There is no reliable universal electricity-cost winner between a used laptop and a Raspberry Pi for a 24/7 YouTube stream. The result depends on each complete setup’s measured power draw while streaming, your electricity tariff, and whether the hardware can encode and maintain the stream reliably. Measure both at the wall doing the same job, then calculate the cost from your own kWh rate.
What the published power figures can—and cannot—tell you
Raspberry Pi’s official hardware documentation lists typical active current for the bare board: 600 mA for Raspberry Pi 4 Model B and 800 mA for Raspberry Pi 5. At a nominal 5 V, those convert roughly to 3 W and 4 W, respectively. These are board-level figures, not measurements of a complete system encoding and sending a continuous stream. The Pi’s peripherals also affect current. Raspberry Pi hardware documentation
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Power-supply ratings are not consumption figures. Raspberry Pi recommends a 5 V, 3 A supply for Pi 4 and a 5 V, 5 A supply for Pi 5; those describe the recommended supply capacity, not a constant draw from the wall. Raspberry Pi setup documentation
Raspberry Pi’s 2023 Pi 5 announcement says peak power can reach around 12 W under intensive workloads, compared with 8 W for Pi 4. Those are peaks, not 24/7 averages. It also says Pi 5 uses less power than Pi 4 on an identical workload—a reminder that the result depends on what the device is doing. Raspberry Pi 5 announcement
#1 Best Overall
- Includes Raspberry Pi 5 with 2.4Ghz 64-bit quad-core CPU (8GB RAM)
- Includes 128GB Micro SD Card pre-loaded with 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS, USB MicroSD Card Reader
- CanaKit Turbine Black Case for the Raspberry Pi 5
- CanaKit Low Noise Bearing System Fan
- Mega Heat Sink - Black Anodized
These figures do not establish how a used laptop compares. No matched wall-power measurements for a laptop and Pi running the same stream are available here, so comparing a Pi’s bare-board figure with a laptop’s wall reading would be misleading.
Measure both setups under the same streaming workload
Use a plug-in electricity usage meter to measure each complete system at the wall while it is actually streaming. Record the meter’s watts after the setup is running steadily. Include what you will really use: power supply, storage, cooling, attached capture hardware, and whether the laptop display stays on or is switched off. Do not compare a laptop at idle with a Pi actively encoding.
Rank #2
- Includes Raspberry Pi 4 4GB Model B with 1.5GHz 64-bit quad-core CPU (4GB RAM)
- Includes Pre-Loaded 32GB EVO+ Micro SD Card (Class 10), USB MicroSD Card Reader
- CanaKit Premium High-Gloss Raspberry Pi 4 Case with Integrated Fan Mount, CanaKit Low Noise Bearing System Fan
- CanaKit 3.5A USB-C Raspberry Pi 4 Power Supply (US Plug) with Noise Filter, Set of Heat Sinks, Display Cable - 6 foot (Supports up to 4K60p)
- CanaKit USB-C PiSwitch (On/Off Power Switch for Raspberry Pi 4)
- Choose the same stream target. Use the same resolution, frame rate, codec, bitrate, and stream content on both devices. If one setup must use lower settings or drops frames, note that; it is not a like-for-like performance result.
- Check YouTube’s encoder guidance. YouTube supports RTMP/RTMPS live input with H.264, H.265/HEVC, or AV1, and frame rates up to 60 fps. It recommends constant bitrate encoding and a two-second keyframe interval, which should not exceed four seconds. YouTube live encoder settings
- Use a target from the right codec column. For H.264, YouTube’s recommended bitrate examples include 5 Mbps for 720p30, 8 Mbps for 720p60, 5 Mbps for 1080p30, and a range from a 6 Mbps minimum to 17 Mbps recommended for 1080p60. Do not mix bitrate recommendations across codec columns; select the applicable target in YouTube’s current settings table.
- Measure over a representative period. Let each machine perform the actual continuous-stream task rather than relying on a brief boot or idle reading. Record the watt reading and any interruptions or quality compromises.
YouTube says the stream’s total bitrate must fit within available upload bandwidth and recommends leaving 20% headroom. Test before going live and monitor stream health. A device that draws slightly less power may not be the better choice if it cannot sustain the chosen encoder settings or your connection cannot reliably carry the stream. YouTube streaming tips
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Use the measured whole-system watts and the price per kWh on your electricity bill:
Rank #3
- Not including the Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB), the Crowpi advanced version comes with the Raspberry Pi 5
- ELECROW Black Case for the Raspberry Pi 5, CrowPi is equipped with a 9-inch HD touchscreen along with a camera; All the regular components used in DIY electronics are packed into the CrowPi development board, such as LCD, LED matrix, buzzer, light sensor, PIR sensor, ultrasonic sensor, IR sensor, etc
- Raspberry Pi Sensors: The Crowpi raspberry pi 5 programming kit is jam-packed with lots of buttons such as 19 different sensors in a tidy easy to use package; You don't have to wait and wire things
- Build Quality: Solid ABS shell and well made components in one place make it strong and convenient to travel
- Programming Lessons: This raspberry pi 5 learning kit ships with step by step instructions and provides 21 lessons to take you through identifying components reading code and running it in the terminal
- Energy (kWh) = measured watts × operating hours ÷ 1,000.
