The 20 Best Single-Board Computers of All Time

From pocket-sized boards that launched the whole maker movement to power-packed AI-ready contenders, this lineup spans over a decade of tinkerer favorites and cult classics. Which one earns your vote?

1. 1
   Raspberry Pi 5

   The 2023 flagship Raspberry Pi with a custom RP1 I/O chip and a major CPU speed jump, setting the current bar for hobbyist SBC performance.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Rock Pi 4

   A Radxa board built around the RK3399 chip that earned a cult following for offering desktop-tier performance and PCIe expansion years ahead of mainstream Pi boards.
   856pts
3. 3
   NanoPi NEO

   An ultra-tiny, ultra-cheap FriendlyElec board that became a favorite among hobbyists for stuffing Linux into the smallest possible embedded projects.
   660pts
4. 4
   Raspberry Pi Zero W

   A 2017 wireless-enabled, wallet-sized board that squeezed a full Linux computer with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth into a form factor smaller than a stick of gum.
   642pts
5. 5
   Libre Computer Le Potato

   An affordable Amlogic-based board designed as a close pin-compatible alternative to the Raspberry Pi 3, popular for Kodi media-center builds.
   642pts
6. 6
   Raspberry Pi 4

   The 2019 quad-core board that brought USB 3.0, dual 4K display output, and up to 8GB RAM to the Raspberry Pi line, becoming a workhorse for makers worldwide.
   642pts
7. 7
   NVIDIA Jetson Nano

   A 2019 board built around a CUDA-capable GPU, aimed squarely at hobbyist robotics and edge AI/computer-vision projects.
   582pts
8. 8
   LattePanda 3 Delta

   A full x86 Windows/Linux-capable board with an onboard Arduino co-processor, giving makers a genuine PC alongside microcontroller-grade I/O.
   582pts
9. 9
   Odroid XU4

   A 2015 Hardkernel board with a Samsung Exynos octa-core chip and USB 3.0, long regarded by enthusiasts as a serious performance alternative to the Raspberry Pi.
   513pts
10. 10
    Original Raspberry Pi

    The 2012 credit-card-sized computer that launched the entire modern SBC hobbyist movement and made cheap computing accessible to schools and tinkerers.
    513pts
11. 11
    BeagleBone Black

    A 2013 open-hardware board known for its real-time PRU coprocessors and deep GPIO access, favored for industrial and embedded control projects.
    434pts
12. 12
    Odroid N2+

    A Hardkernel board with a beefy Amlogic hexa-core chip, prized in the SBC community for outrunning the Raspberry Pi 4 on raw CPU benchmarks.
    434pts
13. 13
    Orange Pi 5

    A 2023 Rockchip RK3588S board offering desktop-class multi-core performance and an NPU for AI workloads at a fraction of comparable hardware cost.
    342pts
14. 14
    Asus Tinker Board

    A 2017 board from Asus pairing a Rockchip SoC with Raspberry Pi-like form factor, notable for its higher native RAM bandwidth and Gigabit Ethernet.
    342pts
15. 15
    Khadas VIM3

    A compact Amlogic-based board with a built-in NPU, popular among enthusiasts for its metal enclosure options and Android/Linux dual-boot flexibility.
    342pts
16. 16
    Raspberry Pi 3 B+

    A 2018 refinement adding Gigabit Ethernet and faster Wi-Fi, widely used in retro-gaming and home-server projects during the Pi 4's early scarcity.
    233pts
17. 17
    Next Thing C.H.I.P.

    A 2015 crowdfunded $9 computer that briefly captured the maker community's imagination before the company folded, now a cult collector's item.
    233pts
18. 18
    Pine A64

    One of the earliest budget 64-bit ARM boards from Pine64, which built a loyal open-source community and later spawned the whole PinePhone/PineBook ecosystem.
    233pts
19. 19
    Banana Pi M2 Zero

    A Raspberry Pi Zero-compatible board from the long-running Banana Pi line, popular as a budget alternative with a similar compact footprint.
    103pts
20. 20
    Radxa ROCK 5B

    A high-end RK3588 board with PCIe and NVMe support that positioned itself as a genuine desktop-replacement SBC.
    103pts