Raspberry Pi responds to global memory shortage with new 1GB Raspberry Pi 5 for $45
Raspberry Pi has adjusted prices across its product lineup in response to sharply higher memory (RAM) costs and introduced a new lower‑memory variant: a Raspberry Pi 5 with 1GB of RAM priced at $45. The company says the move is designed to help makers and hobbyists cope with rising component costs while keeping an entry point to its platform affordable.
The new 1GB Pi 5 reportedly uses a quad‑core Arm Cortex‑A76‑class processor and supports dual‑band Wi‑Fi, making it a capable option for lightweight projects and networked applications. Raspberry Pi’s broader price changes reflect market pressure on memory suppliers that has pushed up component costs industry‑wide.
What changed
- New model: Raspberry Pi 5 with 1GB RAM, priced at $45 as a budget option.
- Hardware highlights: Quad‑core Cortex‑A76‑class CPU and dual‑band Wi‑Fi support.
- Why now: Global RAM price increases forced Raspberry Pi to reprice parts of its portfolio and offer a lower‑memory SKU to maintain affordability.
Who should consider the 1GB Pi 5?
This model is likely best for lightweight tasks such as simple servers, IoT gateways, home automation controllers, learning and basic networked projects where memory demands are modest. Power users, software developers and anyone running heavier desktop workloads or large containers will probably prefer higher‑RAM models.
What to watch
- Availability and regional pricing — supply pressures can vary by market and could affect stock levels.
- How Raspberry Pi balances the 1GB model with existing SKUs and whether software/OS support differs for the lower‑memory variant.
- Broader industry memory prices — if RAM stabilizes, prices and SKUs may be adjusted again.
For official specs and updates, check the Raspberry Pi Foundation site: raspberrypi.org.
Discussion: Would you pick the new $45 Raspberry Pi 5 for your next project, or is 1GB too limiting? What projects do you think a 1GB Pi 5 would handle well?