The Raspberry Pi 400 is the most underrated Raspberry Pi ever made

Published Nov 7, 2026, 3:30 PM EST After a 7-year corporate stint, Tanveer found his love for writing and tech too much to resist. An MBA in Marketing and the owner of a PC building business, he writes on PC hardware, technology, and Windows. When not scouring the web for ideas, he can be found building PCs, watching anime, or playing Smash Karts on his RTX 3080 (sigh). If you ask most makers about their favorite Raspberry Pi, you'll probably hear about the Pi 5, Pico, or even the Pi Zero 2 W. The Raspberry Pi 400, despite being an SBC built into a keyboard, rarely gets a mention. Perhaps that's because its spec sheet doesn't sport anything remarkable: the same processor as the Pi 4, 4GB RAM, and a few ports. That said, what it can do deserves way more attention than the specs. The Raspberry Pi 400 was the first-ever Pi that was also a fully functional keyboard. It not only removed a lot of the friction beginners face around setting up their first Raspberry Pi, but also did so without being expensive. And despite introducing a new form factor for makers, it didn't sacrifice anything that stopped the Pi 400 from being a more-than-capable SBC. It made the Raspberry Pi more accessible than ever Eliminating the friction Source: Raspberry Pi Most people getting started with the Raspberry Pi face a familiar roadblock: an enclosure and a keyboard to set up the board. The Raspberry Pi 400 solved exactly this problem by building the board right into a keyboard. The enclosure and keyboard problems vanished in one go, enabling beginners to just plug in a display and a mouse, and get started. There was no bare board, no case to source, and no heatsink to choose. The keyboard enclosure wasn't just a novelty; it was a working keyboard powering a lightweight desktop. The Raspberry Pi 400 had a quad-core Cortex-A72 chip (same as the Pi 4), 4GB of RAM, two micro-HDMI ports, two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0 port, Gigabit Ethernet, dual-band Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 5.0. Everything plugged into the rear — you only had a single keyboard on the desk with a few cables. Even functionality-wise, the Pi 400 wasn't just for students and coding enthusiasts. It was a solid fit for a thin client or a lightweight secondary computer. People learning Linux, running Pi-hole or Home Assistant, or retro gaming could buy a complete Raspberry Pi 400 kit and get started in no time. It was this convenience that made the Pi 400 worth investing in. The Raspberry Pi 500 and 500+ that people know today wouldn't exist without the Pi 400. It hides a lot of smarts underneath Expect almost the same Raspberry Pi you know Image Credit: Raspberry Pi The Raspberry Pi 400 brought a new way for hobbyists to execute their projects, but it still felt a lot like the old Raspberry Pi boards. It had the same quad-core processor as the Pi 4 and the GPIO header was still there, so SPI, I2C, UART, and PWM worked the same as before. The Pi 400 was a prototyping board and a desk computer at the same time. Even the construction of the keyboard enclosure was clever. It had a wraparound aluminum heat spreader acting as a heatsink, connected to the CPU with a thermal pad. This allowed excellent passive cooling without a fan, so the 1.8 GHz processor could keep running through a demanding workload without throttling. There are a few trade-offs on the board, such as no camera or display connectors, so the projects that depend on those are not in the picture. Also, it boots from a microSD card with no built-in SSD option. You can boot from an external SSD, but that needs an extra adapter. Its value is why it still deserves attention In a market that's getting crazier every month The Raspberry Pi 400 may be six years old, but it still packs in a lot of value, especially when compared against other Raspberry Pi boards. The Pi 500 and 500+ desktop kits may be more powerful, but they also cost more than double when compared to a Pi 400 kit. You can still find listings for a Raspberry Pi 400 bundled with a mouse, power supply, and pre-programmed 16GB microSD for under $90. Boards like the Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 will get you just the board for that price, with a complete kit setting you back by at least $150. Sure, the Pi 400 lacks display and camera connectors, but not everyone needs them for their first projects. And if you're a student or on a tight budget for your first SBC, a Pi 400 kit can be just what you need right now. The memory price hikes have inflated the prices of nearly every Raspberry Pi model, but the Raspberry Pi 400 remains an affordable option for hobbyists. Whether you're only after schoolwork, programming, or retro gaming, the original, all-in-one keyboard avatar of the Raspberry Pi deserves a spot on your shortlist. The Raspberry Pi 400 solved the most burning problem for new hobbyists Every Raspberry Pi had already tackled performance, functionality, and versatility, but the Raspberry Pi 400 solved usability for beginners. They no longer had to hunt for an enclosure and keyboard to get started; it was already part of the package. And even a full kit with a mouse and power supply was more affordable than alternatives. It deserves to be recognized as one of the most influential Raspberry Pi models ever made. Raspberry Pi 400 - Complete Kit