Best Raspberry Pi Accessories in 2023

An SD Card provides a home for the operating system required to bring the Pi to life, whether that’s Windows, Raspberry Pi OS, Ubuntu, OSMC, or any of the other dozen Raspberry Pi-compatible operating systems. Without an SD Card, the Raspberry Pi simply won’t work, making it the single most important accessory.

Our pick goes to the SanDisk Extreme Pro Micro SD Card because you get ample storage room, the quality guarantee from one of if not the leading SD manufacturers in the world, and a reasonable asking price.

Available in several capacities, from 64 GB to a massive 400 GB by way of 128 GB and 256 GB, the SanDisk Extreme Pro Micro SD Card soars past the basic 8 GB required to get the Pi up and running to offer more room than most projects will ever need.

Alongside, it features all the best SD Card class ratings out there: A2, V30, and U3. These class ratings ostensibly mean blisteringly fast read and write speeds (170 MB/s read and 90 MB/s write), fast loading, and superb in-app performance. Thankfully, this fancy marketing lines up to a T with real-world performance, and the SanDisk Extreme Pro Micro SD Card ensures a snappy and responsive Raspberry Pi experience.

The features don’t stop here, though. The SanDisk Extreme Pro Micro SD Card is a robust storage option with in-built temperature, water, shock, and X-Ray-proof; it can handle virtually anything you can throw its way, beneficial for outdoor Pi projects.

While not essential, finding a home for your Raspberry Pi is a wise choice if only to offer a layer of protection from accidental drops and the unavoidable accumulation of dust, but also for cooling reasons and as a means of adding an aesthetic finish to a project. The Argon ONE M.2 Case pairs a sleek, clean, and compact design with passive and active cooling and a spread of storage options rarely afforded to Pi cases.

Aside from these choice features, the Argon ONE M.2 features an SSD adapter board that can accommodate an M.2 SATA SSD to increase the storage capacity of a Raspberry Pi project. The board links to the Raspberry Pi via a nifty mini bridge converter, a smart solution that coheres nicely with the overall looks of the case.

Additionally, the Argon ONE M.2 routes the HDMI (morphing them into full HDMI), USB, and audio port on the PI to more convenient locations on the back of the case, enhancing the case’s clean, ordered look as well as vastly improving cable management. A magnetic cover grants easy access to the GPIO to connect a HAT add-on.

The Argon ONE M.2 includes passive and active cooling by using the case itself as a heat sink with protrusions sitting above the CPU and RAM on the Pi and a fan also mounted on the case. Performance is excellent, and temperatures are unrecognizable compared to those experienced with a standalone Pi.

Although most of the accessories in our guide made the cut for cost-effectiveness, we deviated somewhat with Argon ONE M.2 Case. It falls on the higher end of the pricing scale when it comes to Raspberry Pi cases. In our opinion, the compact design, great looks, excellent storage options, and robust passive and active cooling warrant every penny of the $45 asking price. It’s possible to find a more budget-friendly option, but expect some serious compromises compared to the Argon ONE M.2.

Unless you plan to pair your Raspberry Pi with a standard PC monitor, you’ll need a screen of some description. To that end, the Raspberry Pi 7″ Touch Screen is a top choice, not least because it’s made and sold by Raspberry Pi, so you get all the reassurance and guaranteed compatibility of buying directly from the masterminds behind the mini-computer itself.

As for the specifics of what you get for laying down a reasonable $65, the screen features a 7-inch full-color display that can push a maximum resolution of 800 x 480. It’s also a touch screen, for that familiar phone or tablet functionality, with 10-finger touch commands and gestures.

The Raspberry Pi 7″ Touch Screen delivers a vibrant viewing experience defined by superb color accuracy, ample brightness, and sharp images, something more budget-oriented Raspberry Pi screens fail to offer. While the resolution may seem low in this day and age of 4K monitors and TVs, the small form factor means any larger isn’t necessary and would fall firmly in the domain of overkill.

Assembly and installation are another strong point worth a mention. Thanks to an included adapter board, the screen takes care of everything from power and signal conversion to touch inputs, all via a simple two GPIO pin connection to the Raspberry Pi. Additionally, the screen includes pre-fixed mounts to install the Raspberry Pi easily.

The only real criticism we can muster up is that the Raspberry Pi 7″ Touch Screen doesn’t ship with a stand or case, so expect to fashion one yourself or purchase one from a third party.

Anyone who’s dabbled with the Raspberry Pi is well aware that the mini-computer can quickly reach substantial temperatures, especially the Pi 4, even under reasonably modest usage, let alone overclocking or prolonged loads. Therefore, a fan and heatsinks fit for purpose are vital. Not only does a solid cooling solution help you avoid thermal throttling, but it also extends the lifespan of the Raspberry Pi. The GeeekPi Raspberry Pi RGB Fan delivers some of the best Pi cooling performance, dropping temperatures by almost half compared to running the Pi as is.

Borrowing the PC-style tower fan and heatsink combo so often found in full-fat PCs, the GeeekPi Raspberry Pi RGB Fan marries a single-stack finned heat sink with 5 mm copper tubing running through the CPU block and a 40 mm fan. The fan features an LED that cycles through several colors to add a bit of PC-style RGB flair to any Raspberry Pi project. The combo is designed to sit directly above the Pi’s CPU – the part most in need of a helping hand to dissipate heat.

Despite its unconventional design by Raspberry Pi standards, the GeeekPi Raspberry Pi RGB Fan is easy to install thanks to an included mounting bracket, standoffs, nuts, screws, thermal tape, and other accessories. Additionally, the GeeekPi Raspberry Pi RGB can source sufficient power directly from the Raspberry Pi, canceling out the need for an additional power supply or power source. With good compatibility baked in, the unit is designed to sit happily on the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+, and the latest Raspberry Pi 4 Model B.

The GeeekPi Raspberry Pi RGB Fan’s large profile, which measures roughly 40 mm from CPU block to the top of the fan, excludes the use of standard-sized cases, so bear this in mind when planning for a project.

The Raspberry Pi’s GPIO pins are the gateway to a dizzying array of add-ons (called HATs, or ‘hardware attached on top’ in Raspberry Pi jargon), from breadboards to LEDs through to motors, buttons, and sensors. The GPIO is the centerpiece of any Raspberry Pi project that pushes beyond the basic functionality of the board itself. But, even a basic project can occupy the entire GPIO with a single HAT, requiring the need for an extension board that effectively multiplies the number of pins. As such, an extension board such as the Pastall Raspberry Pi GPIO Extension Board is a crucial addition to any experimentally-minded maker’s arsenal of Raspberry Pi accessories.

Plugged into the Raspberry Pi’s GPIO, the Pastall Raspberry Pi GPIO Extension Board extends the number of accessible pins by three, allowing for up to three full-sized HATs. Each of the pin rows is clearly labeled, an excellent convenience touch that can significantly simplify attaching individual pins for complex projects.

The Pastall Raspberry Pi GPIO Extension Board is designed to pair equally well with all full-sized Raspberry Pi models from the original Raspberry Pi 1 all the way to the most recent Raspberry Pi 4, making it a versatile option whichever generation of the Pi you are working with for your project.

The Pastall Raspberry Pi GPIO Extension Board mounts via the four standoff slots on the Pi itself and sits no higher than the USB and Ethernet ports on the back of the board. This setup can limit fan placement somewhat, the only real complaint we can throw at the Pastall Raspberry Pi GPIO Extension Board, although there is more than enough space to have heatsinks on the Pi’s core parts.