Best Display for Raspberry Pi: DSI vs HDMI vs SPI Touchscreens Explained

Adding a touchscreen can turn a Raspberry Pi into a surprisingly capable home automation panel, industrial HMI, kiosk, portable computer, control console, information dashboard or IoT terminal.

But when you start looking for a Raspberry Pi display, you will quickly encounter three common interfaces:

• MIPI DSI

• HDMI

• SPI

Although all three can be used with Raspberry Pi, they are quite different in terms of installation, performance, compatibility and the type of project they are best suited for.

So which one should you choose?

The short answer is:

DSI is usually the best choice for a dedicated Raspberry Pi touchscreen. HDMI is best when compatibility and flexibility matter. SPI is best for very small embedded displays.

Let's look at each option in detail.

DSI vs HDMI vs SPI: Quick Comparison

What Is a DSI Display?

DSI stands for Display Serial Interface.

Raspberry Pi boards provide a dedicated display connector for attaching compatible MIPI DSI displays using a thin FFC ribbon cable. Raspberry Pi's own touchscreen products use this type of connection, with the DSI connection carrying display and touch-related data depending on the implementation.

Instead of connecting a bulky HDMI cable plus another cable for touch, a DSI display can be integrated very neatly into a Raspberry Pi enclosure.

This makes DSI particularly attractive for products where the Raspberry Pi and screen will permanently remain together.

Advantages of DSI

1. Clean Installation

One of the biggest advantages is cable management.

A typical DSI display requires a small ribbon cable between the display and Raspberry Pi. The Raspberry Pi can often be mounted directly behind the screen.

This makes DSI ideal for:

• Wall-mounted dashboards

• Home Assistant panels

• Industrial control interfaces

• Smart-home controllers

• Information terminals

• Embedded Raspberry Pi products

2. Good Display Performance

DSI is designed specifically for displays and is much better suited to graphical interfaces than small GPIO-driven screens.

For example, the Waveshare 7inch DSI Capacitive Touch Display available from Hubtronics provides an 800×480 display, capacitive multi-touch and up to a 60 Hz refresh rate.

Waveshare 7inch Capacitive Touch Display – MIPI DSI

Another compact option is:

Waveshare 4.3inch Capacitive Touch Display – DSI, 800×480

The 4.3-inch model uses the Raspberry Pi DSI connection and offers an 800×480 touchscreen in a much smaller footprint.

3. Leaves HDMI Available

Using DSI means your HDMI ports remain available.

This can be useful if your application needs a second external monitor while the DSI screen remains the primary control panel.

4. Excellent for Integrated Products

If you are building something that should look like a finished appliance rather than a Raspberry Pi connected to a monitor, DSI is usually our preferred interface.

Disadvantages of DSI

DSI is not perfect.

Its biggest limitation is compatibility.

A DSI display designed specifically for Raspberry Pi generally cannot simply be connected to a normal PC, laptop or NVIDIA Jetson board.

You also need to pay attention to the Raspberry Pi generation being used.

For example, Raspberry Pi 5 uses a smaller display connector than earlier Raspberry Pi boards. Raspberry Pi documentation specifies different FFC cables for Pi 5 compared with earlier models on its touchscreen products.

Always check Raspberry Pi 5 compatibility and the required DSI cable before ordering a display.

What Is an HDMI Raspberry Pi Display?

HDMI displays work much more like conventional computer monitors.

Video output from Raspberry Pi is sent through HDMI, while touchscreen data is normally transferred separately—often through USB on capacitive-touch displays.

Modern Raspberry Pi boards support standard HDMI video output, although the physical connector varies between models. Raspberry Pi 4 and Pi 5 use micro-HDMI, while Raspberry Pi Zero models use mini-HDMI.

This makes HDMI displays extremely versatile.

Advantages of HDMI Displays

1. Excellent Compatibility

This is the biggest reason to choose HDMI.

The same touchscreen could potentially be used with:

• Raspberry Pi

• NVIDIA Jetson

• Mini PCs

• Desktop computers

• Laptops

• Industrial PCs

• Other SBCs with HDMI output

For example:

Waveshare 7inch HDMI LCD (H) with Case – 1024×600 IPS Capacitive Touch

This model provides a 7-inch 1024×600 IPS display, capacitive touch, HDMI/VGA video input and USB touch, allowing it to work with Raspberry Pi as well as other computers and SBCs.

If you need something smaller:

Waveshare 5inch HDMI LCD (H) – 800×480 Capacitive Touch

The 5-inch version offers HDMI/VGA input with USB capacitive touch and is suited to Raspberry Pi, Jetson and similar embedded computers.

2. Better Choice for High-Resolution Displays

HDMI becomes increasingly attractive when moving towards larger or higher-resolution displays.

Hubtronics carries Raspberry Pi-compatible HDMI displays ranging from compact screens to considerably larger Full HD touch monitors.

You can browse them here:

Browse Raspberry Pi Displays at Hubtronics

Hubtronics currently lists Raspberry Pi-oriented displays covering DSI and HDMI formats in several screen sizes and resolutions.

3. Easier to Reuse Later

Suppose your Raspberry Pi project changes.

An HDMI screen can often become:

• A secondary PC monitor

• Jetson development display

• CCTV monitor

• Mini-PC touchscreen

• Portable diagnostics monitor

That makes HDMI particularly attractive for developers and prototyping labs.

Disadvantages of HDMI Displays

The main disadvantage is cabling.

A typical capacitive-touch HDMI screen may require:

1. HDMI for video

2. USB for touch

3. Power

This can create considerably more wiring than a DSI installation.

For a development bench this is rarely a problem.

For a polished wall-mounted control panel, however, DSI may give a cleaner result.

What Is an SPI Raspberry Pi Display?

SPI stands for Serial Peripheral Interface.

