Which Raspberry Pi Device Is the Best for Pi-hole?

Pi-hole is a DNS blocker that protects your devices from unwanted ads, analytics, malware, and other content. When your devices try resolving a new domain name (e.g., analytics.google.com), Pi-hole blocks the undesirable domain while allowing others to be resolved successfully.

Pi-hole was made to run on low-end hardware. There are many options out there, but I'll help you find the best one for your needs. First off, let's go over the system requirements for running Pi-hole.

• At least 512 MB of RAM
• 4 GB microSD card
• Raspberry Pi OS or another officially supported operating system

Pi-hole will work when your Raspberry Pi is connected to either Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Ethernet may provide a slightly faster response time and a more stable connection than Wi-Fi. However, you most likely won't notice much of a difference between the two.

While a 4 GB microSD card works fine, a 32 GB microSD card is recommended since there's not much price difference. A larger microSD card would allow you to repurpose the Raspberry Pi in the future or use it for multiple tasks.

I recommend the SanDisk Extreme Pro 32 GB SDHC Memory Card on Amazon if you don't already have one and aren't getting one in a kit.

Choosing the best Raspberry Pi for Pi-hole depends on what appeals to you most and how much flexibility you want for other projects. Read through the descriptions of each to see what best fits your needs.

The Raspberry Pi 4 Model B is great if you want something faster with more flexibility than the Raspberry Pi Zero W. This Raspberry Pi requires some assembly, so if you want the experience of putting it together, it's a good choice. Plus, it's easier to customize if you're going to modify it later.

• Raspberry Pi 4 Model B specs:
  • 1.5 GHz quad-core 64-bit processor
  • 4 GB RAM
  • Supports dual-band (2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz) Wi-Fi
  • Bluetooth 5.0
  • Gigabit Ethernet port
  • Two USB 3.0 ports and two USB 2.0 ports
  • 40-pin GPIO port
  • Two micro-HDMI ports (supports 4k resolution)
• The Raspberry Pi 4 Model B kit comes with a black case, cooling fan, heat sinks, power supply, a 64 GB microSD card, and micro HDMI cable adapter.
• Find the GeeekPi Raspberry Pi 4 8 GB Starter Kit on Amazon

The Raspberry Pi Zero W is the lowest-cost and smallest kit option. It has a slower processor along with less RAM than the other two. This Raspberry Pi will still work for Pi-hole, though. It just may not have as much flexibility included when compared with the others.

• Raspberry Pi Zero W specs:
  • 1 GHz single-core processor
  • 512MB RAM
  • Supports dual-band (2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz) Wi-Fi
  • Bluetooth 4.1
  • No Ethernet port
  • One micro-HDMI port (720p resolution or below recommended)
  • One micro USB port
  • 40-pin GPIO port
• The Raspberry Pi Zero W Starter Kit comes with a black case (3 interchangeable covers), USB OTG adapter, mini HDMI adapter, heat sink, camera module adapter, and power supply. SD card required!
• Raspberry Pi Zero W (Wireless) Basic Starter Kit on Amazon

Depending on your use case, this Beelink Mini S PC might be an excellent alternative to the Raspberry Pi. It's small and compact, yet even more powerful. If you still want to use Pi OS, you can install it on this mini PC by following these instructions.

• Beelink Mini S specs:
  • 2.9 GHz four-core processor
  • 8 GB DDR4 RAM
  • Supports dual-band (2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz) Wi-Fi
  • Bluetooth 4.0
  • Ethernet port
  • Two HDMI ports that support 4K 60 Hz
  • Four USB 3.0 ports
  • NO GPIO port
  • Only the mini PC is in the box, so you'll need the usual PC accessories.
• Beelink Mini S Mini PC with N5095 CPU on Amazon