The Raspberry Pi is an astonishing pocket-sized innovation, designed as a method of encouraging the younger generation to learn some aspects of computing science, programming specifically. Due to its low price and portable design, the Raspberry Pi opens up the opportunity of a wide range of uses from designing your own tiny AI program to the complete automation of your home, it can do everything! It needs a display to be attached to it to be used as a portable tablet PC.
So you might be wondering what is the Best monitor for Raspberry Pi with a lot of options to choose from, the decision can be quite daunting to make. If you have been looking at some raspberry pi tutorials online and now have decided to get involved yourself, you need to explore a number of things before you dig into it.
What is Raspberry Pi?
The well known Raspberry Pi is a credit card sized low-cost computer that was designed as a method of learning for the younger generation about the aspects of computing sciences, involving programming (python, etc). It is a tiny PC that is a favorite of professional hobbyists and due to its low price and portable design, it opens up the opportunity of a wide range of uses from writing a simple task program in python, to complete automation of your house using this simple device!
How do I connect my Raspberry Pi to a monitor using HDMI?
There are total following 3 ways you can use to connect your Raspberry Pi with a display monitor:
- The obvious one is the HDMI. Every modern monitor comes with a built-in HDMI input port which you can connect to the HDMI output port on the Raspberry Pi via an HDMI cable.
- The second option you have is VGA. For those monitors which don’t have an HDMI input port, you can use an HDMI to VGA converter to connect with the monitor.
- RCA: This one is only available for the first model generations A and B of the Raspberry Pi.
Buying Guide for Raspberry Pi monitor
In order to use your Raspberry Pi as a content viewer, you need to attach a display monitor to it, as it does not come with one. The following are the requirements for a monitor to be able to be connected to your Raspberry Pi:
- An HDMI Port: This is the easiest method you can use for your monitor to connect with the Raspberry Pi. The monitor should have an HDMI input port, which is available in almost all the monitors available today.
- Portability: Although the Pi can be connected to any bigger display monitor using HDMI, the whole purpose of the Raspberry Pi is portability. Thus, you should look for smaller, more portable options for best monitors for Raspberry Pi.
- Pi mounting: In order to be completely portable, the monitor should have the mounting option available for the Raspberry Pi which is specifically built for it. There are certain options available, but it’s not an absolute requirement. You can always use a Raspberry Pi case instead.
You can also check: Best Curved Monitors Under 300$
Best Monitors for Raspberry Pi – Top Picks
After extensive research all over the internet, reading articles and reviewing products, we have come to a comprehensive list for the Top 9 best monitors for Raspberry Pi. The list is as follow:
No. | Products | Rating | Price |
1 | Eviciv Touch Screen Monitor Editor's Choice | ||
2 | Raspberry Pi Touch Screen | ||
3 | Loncevon Small HDMI Monitor | ||
4 | UPERFECT 4K | ||
5 | Waveshare Game HAT | ||
6 | Juvtmall 7 inch display | ||
7 | SunFounder 10.1 Inch Monitor | ||
8 | Longruner Touch Screen Monitor | ||
9 | Gechic 1102E Portable Monitor |
Editor’s choice
If you are in a hurry or if you can’t come to a conclusion and want to avoid the hassle of going through the reviews of each product, then our top pick and recommendation for you for the best monitor for Raspberry Pi is Eviciv touchscreen 7 inch monitor. It is a cheap touch screen 7 inches display monitor and amazon choice product for the Raspberry Pi 4.
1. Eviciv touch screen 7 inch monitor
This 7 inch monitor display by Eviciv is the best touch screen monitor for Raspberry Pi 4 on amazon. It is equipped with an IPS 1 024 x 600 resolution HD display. With a viewing angle of 178 degrees and a 4:3 / 16:9 display format makes it ideal for viewing of any project you are working on. Regarding the touch screen of this monitor, it has one of the most astonishing sensitivities capacitive technology and multi-touch capability which you will ever find on a 7 inch display of this size.
It is powered using a USB and gives an option of HDMI input port. Without any further software requirement, not only can you use it with your Raspberry Pi of any generation, but this monitor can also be used with Windows 7/8/10 desktop, Apple Mac, Microsoft TV, any Video game console like Nintendo Switch/XBOX One and PS4. Other devices or OS including NOOBS, Debian and Ubuntu can also work seamlessly with this monitor. With its mount feature, you can easily mount your Raspberry Pi on its back while it sits on its stand.
