Interface (DSI / HDMI / GPIO)

DSI is cleanest but full-size-Pi only; HDMI works with almost any board or PC; GPIO/SPI is most compact but slow. Match this to your board first — it decides everything else.

Touch Type

Capacitive is smooth, multi-touch and finger-friendly — ideal for GUIs and kiosks. Resistive needs a firmer press or stylus but works with gloves and is great for precise industrial input.

Size & Resolution

More pixels beat more inches. 1024×600 (7″) or 1280×800 (10″) give a usable desktop; 800×480 suits dashboards; 480×320 (3.5″) is for status screens, not daily driving.

Power & Cabling

DSI panels sip power from the GPIO. HDMI panels need a separate 5V feed — the best ones (SunFounder TS-10) even power the Pi back over USB-C, so one brick runs the whole thing.

Driver-Free & Mounting

“Driver-free / plug-and-play” panels save hours of config file edits. Also check for VESA-style rear slots, stands and a case so the finished build actually stands up on your desk.

Raspberry Pi Touch Display 2

⭐ 4.8/5 · The official screen, done right

The Raspberry Pi Touch Display 2 is the screen we hand to anyone who just wants it to work. It connects with two links — power from the GPIO and a DSI ribbon — and Raspberry Pi OS ships the drivers built-in, complete with five-finger touch and an on-screen keyboard. The tall 720×1280 IPS panel is noticeably sharper than the old 800×480 official display, the anti-glare surface is easy on the eyes, and it comes in both 5″ and 7″ sizes. For tablets, dashboards and any polished portrait project, nothing beats first-party integration.

SunFounder TS-10 10.1″

⭐ 4.7/5 · One brick powers the whole build

The SunFounder TS-10 is the closest thing to an all-in-one Raspberry Pi monitor. The 10.1″ 1280×800 IPS panel gives you a genuinely usable desktop, and 10-point capacitive touch with a 178° viewing angle feels like a tablet. The clever part is power: a single 12V brick drives the screen and feeds the Pi back over a built-in USB-C PD 5.1V/5A output, so you don’t need a second power supply. It’s driver-free on the latest Pi OS, ships with the mini-HDMI, USB-C and DC cables, has dual speakers, and its adjustable rear slots fit Banana Pi, Orange Pi and Libre boards too.

If you want a screen that works with everything, the Waveshare 7″ HDMI is the safe bet. Because it’s HDMI plus a USB touch lead, it runs on any Raspberry Pi (including the Zero and Pico with an adapter), a Jetson Nano, a mini-PC, or Windows — with five-point capacitive touch that’s driver-free on Pi OS and Windows. The 1024×600 IPS panel sits behind a 6H toughened-glass front, and a 3.5mm jack plus HDMI audio handles sound. It’s the versatile workhorse of this list.

The Freenove 5″ gives you the clean DSI experience of the official display in a smaller, cheaper package. A single ribbon into the DSI/DISPLAY port drives both picture and five-point capacitive touch — no HDMI cable, no USB lead, no drivers on a stock Pi OS install. The 800×480 IPS panel is bright with wide viewing angles, and the kit includes multiple ribbon lengths, standoffs and stands. It’s the tidiest way to bolt a small touchscreen straight onto a Pi 5, 4 or 3.

The Elecrow RC050 is a pocket-sized 5″ HDMI panel that plays nicely with more than just a Pi. Because it’s HDMI for video and USB for power + touch, it works with Raspberry Pi 3/4/5, Jetson Nano, Banana Pi — and doubles as a mini display for a PS4, a Switch or a Windows PC (picture only on consoles, touch on Pi/Windows). A rear OSD menu lets you tweak brightness and contrast, custom Pi connectors keep cabling tidy, and setup takes about five seconds with no drivers. It’s a fun, cheap screen for retro-gaming rigs and portable builds.

The classic Waveshare 3.5″ is the cheapest way to give a Pi a face. It plugs straight onto the 40-pin GPIO header — no cables at all — and this high-speed (C) version drives the SPI bus at 125 MHz for a much smoother refresh than the old 3.5″ boards. The 480×320 IPS panel and resistive touch are perfect for status pages, a Pi-hole dashboard, a menu-driven controller or a retro-handheld faceplate. It’s tiny and cramped for a full desktop, but for a bolt-on readout it’s unbeatable value.

Want a big screen without the flagship price? The SunFounder 10.1″ (TS10L) delivers a 1024×600 IPS panel with a 178° viewing angle, five-point capacitive touch, two built-in speakers and adjustable rear slots that fit Raspberry Pi plus Banana Pi, Rock Pi and more. It’s driver-free across Pi OS, Windows, Ubuntu, RetroPie, LibreELEC, Volumio and Home Assistant, making it a favorite for smart-home panels, 3D-printer control and retro-gaming cabinets. You give up the TS-10’s higher resolution and USB-C power trick, but you keep the roomy 10″ real estate for less.

