[ShakataGaNai]

Not even limbo. If you need an ultra low power SBC, Pi is there. But if you want the cheapest option, it ain't.

A raspberry pi 5 8gb CanaKit. So pi, fan, microsd, cords, power. Comes in at $160 on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Starter-Kit-PRO/dp/...

You can get any number of Intel N150 MiniPC's with RAM, SSD and power cord for $140? https://www.amazon.com/GMKtec-mini-pc-computer-n150/dp/B0CH8... Maybe less on sale. And an Intel N150 is going to score 2-3x on standard benchmarks what the RPi does. You can find older N100 based mini PC's for even less.

The pi still has its place, again, for those ultra low power use cases. But for "I just want a small computer", it's not the option. Mostly because of economies of scale. Everything in the MiniPC's is made at thousands of times more scale than the RPi. Also.... in Chinese factories for significantly less cost to start with.

[arcane23]

The way I used my Raspberry Pi boards fits into two categories, either always on providing some network service (with a shield), which usually benefits from very low power draw, either needing SPI/I2C/serial to connect to random hardware. For both of these use cases x86 miniPCs are not adequate. They either lack the GPIO header either they draw way more power than ~3-5W (onboard chipset, RAM etc draw extra power)

[dogleash]

For a pi/SBC alternative, I've found used minipcs on ebay sold by the lot can have very cheap per-unit prices. The hardware may be 5+ years old, but that can still be way more than you need.