2. Raspberry Pi 7″ Touch Screen Display
This is the official 7 inches display for the Raspberry Pi which is being sold by the Raspberry Pi company itself. The list of our best monitors for Raspberry Pi could not be completed without mentioning the official display for it. It is an LCD 7 inches portable display for the Raspberry Pi. This display gives the users ability to produce integrated projects in the form of tablets and infotainment operating systems. The resolution of this display is 800 x 480. It is connected with the help of an adapter board for signal and power conversion so you don’t need to worry about any extra management.
An easy to install setup, it requires only two connections to the Pi; the power from Raspberry Pi’s GPIO output port and the second connection is a ribbon cable which connects to the DSI port on the Pi (except the earliest models). This branded display by Raspberry Pi is able to detect a 10 fingers touch at a time with its drivers! An on screen keyboard will automatically appear so you will not have to use a physical keyboard every time.
3. Loncevon- 7 inch Small HDMI Monitor
On the third place of our list for best monitors for Raspberry Pi, this portable 7 inches small HDMI monitor by Loncevon takes its place. This is a high definition IPS enabled screen display. The resolution of this small monitor is 1024 x 600, which is great for such a small display. It comes with an adjustable stand and front facing speakers. This small screen for Raspberry Pi is highly versatile in its use, thanks to its HDMI and VGA input display ports.
Thus, these monitors can not only be used as a display for the Raspberry Pi, but it can also be used for CCTV security monitor, a ROKU TV monitor, a second visual monitor in a recording studio, a small server screen or even for gaming consoles. The package it comes in includes its own remote control and AV cable.
4. UPERFECT 4K Computer Monitor
This 15.6 inches computer monitor by UPERFECT is by far the most equipped monitor in our list of best monitors for Raspberry Pi, resolution wise. It is a 4K, 15.6 inches display monitor that is why it is a bit costly. Although you don’t need a 4K display for the Raspberry Pi, it will look extraordinarily good for your projects. Some might say it is an overkill for the Raspberry Pi, but if you have other devices and uses for a display in your home, this monitor by UPERFECT is definitely worth it.
It is equipped with a 3-in-1 USB-C power and signals transmission USB port. It has the most connectivity options of all the aforementioned monitors with outputs like VGA, DVI, thunderbolt 3.0 for PC, HDMI and USB 3.1 ports. It is a great way to increase productivity; it comes with 3 modes built-in; Duplicate mode, Extend mode and second screen only mode, absolutely perfect for your DIY projects.
More than just a screen, this Waveshare Game HAT for Raspberry Pi comes on the fifth place in our list of best monitors for Raspberry Pi. This Waveshare the display turns your Raspberry Pi into a PSP-look alike gaming portable device that will hit some old memories for you. It has a very small 3.5 inches display but with a resolution of 480 x 320 along with 60 frames per second of smooth gaming experience without missing a single frame.
It is equipped with eight different PlayStation-styled buttons with a joystick to kick in some retro gaming experience. It is a truly portable device that is powered by battery, so you can enjoy your games anywhere anytime. It has built-in speakers and an earphone input port for audio also a battery capacity indicator to let you know whenever the battery is down.
6. Juvtmall 7 inch Raspberry Pi display
This backlit display is a 7 inches astonishing screen for the Raspberry Pi. What makes this specific monitor unique is that it is a capacitive touch display. The advantage of a capacitive touch over a resistive touch is that it is more stable and sensitive than the resistive touch so you won’t feel like you are forcefully pressing the touchscreen of an old Nokia. It has a fairly fast response time. It has a fairly good resolution of around 1024 x 600. So you can expect a clear image on the display. The bezel less design of this small monitor for raspberry pi makes it look like a seamless piece of tech.
Speaking of compatibility with the Raspberry Pi, it can work with Raspbian, Ubuntu, Kodi, Win10 IoT etc. It has 3 different interface options. The first one being the HDMI connectivity, to transfer display and voice form the Raspberry Pi. The other two are two separate Micro USBs. An Extra Micro USB slot is provided so that if the power from the single Micro USB is not sufficient, you can power up the display using both Micro USBs.
7. SunFounder 10.1 Inch HDMI Monitor
A slightly larger screen than our previous mention, this is the SunFounder 10.1 Inch Raspberry Pi display screen. The distinguishing feature in this Raspberry Pi monitor is that it is an IPS panel LCD display. The IPS technology makes it much more color accurate and the image quality is improved majorly. A very sharp resolution of 1280 x 800 on such a display promises the sharpest picture quality.
