)No Data

No Data

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)45 Mbps

45 Mbps

WiFi Down

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)No Data

No Data

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)140 Mbps

140 Mbps

Power & Thermal

Power consumption at idle and under various workloads

Power Consumption

Lower is "Better"

Idle Power

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)No Data

No Data

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)3.3W

3.3W

Load Power

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)6.5W

6.5W

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)6.6W+2%

6.6W+2%

Ollama Max

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)10.8W

10.8W

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)11.7W+8%

11.7W+8%

Linpack Max

Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB)11.6W

11.6W

Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)13.2W+14%

13.2W+14%

Benchmark	Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB) 4 runs available	Raspberry Pi 500+ (16GB)

Geekbench 6 Single-Core	902	892
Geekbench 6 Multi-Core	2188	2121
7-Zip Single-Core Combined	3334 MIPS	3356 MIPS
7-Zip Multi-Core Combined	12000 MIPS	11979 MIPS
7-Zip Single-Core Compression	3332 MIPS	3380 MIPS
7-Zip Multi-Core Compression	10909 MIPS	10975 MIPS
7-Zip Single-Core Decompression	3336 MIPS	3333 MIPS
7-Zip Multi-Core Decompression	13091 MIPS	12984 MIPS
Linpack Performance	36.599 GFLOPS	35.146 GFLOPS
Linpack Performance/Watt	3.155 GFLOPS/W	2.663 GFLOPS/W
UnixBench Single Core	1654	1646
UnixBench Multi Core	4920	4884
PassMark CPU Score	2394	2384
CPU Mining Single Core	3.86 kH/s	3.86 kH/s
CPU Mining Multi Core	15.43 kH/s	15.43 kH/s

PassMark RAM Score	1374	1432

glmark2 1080p (OpenGL)	657	N/A
glmark2 4K (OpenGL)	150	N/A
vkmark 1080p (Vulkan)	406	N/A
vkmark 4K (Vulkan)	93	N/A

deepseek-r1:1.5b
Tokens per Second	12.02 tok/s	10.26 tok/s
Tokens per Watt	1.24 tok/W	0.88 tok/W
Tokens per Dollar	0.06 tok/$	0.02 tok/$
Max Power	9.7W	11.6W
deepseek-r1:8b
Tokens per Second	2.17 tok/s	1.94 tok/s
Tokens per Watt	0.2 tok/W	0.18 tok/W
Tokens per Dollar	0.01 tok/$	N/A
Max Power	10.8W	11W
deepseek-r1:14b
Tokens per Second	N/A	1.18 tok/s
Tokens per Watt	N/A	0.1 tok/W
Tokens per Dollar	N/A	N/A
Max Power	N/A	11.7W

Raspberry Pi 64GB (64GB)
Sequential Read 4K	38.8 MB/s (9935 IOPS)	38.5 MB/s (9869 IOPS)
Sequential Read 64K	74.3 MB/s (1189 IOPS)	71.3 MB/s (1141 IOPS)
Sequential Read 1M	87.5 MB/s (86 IOPS)	87.3 MB/s (86 IOPS)
Sequential Write 4K	35.6 MB/s (9114 IOPS)	36.9 MB/s (9446 IOPS)
Sequential Write 64K	72.9 MB/s (1166 IOPS)	73.7 MB/s (1178 IOPS)
Sequential Write 1M	70.1 MB/s (69 IOPS)	70.7 MB/s (70 IOPS)
Random Read 4K	22.0 MB/s (5643 IOPS)	21.7 MB/s (5559 IOPS)
Random Read 64K	57.6 MB/s (922 IOPS)	57.3 MB/s (917 IOPS)
Random Read 1M	89.0 MB/s (88 IOPS)	88.6 MB/s (88 IOPS)
Random Write 4K	15.1 MB/s (3866 IOPS)	14.9 MB/s (3835 IOPS)
Random Write 64K	54.2 MB/s (867 IOPS)	55.0 MB/s (880 IOPS)
Random Write 1M	75.1 MB/s (74 IOPS)	76.1 MB/s (75 IOPS)

