7 Accessories to Supercharge Your Raspberry Pi Experience
I’ve tried plenty of Raspberry Pi accessories over the years, and here’s the secret: the best ones are rarely the most impressive on paper. Some small upgrades can completely change how using your Pi feels, yet hardly anyone talks about them. In this article, I’ll share the ones that made a difference for me.
The right accessories can make a Raspberry Pi easier to use, more reliable, or suitable for projects that wouldn’t work with the board alone. Some small add-ons can make a bigger difference than expected.
I’ll show you seven accessories that earned a permanent place in my setup, explain what each one improves, and point you to my full reviews or tutorials when you need more details.
If you’re looking for inspiration for your next Raspberry Pi project, I’ve put together a list of 75+ ideas with full descriptions, difficulty ratings, and links to tutorials. Whether you’re a beginner or more advanced, there’s something here for you. Grab the list for free here!
Portable Game Dock
Remember the robot Soundwave from the Transformers cartoon who could transform into a tape cassette deck? Now your Pi can do something similar but turn into something cool (sorry, Soundwave).
The Retroflag GPi CASE 2W is a dock that turns your Raspberry Pi into a handheld gaming console. Your Pi Zero 2 becomes the cartridge, while the case provides a 3-inch IPS color screen, rechargeable batteries, and a gamepad. All you need to do next is load some ROMS.
Now you can travel back in time and play every title ever made for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color. Except this time around, you can experience all of them—with a better screen and faster loading times—all on a single cart.
Check this: Should you wait for Raspberry Pi 6?
Review: GPi Case 2W – Is It Worth It?
Purchase: Retroflag GPi CASE 2W
A faster Raspberry Pi drive
A performance bottleneck that often gets overlooked by PC users is the speed of their hard drive. The same can be true on the Raspberry Pi: replacing your Pi’s micro SD card with an SSD (solid-state drive) can dramatically increase your Pi’s speed.
The march of technological progress has made this upgrade affordable. Keep in mind that you’ll also need an adapter—an enclosure or a case—to connect things. And to fully reap the benefits, you’ll want to boot your Pi directly from your SSD.
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Learn More: What’s The Best Raspberry Pi 4 Case For You? (I Tested Them All)
Learn More: The Best Raspberry Pi 5 Cases You Can Buy Today
Adding an SSD lets you take on projects with your Pi that you might have considered impractical or impossible. It can improve the responsiveness of your LAMP web server and media servers like Plex or Jellyfin.
Bonus tip: When I started, the hardest part wasn’t the setup, it was figuring out what to build next. I ended up creating a list of 75+ project ideas with links and difficulty, so it’s easier to just pick something and try it. Grab the list here.
If you want a clearer path than jumping from tutorial to tutorial, my book gives you a step-by-step roadmap to really understand your Raspberry Pi.
Check the book herePurchase SSD: Transcend M.2 SSD 128GB
Purchase Adapter: Sabrent M.2 Enclosure or Argon NEO 5 M.2 NVMe Case
Touchscreen Monitor
Sometimes I feel a little silly when I have to crawl under my desk to swap monitor cables between my desktop PC and my Raspberry Pi—especially since I don’t need a giant monitor for my Pi most of the time. Is there a more convenient solution?
The SunFounder touchscreen for the Pi might be your best bet. Its 7-inch IPS display outputs 1024 x 600 resolution, includes built-in speakers, and provides an audio jack for your headphones. The touchscreen is plug-and-play out of the box, so you can start tapping right away.
Update: SunFounder has also released a larger 10-inch screen I recently reviewed here.
Adding a small display makes the Pi viable as a stand-alone mini-desktop. Resting the display against your Pi with the included bracket makes it feel like they’re seamlessly one. Now, you have a fast way to check on the status of your Minecraft server or install a pop-up kiosk at an event.
Review: SunFounder 7-Inch Touchscreen | SunFounder 10-inch Touchscreen
Purchase: SunFounder TS-7 | SunFounder TS-10
Powered USB Hub
Have you ever connected one too many devices to your Pi? If so, your devices might have stopped working with error messages like “under-voltage detected” or “over-current condition.” How do you make these problems go away?
This powered USB hub is here to save the day. With a dedicated plug, this hub can provide enough juice to power all your devices. It gives you four fast USB 3.0 data ports—each with its own on/off switch—and an extra charging port for your smartphone or tablet.
I also like the on/off buttons on it, making it an effective solution for multi-booting to different USB sticks if you, like me, are constantly switching from one system to another. But it also works to enable or disable USB accessories without having to disconnect them each time.
