Raspberry Pi Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+ vs Raspberry Pi Raspberry Pi 500+

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+ compared with Raspberry Pi 500+

	Raspberry PiRaspberry Pi 3 Model A+	Raspberry PiRaspberry Pi 500+
Overview
Released
Released	November 2018	September 2025
Performance
Processor
Processor	Broadcom BCM2837B0 (Arm Cortex-A53)	Broadcom BCM2712 (Arm Cortex-A76)
CPU cores
CPU cores	4	4
Clock
Clock	1.4 GHz	2.4 GHz (better)
Memory
Memory	512 MB	16 GB (better)
CPU
CPU	Quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A53 at 1.4GHz	Quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A76 at 2.4GHz with cryptography extensions; 512KB L2 cache per core and 2MB shared L3 cache; RP1 I/O controller
GPU
GPU	VideoCore IV; OpenGL ES 1.1 and 2.0; H.264 and MPEG-4 decode (1080p30), H.264 encode (1080p30)	VideoCore VII; OpenGL ES 3.1, Vulkan 1.3; H.265 4Kp60 decode
Memory
Memory	512MB LPDDR2 SDRAM	16GB LPDDR4X-4267 SDRAM
Storage
Storage	microSD card slot; improved USB mass-storage booting	256GB Raspberry Pi SSD with Raspberry Pi OS pre-installed, in an internal M.2 slot for NVMe SSDs up to 2280; microSD card slot; boots from SD card or external USB SSDs too
Connections
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Yes	Yes
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes
Ethernet
Ethernet	No	Yes
USB ports
USB ports	1	3 (better)
Display outputs
Display outputs	1	2 (better)
GPIO pins
GPIO pins	40	40
PCIe
PCIe	No	Yes
Ports
Ports	1 × USB 2.0, full-size HDMI, 4-pole stereo audio and composite video jack, micro USB power	2 × USB 3.0, 1 × USB 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet, 2 × micro HDMI, USB-C power
Displays
Displays	1 × full-size HDMI	2 × micro HDMI, up to dual 4Kp60
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth	2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.2, BLE; modular compliance certification	2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 5.0, BLE
GPIO
GPIO	Extended 40-pin header	Horizontal 40-pin header on the back
Camera and display connectors
Camera and display connectors	MIPI CSI camera port; MIPI DSI display port	–
Design
Size
Size	65 × 56 mm	312 × 123.06 mm
Power
Power	5V/2.5A DC via micro USB or the GPIO header	5V DC via USB-C
Size
Size	65 × 56 mm board	312 × 123.06 × 35.76 mm; 84-key (ANSI), 85-key (ISO) or 88-key (JIS) mechanical keyboard with low-profile keycaps, controlled by an RP2040 running QMK
Operating temperature
Operating temperature	0°C to 50°C	0°C to 50°C