The Elecrow 7″ takes the versatile HDMI-7″ formula and adds the extras that make a build feel finished: built-in speakers and an included acrylic stand. The 1024×600 IPS panel with capacitive touch is driver-free and plug-and-play on Raspberry Pi 5/4/3, and works as a secondary monitor for Windows, a Jetson Nano or a mini-PC. If you’re building a media player, a desktop assistant or a demo unit that needs sound and a stand out of the box, this saves you buying accessories separately.

If you like the single-cable DSI approach but want a bigger canvas than the 5″, the Freenove 7″ is the answer. One ribbon into the DSI/DISPLAY port carries video and five-point capacitive touch, with drivers already in Raspberry Pi OS — no HDMI, no USB, no config editing. The 800×480 IPS panel is bright and wide-angle, and the kit bundles several ribbon lengths, standoffs and two stands. It’s a cleaner, lower-clutter alternative to a 7″ HDMI panel for anyone staying on a full-size Pi.

Not every project wants a glossy finger-friendly panel. The Waveshare 5″ HDMI (B) uses resistive touch, which means it responds to a stylus, a gloved finger or a firm fingernail — exactly what you want for industrial controls, workshops or precise stylus input. It’s a proven, low-power HDMI panel at 800×480 that runs driver-free on Pi OS and works with a range of Pi models. It’s the most utilitarian screen here, but for tap-accurate, glove-friendly control it’s a deliberate, sensible choice.

Want the cleanest official build?

Get the Raspberry Pi Touch Display 2 — DSI, driver-free, sharp 720×1280, and supported until 2030.

Building a desktop-class Pi?

The SunFounder TS-10 10.1″ gives 1280×800, 10-pt touch, speakers and USB-C power for the Pi in one unit.

Screen used across devices?

Go HDMI: the Waveshare 7″ or Elecrow 7″ run on any Pi, a Jetson, a PC — even a console.

Compact, cable-free handheld?

The DSI Freenove 5″ or 7″ bolt straight on with one ribbon and no drivers.

Just need a status screen?

The Waveshare 3.5″ GPIO is the cheapest, most compact way to add a readout — no cables at all.

Industrial or stylus input?

Pick the resistive Waveshare 5″ HDMI for glove-friendly, tap-accurate control.

What’s the difference between DSI, HDMI and GPIO touchscreens?

DSI screens plug into the Pi’s flat display connector with one ribbon and are powered from the GPIO — clean and low-latency, but only on full-size Pi boards (not Zero/Pico). HDMI screens take an HDMI cable for video and a USB cable for touch, so they work with almost any device including PCs and consoles, but add cabling. GPIO/SPI screens (the 3.5″) sit directly on the 40-pin header for the most compact build, at the cost of resolution and refresh speed. Choose based on which connector your board has and how tidy you need the wiring.

Will these touchscreens work with the Raspberry Pi 5 and Pi Zero?

Every HDMI display here works with the Pi 5, Pi 4, Pi 3 and, with a mini/micro-HDMI adapter, the Pi Zero and even Pico-based projects. DSI displays (official Touch Display 2, Freenove) work on the Pi 5, 4, 3 and other full-size boards but not the Zero or Pico, which lack a usable DSI connector. On the Pi 5, note the display/camera port was renamed and uses a narrower FPC cable — the official display and most kits include or sell the correct one, so double-check the cable for your exact board.

Capacitive vs resistive touch — which should I pick?

Capacitive touch (most picks here) is smooth, supports multi-touch gestures and responds to a light finger tap — the best experience for GUIs, kiosks and tablet-style projects. Resistive touch (the 3.5″ GPIO panel and the Waveshare 5″) needs a firmer press and is single-touch, but it works with a stylus, a fingernail or gloved hands, which makes it ideal for workshops, industrial controls and precise input. For a modern touch UI, choose capacitive; for glove/stylus reliability, choose resistive.

Do I need a separate power supply for the screen?

DSI and GPIO panels draw their power from the Pi itself, so one supply runs everything — just make sure your Pi’s power adapter has enough headroom. HDMI panels usually need their own 5V feed over USB in addition to the Pi’s supply. The standout exception is the SunFounder TS-10: its 12V brick powers the screen and feeds the Pi back over USB-C PD, so a single adapter runs the whole system. Always size your power supply for the Pi plus the display, especially with a hungry Pi 5.

Are these displays really driver-free?

The official display, the DSI Freenove panels and the modern HDMI capacitive screens (Waveshare, Elecrow, SunFounder) are plug-and-play on a current Raspberry Pi OS — no driver install needed, though HDMI panels sometimes need a one-line resolution setting in config.txt. The 3.5″ GPIO/SPI screen is the exception: it needs a small driver or FBCP setup to mirror the HDMI framebuffer. If you want zero configuration, stick with a DSI or a driver-free HDMI capacitive model.