- Electricity cost = energy (kWh) × your actual price per kWh.
For a full uninterrupted non-leap year, use 8,760 hours. For a shorter period, use the number of hours you expect to run the stream. The annual calculation is therefore: measured watts × 8,760 ÷ 1,000 × your price per kWh. There is no single tariff suitable for every reader, so enter the rate and currency from your own bill.
For example, if your meter reads 10 W, the arithmetic is 10 × 8,760 ÷ 1,000 = 87.6 kWh for a full non-leap year. Multiply 87.6 by your local per-kWh rate to get the electricity cost. This is an illustration of the formula, not a claim about typical laptop or Pi consumption.
Rank #4
- Fully assembled for plug-and-play operation
- Includes Raspberry Pi 5 with 8GB RAM
- 256 GB PCIe Pi NVMe SSD (Pre-loaded with Pi 64-Bit OS)
- M.2 HAT+
- CanaKit Turbine Black Case for the Pi 5
Compare more than the electricity bill
The fair comparison is not just “Pi watts versus laptop watts.” Use the same stream settings and compare measured wall power, your tariff, and expected operating hours. Then consider whether each device has enough encoding headroom to deliver a stable stream. The laptop’s display state and peripherals, or the Pi’s power supply, storage, and cooling, can change the whole-system result.
If you also want to compare the cost of buying or setting up hardware, account for those costs separately. The power figures above do not establish purchase payback, because they do not supply matched stream measurements or device prices. A Raspberry Pi board listing alone is not a complete streaming setup; check current availability and exactly what a particular bundle includes.
Best Value
- 【What you Get】You will get 1*Pi 5 8GB Single Board,1*RasTech Case,1*Active Cooler,1*Screwdriver,1*Installation instructions,12-month free warranty, lifetime service, 24-hour prompt and friendly response.
- 【More Connectors】There are two USB 3.0 ports(5Gbps simultaneously) and two USB 2.0 ports, which triple total bandwidth ,support any combination of up to two cameras or displays. Peak SD card performance is doubled through support for the SDR104 high-speed mode. It provides a smooth desktop experience for you. Offer Gigabit Ethernet and a PCIe interface, along with dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0/BLE wireless capability. The RasTech Pi 5 Kit use the new 27W 5.1V 5A USB-C power connector.
- 【 Support Dual 4Kp60 Display 】Each of the two microHDMI sockets can control a 4K display at 60 Hertz, now support HDR, offering super HD video for media streaming projects. RPi 5 is the first RPi model that comes with a PCI Express port (PCIe 2.0 x1 with 500 MB/s) to attach SSDs (requires separate M.2 HAT).
- 【 Excellent Chips And Applications】Pi 5 is a full-size Pi computer using silicon built in-house at Pi. The RP1 “southbridge” provides the bulk of the I/O capabilities for Pi 5. Pi 5 is more friendly and convenient in the development of Internet of Things, Web development, machine identification, automatic control and other electronic equipment applications and network.
- 【 Faster CPU, Better GPU 】 Pi 5 features a Broadcom BCM2712 64-bit quad-core Arm Cortex-A76 processor running at 2.4GHz, it delivers a 2–3× increase in CPU performance relative to RaspberryPi 4. The 800MHz VideoCore VII GPU is compatible to OpenGL ES 3.1 and Vulkan 1.2, substantial uplift in graphics performance. Pi 5 Offers lightning-fast CPU speed, a PCI Express interface, a Real Time Clock (RTC) and a power button and runs significantly cooler than Pi 4.
Make sure the channel and stream are ready
YouTube’s live-streaming guidance says a channel must be verified and must not have had live-streaming restrictions in the past 90 days. The platform describes separate mobile, webcam, and encoder routes; a computer-based always-on stream uses an encoder route. Check your channel’s current eligibility before building the setup. YouTube live-streaming eligibility
Use content you have the rights to stream. A stream running continuously does not change copyright obligations, and YouTube’s live-stream rules and channel policies still apply. If your stream uses third-party music, footage, or other material, verify the permissions and applicable platform requirements before going live.
Or let it run in the cloud
If your goal is an always-on YouTube stream rather than operating a computer at home, StreamNeo runs uploaded videos or playlists from the cloud. Upload your recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key once, and go live. The computer at home can be off. StreamNeo streams the video as uploaded, up to 4K 60fps, at one flat price per slot, and automatically recovers if YouTube drops the stream. The first day is free with no card required. Monthly service is $9.99 per month.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many hours are in a full non-leap year?
8,760 hours of uninterrupted operation.
Does YouTube require a two-second keyframe interval?
YouTube recommends a two-second interval and says not to exceed four seconds.
Quick Recap
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