If you have a Raspberry Pi and big plans for it, one of the first things you'll need is a case for it. There are tons to choose from, but some offer durability, port access, easy-access to the board, and style. This week we're looking at five of the best, based on your nominations.


Earlier this week we asked you for your favorite Raspberry Pi cases, and you responded in droves. We opened the door to all kinds of submissions, and even though these five below got the most nominations, make sure to head back and check out the others. That said, here are the top five, based on your votes:

What's the Best Raspberry PI Case? You know we love the Raspberry Pi, but one of the first things you should do when you get one is… Read more


The PiBow is, by many, the unofficial official Pi case. It's actually a line of cases for the Raspberry Pi, all of which are both stylish and functional. The PiBow Rainbow (also available from Adafruit) was the case that officially earned the nod here. It's crafted from seven layers of colorful acrylic, fits your Pi snugly without rattling, and has a clear acrylic top and base so you can still see the Pi inside. If you'd prefer a single color, there are PiBow cases for you too, ranging from Adafruit Blue, completely clear, "toxic" green, translucent "crystal," black-shadowed "ninja," and others. There's even a PiTFT PiBow that combines a case with everything you need to add a TFT monitor or a touchscreen..

The PiBow was designed by Paul Beech, the same person who created the official logo for the Pi, works on the Pi Foundation's website, and does a lot of overall design work for the team as well. If you want an original PiBow, one can be yours for £13 ($~20). Read more about it in its nomination thread here, and about the PiTFT PiBow in its nomination thread here.



Short Crust is a beautiful acrylic and plastic case that pays close attention to cable management and utility as well as design. The top is a "smoked" black acrylic that stands off from the body of the case by just a hair in case you need to run anything out of the top (like a display cable, for example) and the body fits the Pi snugly and snaps into place so there's no rattling around inside. Power is routed to the same side of the case as Ethernet and USB to keep cables tidy, the SD card is slot-loaded on the bottom (and flush with the bottom of the case, at that), and there's even a removable cover for your audio and video ports when they're not in use. All in all, it's a good looking and thoughtfully designed case.

The only drawback to Short Crust is that it's not widely available. At the moment, the only place you can snag one is at at Pi-Supply for £15 ($~25), which makes them a little difficult to get if they run out of stock. Still, it looks nice, actually protects your SD card instead of leaving it half-in/half-out, and you can still see inside the top. You can read more about it in its nomination thread here.



This 3D printed Raspberry Pi case is built to look like an old Apple IIe computer. You can choose which Apple II model you want your case to be modeled after - the original ][ (or ][ Plus), the //e, or the Platinum //e. You can also pick one up in Bell & Howell "Darth Vader" Black, if you'd prefer. You have two options beyond that though—you can get one that supports the video out that matches your Pi, whether it's HDMI or composite. You can mount your Pi easily in the case with your SD card installed, but if you really want to go for the classic computing look, the case's creator also sells an SD card reader that looks like a Disk ][ floppy drive to complete the look.

This case may not be as practical as some of the other models in the roundup, but it's certainly one of the most fun, and it earned a ton of nominations in the call for contenders. If you want one, you can have it, but it's pricey: The case itself is $115, and the floppy disk drive is an additional $50. Each one is custom printed and assembled to order. Read more in the nomination thread here.



The UniPi is an all-aluminum unibody case for the Raspberry Pi that also offers great ventilation if that's something you're concerned with. It's cut from a block of solid aluminum, with port access also carved out of the same piece. The UniPi comes with two case toppers, one with punch-out mesh (shown above) and another that's solid aluminum with cutouts for external video or other component cables you may want to slide through. Your Pi screws into place and doesn't rattle around inside, and the whole design is stackable so you can put multiple Pis on top of one another easily. You even get wall-mounting screws along with it.

The UniPi is definitely a sturdy case—in the call for contenders thread, you guys provided a video of a car backing over the thing and surviving to tell the tale. It's not cheap though, it'll set you back $50, but if you need that kind of durability or flexibility, it's your case. Read more in its nomination thread here.



Many of you really liked the LEGO DIY case that was in the title photo for this week's call for contenders, and noted that you're more than happy to DIY your own case from LEGO parts. It makes sense—Lego plastic is durable enough to hold your case and you can build your enclosure to suit your particular use case with just a few bricks and pieces. The one shown above is the work of Instructables user darrennie, and it's definitely a looker. It has doors to protect all of the ports when they're not in use, space at the top for ventilation, and as you can see in the comments at Instructables, it's inspired a plethora of similar LEGO-based cases for the Pi as well.

You'll have to build this one yourself and get the pieces you want in the colors you want, but the link above has a full walkthrough for you, including how to plan out your case using Bricklink, essentially a LEGO version of eBay, to get some of the specific parts. You can read more about it in the nomination thread here, or check out the nomination thread for this double-decker LEGO case, that supports two Pis at once, and this LEGO Space case. We should also give some love to this thread with the LEGO Adventure Time BMO Raspberry Pi Case in it, because Adventure Time.


Now that you've seen the top five, it's time to put them to a vote to determine the community favorite:


We have a few honorable mentions this week! The first goes out to

this DIY cassette tape Raspberry Pi case that transforms an old audio cassette (if you still have any of those around) into the perfect case for your Raspberry Pi. It takes a little work and it's not the most durable or protective case, but if you're building a music server or streamer and you like a little old school flair, the step-by-step is easy to follow. If you're turning your Pi into an emulation machine, we love the NinTastic Nintendo-Style Case for the Raspberry Pi.


We also want to mention this aluminum CNC-milled Pi holder that turned up in the nominations thread just because it looks amazing. It's $75, but it's another extremely durable case that'll stand the test of time. Speaking of durability, if you want another case you can back a car over, consider the Lincoln Binns Aluminum Pi Enclosure, which sports a clear acrylic top you can see through and a sturdy metal body. You can get it in white or black, for £21 (~$35) and £29 (~$48) respectively.

If all of these fancy cases are too much for you and you have no desire to spend a ton of money on something fancy, consider the Adafruit Pi Case for $10—it's clear plastic, snaps together perfectly, gets the job done, and lets you see your Pi while you work on it. It has sloped sides and rests perfectly on your desk surface. The Adafruit Pi Box (shown in the title photo) for $15—it was the original Adafruit case (and they'd rather you buy the new, $10 one), but I like it's all-acrylic, all-clear design. Either way, they're both cheap—cheaper than the Pi itself, which is a good thing.


Want to make the case for your personal favorite, even if it wasn't included in the list? Remember, the top five are based on your most popular nominations from the call for contenders thread from earlier in the week. Don't just complain about the top five, let us know what your preferred alternative is—and make your case for it—in the discussions below.1

The Hive Five is based on reader nominations. As with most Hive Five posts, if your favorite was left out, it didn't get the nominations required in the call for contenders post to make the top five. We understand it's a bit of a popularity contest. Have a suggestion for the Hive Five? Send us an email at tips+hivefive@lifehacker.com !

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