Crucial P5 Plus (1024GB), Raspberry Pi 256GB (256GB)
Sequential Read 4K	866.5 MB/s (221831 IOPS)	829.9 MB/s (212471 IOPS)
Sequential Read 64K	884.5 MB/s (14151 IOPS)	638.3 MB/s (10212 IOPS)
Sequential Read 1M	885.5 MB/s (885 IOPS)	832.9 MB/s (832 IOPS)
Sequential Write 4K	604.9 MB/s (154856 IOPS)	584.4 MB/s (149626 IOPS)
Sequential Write 64K	856.0 MB/s (13696 IOPS)	735.1 MB/s (11761 IOPS)
Sequential Write 1M	857.2 MB/s (856 IOPS)	716.7 MB/s (716 IOPS)
Random Read 4K	866.5 MB/s (221830 IOPS)	301.4 MB/s (77173 IOPS)
Random Read 64K	884.5 MB/s (14151 IOPS)	458.6 MB/s (7337 IOPS)
Random Read 1M	885.5 MB/s (885 IOPS)	842.7 MB/s (842 IOPS)
Random Write 4K	590.6 MB/s (151209 IOPS)	267.4 MB/s (68475 IOPS)
Random Write 64K	856.1 MB/s (13697 IOPS)	422.9 MB/s (6767 IOPS)
Random Write 1M	857.0 MB/s (856 IOPS)	706.8 MB/s (706 IOPS)

Idle Power	N/A	3.3W
Load Power	6.5W	6.6W
Ollama Max Power	10.8W	11.7W
Linpack Max Power	11.6W	13.2W

Ethernet Upload	937 Mbps	937 Mbps
Ethernet Download	941 Mbps	941 Mbps
WiFi Upload	N/A	45 Mbps
WiFi Download	N/A	140 Mbps

Cooling & Thermal Testing

Raspberry Pi 5 cooler comparison87°C peak with stock cooling · 8 cooling setups tested · best cooler cuts 37.0°C

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 2,121 for the Raspberry Pi 500+, a 3% 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.

Add One More Board

You can compare up to 3 boards at once. Add one more to get the complete comparison.

Raspberry Pi 5 vs Raspberry Pi 500+

Comparison Summary

Test Environment

Detailed Reviews

CPU Performance

Geekbench 6

7-Zip Benchmark

High Performance Linpack

UnixBench

PassMark CPU

CPU Mining (cpuminer-multi)

Memory Performance

PassMark RAM

GPU Performance

glmark2 (OpenGL)

vkmark (Vulkan)

AI & LLM Performance

Ollama LLM Benchmark

Storage Performance

fio Storage Performance - microSD

fio Storage Performance - M.2 NVMe

Network Performance

iPerf3 Network Performance

Power & Thermal

Power Consumption

Benchmark Data

Cooling & Thermal Testing

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is faster, the Raspberry Pi 5 or the Raspberry Pi 500+?

Which board is the best value?

Add One More Board

Raspberry Pi 5 vs Raspberry Pi 500+

Comparison Summary

Test Environment

Detailed Reviews

CPU Performance

Geekbench 6

7-Zip Benchmark

High Performance Linpack

UnixBench

PassMark CPU

CPU Mining (cpuminer-multi)

Memory Performance

PassMark RAM

GPU Performance

glmark2 (OpenGL)

vkmark (Vulkan)

AI & LLM Performance

Ollama LLM Benchmark

Storage Performance

fio Storage Performance - microSD

fio Storage Performance - M.2 NVMe

Network Performance

iPerf3 Network Performance

Power & Thermal

Power Consumption

Benchmark Data

Cooling & Thermal Testing

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is faster, the Raspberry Pi 5 or the Raspberry Pi 500+?

Which board is the best value?

Related Single Board Computers

Add One More Board