Mini PCs, Raspberry Pi and other boards
The right small computer for the job
Tell us what it is for and your budget. We check every mini PC and single-board computer against that job, from the specs: ports, drive slots, RAM, video engine and software.
What do you want it for?
18 devices for Home Assistant
ZimaBoard 2
Intel N150
Great fit$279
Official or well-supported Home Assistant OS image
GMKtec G3 Plus
Intel N150
Great fit$330
Official or well-supported Home Assistant OS image
Beelink EQ14
Intel N150
Great fit$385
Official or well-supported Home Assistant OS image
Beelink ME mini
Intel N150
Great fit$525
Official or well-supported Home Assistant OS image
Radxa X4
Intel N100
Great fit—
Official or well-supported Home Assistant OS image
Raspberry Pi 4
Broadcom BCM2711
Good$68
Official or well-supported Home Assistant OS image
23 devices · 17 processors · prices checked Oct 28, 2026 · Read the methodology
Best picks for each job
View all →Devices rated a great fit by our rules, cheapest first.
- Home Assistant
- ZimaBoard 2$279
- GMKtec G3 Plus$330
- Beelink EQ14$385
- Media server
- ZimaBoard 2$279
- GMKtec G3 Plus$330
- Beelink EQ14$385
- Homelab / Proxmox
- Minisforum MS-01$679
- Minisforum MS-A2$799
- Beelink SER8$799
- Router / firewall
- ZimaBoard 2$279
- Beelink EQ14$385
- Beelink ME mini$525
- NAS
- Beelink ME mini$525
- Desktop
- Minisforum MS-01$679
- Minisforum MS-A2$799
- Beelink SER8$799
- Electronics / GPIO
Nine families of small computers
View all →Mini PCs run Windows or Proxmox and transcode video; boards are cheaper to run, have GPIO pins and need more tinkering.
- Mini PC · 3 devicesIntel N-series mini PCsN100, N150 and N355 boxes: quiet, 6–15 W chips with Quick Sync for Plex and Jellyfin.One memory channel and 4–8 small cores: fine for services, slow for heavy work.
- Mini PC · 2 devicesAMD Ryzen mini PCsLaptop Ryzen chips with 8–16 cores and strong Radeon graphics: a full desktop in a lunchbox.More power and fan noise under load; AMD's video engine is weaker for transcoding.
- Mini PC · 2 devicesIntel Core mini PCsCore and Core Ultra boxes, from NUC-style desktops to 10 GbE homelab workstations.Hybrid P/E cores complicate some hypervisors; the fast ones are not cheap.
- Mini PC · 3 devicesBusiness 1-litre PCs (renewed)ThinkCentre Tiny, OptiPlex Micro and EliteDesk Mini off-lease: solid, repairable and cheap.Older generations, used condition and a single Ethernet port unless you add a card.
- Mini PC · 1 deviceApple Mac miniThe fastest small desktop per watt, silent and with years of macOS updates.No RAM or SSD upgrades, and Linux, Proxmox or Home Assistant OS are not an option.
- Single-board computer · 3 devicesRaspberry PiThe reference board: best software support, documentation and accessories of any SBC.2026 prices are up a lot, and a case, power supply and storage add to the bill.
- Single-board computer · 4 devicesOrange PiMore hardware per euro: RK3588 boards with 2.5 GbE, NVMe and up to 32 GB.Software relies on vendor images and Armbian; support ends sooner than on a Pi.
- Single-board computer · 2 devicesRadxaRK3588 boards with good mainline Linux progress, plus an Intel N100 board in Pi size.Smaller community than Raspberry Pi; stock on Amazon comes and goes.
- Single-board computer · 3 devicesOther boardsRouter boards, x86 boards and budget Pi alternatives from FriendlyElec, ZimaSpace and others.Each one is good at one thing; check the software story before buying.
Every device, every job
Our verdict for each device and use. Open a device to see the reasons.
| Device | Home Assistant | Media server | Homelab / Proxmox | Router / firewall | NAS | Desktop | Electronics / GPIO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASUS NUC 14 Pro | Good | Great fit | Great fit | Limited | Good | Great fit | Not suitable |
| Beelink EQ14 | Great fit | Great fit | Good | Great fit | Good | Good | Not suitable |
| Beelink ME mini | Great fit | Great fit | Good | Great fit | Great fit | Good | Not suitable |
| Beelink SER8 | Good | Good | Great fit | Limited | Good | Great fit | Not suitable |
| EliteDesk 800 G4 Mini | Good | Great fit | Good | Limited | Good | Good | Not suitable |
| GMKtec G3 Plus | Great fit | Great fit | Good | Limited | Good | Good | Not suitable |
| Mac mini M6 | Not suitable | Good | Limited | Not suitable | Limited | Great fit | Not suitable |
| Minisforum MS-01 | Good | Great fit | Great fit | Great fit | Good | Great fit | Not suitable |
| Minisforum MS-A2 | Good | Good | Great fit | Good | Good | Great fit | Not suitable |
| OptiPlex 7070 Micro | Good | Great fit | Good | Limited | Good | Good | Not suitable |
| ThinkCentre M920q | Good | Great fit | Good | Limited | Good | Good | Not suitable |
| Le Potato | Limited | Limited | Limited | Limited | Limited | Not suitable | Good |
| NanoPi R6S | Limited | Good | Limited | Great fit | Limited | Limited | Not suitable |
| Orange Pi 3B | Good | Good | Limited | Limited | Limited | Limited | Good |
| Orange Pi 5 Max | Good | Good | Limited | Limited | Limited | Limited | Good |
| Orange Pi 5 Plus | Good | Good | Limited | Good | Limited | Limited | Good |
| Orange Pi Zero 3 | Limited | Limited | Limited | Limited | Limited | Limited | Good |
| Pi Zero 2 W | Not suitable | Limited | Limited | Not suitable | Limited | Not suitable | Great fit |
| Radxa ROCK 5B | Good | Good | Limited | Limited | Limited | Limited | Good |
| Radxa X4 | Great fit | Great fit | Good | Limited | Limited | Good | Good |
| Raspberry Pi 4 | Good | Limited | Limited | Limited | Limited | Limited | Great fit |
| Raspberry Pi 5 | Good | Limited | Limited | Limited | Limited | Limited | Great fit |
| ZimaBoard 2 | Great fit | Great fit | Good | Great fit | Good | Good | Not suitable |
Our picks by budget and use
View all →Popular comparisons
View all →Latest guides
View all →- Basics· Oct 28, 2026Hardware for Plex and Jellyfin: why the video engine matters more than the CPU
Direct play, transcoding, Quick Sync and Rockchip MPP explained, and which small computers can convert 4K HEVC on the fly.
- Buying guides· Oct 28, 2026Mini PC or Raspberry Pi? How to choose in 2026
A Raspberry Pi 5 kit now costs about as much as an Intel N150 mini PC. When each one makes sense, and what you give up.
How we work
Specs come from the manufacturers and are checked against reviews. The verdict for each use follows published rules, not gut feeling; scores and texts are our opinion and are labelled as such. Prices are dated references.
Read the methodology →