I use the PowerJive USB Power Meter (for older Pis with micro USB power inputs), or the SATECHI USB-C Power Meter (for the Pi 4 and newer) to measure power consumption with the Dramble and individual Raspberry Pis, in all cases with nothing plugged into USB (unless otherwise noted). I will be adding power consumption statistics to this page as time goes on.
There are a few different ways you can reduce power consumption on the Pi (any model):
- Disable HDMI
- Disable onboard LEDs
- Minimize accessories
See this post for more information and instructions how to do all of the above: Conserve Raspberry Pis power consumption.
Raspberry Pi 4 B
| Pi State |
Power Consumption |
| Idle |
540 mA (2.7 W) |
ab -n 100 -c 10 (uncached) |
1010 mA (5.1 W) |
400% CPU load (stress --cpu 4) |
1280 mA (6.4 W) |
Raspberry Pi 3 B+
| Pi State |
Power Consumption |
| Idle |
350 mA (1.9 W) |
ab -n 100 -c 10 (uncached) |
950 mA (5.0 W) |
400% CPU load (stress --cpu 4) |
980 mA (5.1 W) |
Raspberry Pi 3 B
| Pi State |
Power Consumption |
| Idle |
260 mA (1.4 W) |
ab -n 100 -c 10 (uncached) |
480 mA (2.4 W) |
400% CPU load (stress --cpu 4) |
730 mA (3.7 W) |
Raspberry Pi 2 B
| Pi State |
Power Consumption |
| Idle |
220 mA (1.1 W) |
ab -n 100 -c 10 (uncached) |
450 mA (~2.3 W) |
400% CPU load (stress --cpu 4) |
400 mA (~2.1 W) |
Raspberry Pi 2 B with external USB 3.0 SSD
| Pi State |
Power Consumption |
| Powering on, 1x USB 64GB SSD |
900-1400 mA (~4.5 W) |
| Idle, 1x USB 64GB SSD |
960 mA (~4.8 W) |
ab -n 100 -c 10 (uncached), 1x USB 64GB SSD |
1100 mA (~5.5 W) |
| 400% CPU load, 1x USB 64GB SSD |
1250 mA (~6.25 W) |
Other Raspberry Pi models
For the below power tests, stock Rasbpian Lite was installed, and the measurement was taken after the Pi had been running idle for 1 minute, with nothing connected except onboard or USB WiFi as noted.
| Pi Model |
Pi State |
Power Consumption |
| 4 B |
HDMI off, LEDs off |
TODO |
| 4 B |
HDMI off, LEDs off, onboard WiFi |
TODO |
| 3 B+ |
HDMI off, LEDs off |
350 mA (1.7 W) |
| 3 B+ |
HDMI off, LEDs off, onboard WiFi |
400 mA (2.0 W) |
| 3 B |
HDMI off, LEDs off |
230 mA (1.2 W) |
| 3 B |
HDMI off, LEDs off, onboard WiFi |
250 mA (1.2 W) |
| 2 B |
HDMI off, LEDs off |
200 mA (1.0 W) |
| 2 B |
HDMI off, LEDs off, USB WiFi |
240 mA (1.2 W) |
| Zero 2 W |
HDMI off, LED off |
100 mA (0.6 W) |
| Zero 2 W |
HDMI off, LEDs off, onboard WiFi |
120 mA (0.7 W) |
| Zero |
HDMI off, LED off |
80 mA (0.4 W) |
| Zero |
HDMI off, LED off, USB WiFi |
120 mA (0.7 W) |
| B+ |
HDMI off, LEDs off |
180 mA (0.9 W) |
| B+ |
HDMI off, LEDs off, USB WiFi |
220 mA (1.1 W) |
| A+ |
HDMI off, LEDs off |
80 mA (0.4 W) |
| A+ |
HDMI off, LEDs off, USB WiFi |
160 mA (0.8 W) |
Also, as a point of reference, when you power off a Raspberry Pi (any model), it typically uses 20-30 mA (0.1W) until you physically disconnect the power.
