Raspberry Pi server projects worth building
A Raspberry Pi is a cheap, quiet computer you can leave on all the time. Give it one or two light jobs and it will do them for years.
A Raspberry Pi makes a good small server for light, always-on jobs: a network ad blocker, a Tailscale exit node, a file share, Home Assistant, or a Bitcoin node on a Pi 5 with an SSD. Install Raspberry Pi OS Lite with Raspberry Pi Imager and run it without a screen. After several memory-driven price rises in 2026, a Pi 5 lists at $45 to $385 depending on RAM, so buy only the memory the project needs.
Pick the right Pi
Raspberry Pi has raised prices several times since December 2025, blaming the cost of memory, and the November 2026 product brief lists the Pi 5 prices below. The Zero 2 W and the 1 GB Pi 4 have kept their prices. The company says the situation is temporary and that it plans to reverse the increases when memory costs fall.
| Model | RAM | List price | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W | 512 MB | $15 | Pi-hole on Wi-Fi; no Ethernet port |
| Raspberry Pi 4 | 1 GB | $35 | Exit node, ad blocker |
| Raspberry Pi 5 | 1 GB | $45 | Exit node, ad blocker, small file share |
| Raspberry Pi 5 | 2 GB | $77.50 | Home Assistant OS (2 GB minimum) |
| Raspberry Pi 5 | 4 GB | $110 | Several light services at once |
| Raspberry Pi 5 | 8 GB | $175 | A Bitcoin node with umbrelOS |
| Raspberry Pi 5 | 16 GB | $385 | Hard to justify for server work at this price |
Budget for the parts around it. The Pi 5 takes 5V/5A power over USB-C, and NVMe storage needs an M.2 HAT+ adapter, which accepts 2230 and 2242 size drives. Raspberry Pi tells customers not to pay for memory they don't need, and says its Approved Resellers sell at its official prices.
Best OS for a Raspberry Pi server
For most projects, use Raspberry Pi OS Lite, the official, free OS without a desktop, which Raspberry Pi describes as useful for headless servers. It is based on Debian, so most Linux server guides work on it. Install it with Raspberry Pi Imager on another computer, and set your login and SSH access in Imager before you write the card, so you never need a monitor.
Some projects bring their own OS instead. Home Assistant OS runs on the Pi 4 and Pi 5. umbrelOS runs on the Pi 5, which Umbrel recommends, and the Pi 4, from a microSD card of 32 GB or more. A USB drive, ideally an SSD, adds storage. StartOS 0.4 supports the Pi 4 only, flashed straight to its microSD card. RaspiBlitz, a Bitcoin and Lightning node OS, runs on the Pi 4 and Pi 5.
Raspberry Pi server ideas
| Project | What it does | Pi you need |
|---|---|---|
| Network ad blocker | Pi-hole or AdGuard Home blocks ads for every device on your Wi-Fi | Any, 512 MB is enough |
| Tailscale exit node | Sends your phone's traffic home when you are on hotel or cafe Wi-Fi | Any Pi 4 or Pi 5 |
| File server | Samba shares a folder or USB drive with Windows, Mac, and Linux | Pi 4 or Pi 5 with a USB 3 drive |
| Smart home hub | Home Assistant runs your devices locally | Pi 4 or Pi 5, 2 GB or more |
| Web server | Apache serves web pages from your desk | Any |
| Media server | Jellyfin streams your library, direct play only | Pi 4 or Pi 5 |
| Bitcoin node | Verifies your own transactions | Pi 5 with 8 GB and a 2 TB SSD |
Guides for the bigger ones: Pi-hole vs AdGuard Home, Home Assistant, and Jellyfin vs Plex. For media, Jellyfin has deprecated hardware transcoding on the Pi, and the Pi 5 has no hardware video encoder, so a Pi works only when your devices can play the files as they are.
Setting up a Raspberry Pi as a Tailscale exit node
With the exit node switched on, a phone on public Wi-Fi sends its traffic through the Pi, so it reaches the internet from your house instead of the cafe's network. Tailscale says exit nodes are available on all its plans.
- 1Install Raspberry Pi OS Lite and connect the Pi to your router with Ethernet.
- 2Install Tailscale on the Pi with Tailscale's Linux install guide and sign in.
- 3Turn on IP forwarding, which the exit node will not work without, and advertise the Pi as an exit node. For the current commands, follow Tailscale's exit node guide.
- 4Approve the exit node in the Tailscale admin console.
- 5On your phone or laptop, pick the Pi as the exit node in the Tailscale app. Turn it off the same way when you are home.
Setting up a Raspberry Pi as a file server
- 1Install Samba on the Pi. Raspberry Pi OS does not include it by default.
- 2Create the folder to share, or mount a USB drive for more space.
- 3Give your user a Samba password and add a share for the folder. For the current commands, follow Raspberry Pi's Samba guide.
- 4Connect from Windows or a Mac and sign in with your Pi username and your Samba password.
A USB drive on a Pi is not a backup. Keep a second copy of anything that matters somewhere else.
Can a Raspberry Pi run a full Bitcoin node?
Yes, with the right parts. The Pi's CPU copes, and the limit is the blockchain's size. The electrs docs measured the Bitcoin Core blocks folder at about 800 GB in July 2026, and it keeps growing, so a 1 TB drive is already tight. Put the blockchain on a 2 TB SSD rather than a microSD card or a spinning hard drive.
Your OS choice decides the Pi: umbrelOS and RaspiBlitz run on a Pi 5 or Pi 4, and StartOS 0.4 runs only on a Pi 4. umbrelOS boots from a microSD card with a USB drive added for storage, and Umbrel lets you move supported apps onto that drive. Price the whole kit before you buy: a Pi 5 with 8 GB, a 2 TB SSD (USB, or NVMe on an M.2 HAT+), a power supply, and a case, and compare that total with a mini PC, which has more room to grow. My node guide and the node rankings compare both routes.
A node is the one project on this list that protects your bitcoin directly. With your own node, your wallet can check balances and broadcast transactions without asking a public server, which would otherwise see every address you look up.
Frequently asked questions
What can I do with a Raspberry Pi server?
Light, always-on jobs: block ads for your whole network with Pi-hole, route your phone's traffic home with a Tailscale exit node, share files with Samba, run Home Assistant, serve a website, stream media with Jellyfin, or run a Bitcoin node on a Pi 5 with an SSD.
What is the best OS for a Raspberry Pi server?
Raspberry Pi OS Lite, the official desktop-free edition, which Raspberry Pi describes as useful for headless servers. Use a dedicated OS when the project calls for it, such as Home Assistant OS or umbrelOS.
How much does a Raspberry Pi 5 cost?
As of November 2026 the list prices are $45 for 1 GB, $77.50 for 2 GB, $110 for 4 GB, $175 for 8 GB, and $385 for 16 GB. Raspberry Pi raised several of these during 2026 because of memory costs.
How do I set up a Raspberry Pi as a media server?
Install Raspberry Pi OS Lite, install Jellyfin, and point it at your media on a USB drive. Make sure your TVs and phones can play your files directly, because the Pi 5 has no hardware video encoder and Jellyfin has deprecated hardware transcoding on the Pi.
Can a Raspberry Pi run a Bitcoin node?
Yes. A Pi 5 with 8 GB of RAM and a 2 TB SSD can run umbrelOS or RaspiBlitz with Bitcoin Core. StartOS 0.4 runs on the Pi 4 only. Skip microSD for the blockchain.