Unlike HDMI and DSI, an SPI display communicates through Raspberry Pi's GPIO interface.

Raspberry Pi computers provide SPI buses specifically for communicating with peripherals including displays, network controllers and other devices.

Small Raspberry Pi SPI displays often plug directly onto the 40-pin GPIO header.

A good example is:

Waveshare 3.5inch Resistive Touch Display (C) – 480×320 SPI

This compact display provides a 480×320 screen with resistive touch and a high-speed SPI interface, and mounts directly onto Raspberry Pi's GPIO header.

Advantages of SPI Displays

1. Extremely Compact

SPI screens are perfect when you don't need a large graphical interface.

A small screen sitting directly above the Raspberry Pi creates a very compact package.

They are useful for:

• Network appliances

• 3D-printer controllers

• Portable diagnostic tools

• Server status screens

• Robotics

• Test equipment

• Sensor interfaces

• Configuration menus

2. No HDMI Cable

Because the display connects through GPIO, there is no HDMI cable sticking out from the Raspberry Pi.

3. Great for Simple Interfaces

If your interface consists primarily of:

• Buttons

• Menus

• Sensor values

• IP addresses

• Equipment status

• Graphs

• Configuration options

then a small SPI display may be all you need.

Disadvantages of SPI Displays

The trade-off is performance and GPIO usage.

SPI is a general-purpose serial peripheral interface rather than Raspberry Pi's primary desktop display output. Raspberry Pi specifically describes SPI as an interface for connecting peripherals such as displays and controllers.

Small SPI Raspberry Pi displays therefore tend to use resolutions such as 320×240 or 480×320 rather than the resolutions commonly found on HDMI or DSI screens. The Hubtronics 3.5-inch SPI example, for instance, uses a native 480×320 panel.

For a full Raspberry Pi desktop, web browser or media interface, we would generally choose HDMI or DSI instead.

SPI also consumes GPIO pins that you might otherwise want to use for sensors, relays, ADCs or other hardware.

Capacitive vs Resistive Touch

The display interface isn't the only decision.

You should also decide between capacitive and resistive touch.

Capacitive Touch

Capacitive touch feels similar to a smartphone or tablet.

Advantages include:

• Finger operation

• Multi-touch support on compatible screens

• Smooth gesture control

• Glass front surface

• Better experience for modern graphical interfaces

For dashboards, kiosks and Home Assistant installations, capacitive touch is usually the better option.

Examples include:

7inch DSI Capacitive Touch Display

7inch HDMI IPS Capacitive Touch Display

5inch HDMI Capacitive Touch Display

Resistive Touch

Resistive displays respond to physical pressure.

That means they can be controlled using:

• Finger

• Stylus

• Gloves

They can therefore still make sense for industrial equipment or compact embedded devices.

For example:

3.5inch Raspberry Pi SPI Resistive Touch Display

5inch HDMI Resistive Touch Display

The Hubtronics-listed 5-inch HDMI LCD (B) combines an 800×480 HDMI display with resistive touch and supports Raspberry Pi OS, Ubuntu, Kali and RetroPie use cases.

Which Raspberry Pi Display Should You Choose?

Here is the easiest way to decide.

Choose DSI If...

You are building a dedicated Raspberry Pi device.

Typical examples:

• Home Assistant dashboard

• Smart-home panel

• Raspberry Pi kiosk

• Industrial HMI

• Wall-mounted touchscreen

• Embedded equipment

Recommended

Waveshare 7inch DSI Capacitive Touch Display

For many Raspberry Pi projects, a 7-inch DSI touchscreen offers an excellent balance between screen size and overall system dimensions.

For smaller projects:

Waveshare 4.3inch DSI Capacitive Touch Display

Choose HDMI If...

You want maximum flexibility.

HDMI is particularly useful for:

• Raspberry Pi development

• Jetson projects

• Portable monitors

• Mini PCs

• Robotics development

• Prototyping

• Desktop Raspberry Pi applications

Recommended

Waveshare 7inch HDMI LCD (H) with Case – 1024×600 IPS Touch

This is one of the more versatile choices because the HDMI/USB architecture allows it to work beyond Raspberry Pi as well.

For a more compact build:

Waveshare 5inch HDMI LCD (H) Capacitive Touch

Choose SPI If...

Your priority is small size rather than desktop-class display performance.

SPI makes sense for:

• Status screens

• Equipment controllers

• Raspberry Pi network appliances

• Robotics

• Portable tools

• Simple menu-driven interfaces

Recommended

Waveshare 3.5inch 480×320 SPI Touch Display

Our Recommendation

There isn't one Raspberry Pi display interface that is best for every project.

For most applications, we would use this rule:

For a finished Raspberry Pi touchscreen product → choose DSI.

For maximum compatibility and higher-resolution display options → choose HDMI.

For a tiny status or control screen → choose SPI.

If you are building something like a Home Assistant panel, kiosk or dedicated Raspberry Pi HMI, a 5-inch or 7-inch DSI capacitive touchscreen is particularly attractive.

If you regularly experiment with Raspberry Pi, Jetson boards and PCs, however, spending a little more on a good HDMI capacitive-touch display can make more sense because the screen can be reused across multiple platforms.

And if all you need is a compact menu or equipment-status interface, there is little reason to fit a large HDMI monitor—a small SPI display can do the job neatly.

Explore Raspberry Pi Displays

Hubtronics stocks Raspberry Pi-compatible displays in multiple sizes, resolutions and interfaces including HDMI, DSI and GPIO/SPI options.

Browse Raspberry Pi Displays at Hubtronics

Whether you're building a Raspberry Pi dashboard, kiosk, industrial controller, portable computer or IoT interface, choosing the correct display interface at the beginning can make the final project significantly cleaner and easier to build.