The screen ratio of this monitor is 16:10. Although it doesn’t feel like with the view of it, the IPS screen gives it a very wide viewing angle of 178 degrees which you may think is an overkill for such a small screen. But the visual differences are astonishing as you are able to see the same picture quality from different viewing angles.
For the connectivity options, you get an HDMI input port, which you will use to connect to your Raspberry Pi. A VGA input port, so you can connect this monitor display with your laptop too. And the built-in speakers are of very fine quality. If you notice closely, there is a small hook on the top of it. It is a camera stand that you can use for various purposes with your Raspberry Pi.
8. Longruner 7 inch Touch Screen with Case Holder
The next monitor display on our list of best monitors for Raspberry Pi is the Longrunner Raspberry Pi with Case Holder. A long runner makes two different variants of this 7 inches monitor for the raspberry pi. The variant we are reviewing is the one that comes with the case included in the package. If you have a proprietary case for your Raspberry Pi, you should have some type of protection for your Display screen too.
It is a 7 inch display screen with a single touch functionality for Raspberry Pi which is compatible with Raspbian, Ubuntu, Windows 10 IoT Single-Touch, Free drive using the standard HID protocol. It has a capacitive touch which only works for Raspberry Pi and the Windows OS ( Win10). For the raspberry pi, the touch screen supports single-touch functionality.
The screen resolution on this version is drastically improved from its predecessor. It features a 7 inch screen with 1024 x 800 resolution. This LCD tablet display also has a vertical and horizontal image flip function, which makes it unique and very ergonomic to use in the day to day life for your projects on the Raspberry Pi. It also supports a USB power supply, so in case you need some extra power you can plug in a USB power source into it.
9. Gechic 1102E 11.6 inch Portable monitor
It is among the largest portable displays on our list for the Raspberry Pi. This monitor by Gechic features an 11.6 inches display with 1080p resolution. It has a very compact, sleek yet very functional design. It is a great blend between larger screens and smaller portable screens. The thickness of merely 1.1 cm is what adds to the aesthetics of this monitor. But the looks really don’t matter here, features do. And this monitor is equipped with them too.
This monitor by Gechic supports 13.7 million colors and a brightness of 300 nits. This means that it’ll be of no problem if you use this monitor in bright daylight as it will be bright enough to be clearly visible and the color experience will still be outstanding.
This monitor also comes with a cover case with it which allows it to have 40 to 80 degrees viewing angle variations and also supports vertical and horizontal screen views. For the connectivity options, it has the standard HDMI input along with VGA. And for cable management, the cables are on the rear side of the monitor so they can be hidden.
FAQs & Interesting Facts
What operating system can run on Raspberry Pi?
You will be surprised to know that this tiny machine is capable of running the following Operating systems on it:
- The official Raspbian OS
- Snappy Ubuntu Core/ Ubuntu Mate
- Kodi-based media centres OSMC & LibreElec
- Non-Linux Risc OS
- Windows 1 0 IoT core (unlike the desktop version)
- It can also run android apps with a bit of a twist
Can a tablet be used as a Raspberry Pi monitor?
The simpler answer is: YES! If you don’t have a suitable display especially set up for your raspberry, you have the option of using your Android tablet or phone as the Raspberry Pi monitor . It might not be the best monitor for Raspberry Pi, but it works. Unfortunately, there is no direct method for connecting both
devices via cables only Like HDMI. But fortunately, there are other two easy methods you can use which are via RDP and VNC. For further guidance, you can check out here.
What projects can you do with a Raspberry Pi touchscreen?
You might think the Raspberry Pi can simply be used with a standard screen and having a touch display adds no advantage to it. Well, there are plenty of projects and tasks you can perform on the Raspberry Pi using the touchscreen. A few fun examples are:
- A custom bench computer for home automation.
- Raspberry Pi touchscreen Photobooth with a webcam. Sounds fun, right?
- Star wars style touch control panel for your smart home.
- A Raspberry Pi portable touch tablet for kids.
Conclusion
We hope that this guide has helped you in finding the best monitor for Raspberry Pi. While purchasing one, just remember to keep in mind all the requirements we discussed earlier. If you have any queries left, feel free to ask in the comments.