A powered USB hub opens the doors to lots of cool projects: connect multiple hard drives to build your own NAS, run a Retropie arcade cabinet with joysticks for all players, or install a MotionEye system with multiple IP cams.
Purchase: Atolla 4-Port USB 3.0 Hub
Want even more ideas? I put together a free resource with over 75 Raspberry Pi project ideas, each with a quick description, tutorial link, and hardware requirements. Whether you’re just starting out or looking for something to do this weekend, this list will keep you busy for a while. Just click here to get instant access.
Laptop Dock
Your Raspberry Pi is so small that you’ve probably wondered how you could use it on a plane or in class. Well, I’m here to tell you that with the right equipment, your Mr. Robot hacker dreams can become reality.
The CrowPi2 is a dock that turns your Pi into a laptop. The CrowPi2 adds a high-quality 11.6-inch IPS screen with Full HD 1080p resolution, a keyboard and trackpad, a camera, microphone, and stereo speakers—all built-in and ready for mobile computing.
But is the CrowPi2 merely a substitute for a Chromebook? Nope. The keyboard detaches magnetically to reveal a hidden development board. There are 22 sensors for you to experiment with hardware and programming. It’s a laptop that moonlights as the ultimate Pi learner’s kit.
Bonus tip: When I started, the hardest part wasn’t the setup, it was figuring out what to build next. I ended up creating a list of 75+ project ideas with links and difficulty, so it’s easier to just pick something and try it. Grab the list here.
Review: My CrowPi2 Raspberry Pi Laptop Review
Purchase: CrowPi2 All-in-One Raspberry Pi Laptop
(get 5% off by using the coupon code RPITIPS at checkout)
Update: The CrowPi3 is a newer version that just came out. Read my review here.
You might also like: Want to install Windows 11 on your Pi? Here's how
Uninterruptible Power Supply
You might already know that there’s more than one way to power your Raspberry Pi. But besides the official power supply or the more exotic PoE+ HAT, did you know that the Pi can run off batteries?
The SunFounder UPS stacks onto your Pi like they’re all layers of a sandwich. Pass-through technology lets you power your Pi and recharge the UPS battery pack simultaneously. If power from the wall goes out, the UPS switches your Pi to run in battery mode.
With portable power, you can take advantage of new ways to use your Pi. Run your Pi in hard-to-reach places. Charge your Pi with renewable solar, wind, or thermoelectric power. Or pool these ideas together to make a portable display with DAKboard.
Review: SunFounder PiPower: Everything You Need to Know
Purchase (Raspberry Pi 4): SunFounder PiPower UPS with Battery
Purchase (Raspberry Pi 5): SunFounder PiPower 5 UPS with Battery
Something not working? Don't waste hours going in circles. Ask in the RaspberryTips Community and get help from people who've already figured it out. Get unstuck now.
4G HAT
We’ve previously covered the best HATs for Raspberry Pi, but here’s an unusual one not found on that list. It might be just what you need for your special off-the-grid project.
The Waveshare 4G HAT connects your Pi to the same mobile networks as your smartphone, including Internet, telephony, and GPS. This HAT has low power consumption and reaches 4G LTE speeds up to 150 Mbps. Of course, you’ll need to get a SIM card with cellular service to use it.
Maybe you need to monitor a garden in a remote location or check on your wildlife camera in the jungle. With the 4G HAT, you can access the web, auto-send text messages or emails to yourself, and even track your Pi’s location using GPS coordinates.
You might also like: Don't buy a new SD card until your read this.
Purchase: Waveshare SIM7600G-H 4G HAT for Raspberry Pi
Alternate Option: Sixfab 4G/LTE Cellular Modem Kit for Raspberry Pi
Whenever you’re ready, here are other ways I can help you:
Test Your Raspberry Pi Level (Free): Not sure why everything takes so long on your Raspberry Pi? Take this free 3-minute assessment and see what’s causing the problems.
The RaspberryTips Community: Need help or want to discuss your Raspberry Pi projects with others who actually get it? Join the RaspberryTips Community and get access to private forums, exclusive lessons, and direct help.
Master your Raspberry Pi in 30 days: If you are looking for the best tips to become an expert on Raspberry Pi, this book is for you. Learn useful Linux skills and practice multiple projects with step-by-step guides.
Master Python on Raspberry Pi: Create, understand, and improve any Python script for your Raspberry Pi. Learn the essentials step-by-step without losing time understanding useless concepts.
Master Linux Commands: Overwhelmed with Linux commands? This book is your essential guide to mastering the terminal. It includes practical tips, real-world examples, and a bonus cheat sheet to keep by your side.
You can also find all my recommendations for tools and hardware on this page.
