Best NVMe HATs for Raspberry Pi 5 in 2026

If you want to turn a Raspberry Pi 5 into a faster desktop, home server, NAS, media server, or Docker host, adding an NVMe SSD is one of the best upgrades you can make.

The Raspberry Pi 5 exposes a PCIe interface that allows compatible HATs and adapter boards to connect an M.2 NVMe drive. The official Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+ supports PCIe 2.0 with a peak transfer rate of 500 MB/s, while third-party boards offer features such as 2280 SSD support, dual NVMe drives, PoE, and different mounting configurations.

In this guide, we’ll look at the best NVMe HATs for Raspberry Pi 5 in 2026, including the best overall option, best budget HAT, best for 2280 SSDs, best dual-NVMe solution, and the best option for Raspberry Pi 5 servers.

Best NVMe HATs for Raspberry Pi 5

NVMe HAT	Best For	SSD Sizes	PCIe	Key Feature
Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+	Best Overall	2230/2242	Gen 2	Official Raspberry Pi solution
Pimoroni NVMe Base	Best Compact	2230–2280	Gen 2/3 capable	Under-Pi design
Waveshare PCIe to M.2 HAT+	Best Budget	2230/2242	Gen 2/3	Low-cost NVMe expansion
Geekworm X1004	Best Dual NVMe	2280 ×2	Gen 2	Two NVMe drives
Waveshare PoE M.2 HAT+ B	Best for Servers	2230–2280	Gen 2/3	PoE + NVMe

Our pick: The Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+ is the easiest recommendation for most users. If you want a 2280 SSD, compact under-board mounting, dual drives, or PoE, one of the third-party alternatives may make more sense.

1. Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+ — Best Overall

The official Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+ is the best choice for users who want a straightforward, well-supported NVMe upgrade.

It connects an M.2 M-key device to the Raspberry Pi 5’s PCIe interface and supports 2230 and 2242 NVMe drives. It provides a single-lane PCIe 2.0 connection with a peak transfer rate of up to 500 MB/s.

The HAT+ also conforms to the Raspberry Pi HAT+ specification, allowing Raspberry Pi OS and firmware to automatically detect the board.

Key specifications

Raspberry Pi 5 compatible
M.2 M-key
2230 and 2242 SSD support
PCIe 2.0
Up to 500 MB/s peak interface bandwidth
Up to 3A available for the connected M.2 device
Power and activity LEDs
Official Raspberry Pi design
NVMe boot support
Compatible with the Raspberry Pi Active Cooler

The standard HAT+ is designed to leave enough space for the Raspberry Pi Active Cooler underneath it.

Pros

Official Raspberry Pi hardware
Excellent compatibility
Inexpensive
Easy installation
NVMe boot support
HAT+ standard
Long production lifetime

Cons

Limited to 2230/2242 SSDs
Not designed for full-size 2280 drives
PCIe 2.0 limits maximum throughput

Best for

Most Raspberry Pi 5 users.

If you don’t need a special form factor or additional features, this is the NVMe HAT I’d recommend first.

2. Pimoroni NVMe Base — Best Compact Design

The Pimoroni NVMe Base takes a different approach. Instead of placing the SSD directly above the Raspberry Pi, the board mounts underneath the Pi.

It supports M-key NVMe SSDs ranging from 2230 through 2280, giving it considerably more flexibility than the official M.2 HAT+.

This makes it particularly attractive if you already own a standard 2280 NVMe SSD.

Key specifications

Raspberry Pi 5
M-key NVMe
2230, 2242, 2260 and 2280 support
Under-board mounting
Compact footprint
Designed around Raspberry Pi’s PIP guidelines
Suitable for servers, NAS applications and media centers

Pimoroni specifically positions the NVMe Base for applications such as file servers, media centers and reverse proxies where fast storage and high IOPS are useful.

Pros

Supports common 2280 NVMe SSDs
Very compact
Excellent for home servers
SSD is positioned underneath the Pi
Clean desktop/server setup

Cons

Doesn’t provide dual NVMe storage
Requires careful attention to cooling and enclosure compatibility
More specialized than the official HAT+

Best for

Raspberry Pi 5 home servers using a standard 2280 NVMe SSD.

This is particularly interesting for projects such as Docker, Nextcloud, Jellyfin, Pi-hole and other self-hosted applications.

3. Waveshare PCIe to M.2 HAT+ — Best Budget NVMe HAT

The Waveshare PCIe to M.2 HAT+ is an affordable alternative to the official Raspberry Pi HAT+.

It connects to the Raspberry Pi 5 through the 16-pin PCIe interface and supports 2230 and 2242 M.2 NVMe SSDs. Waveshare lists support for PCIe Gen 2 and Gen 3 modes and NVMe booting.

The board also includes a power-monitoring chip, EEPROM and dual status LEDs.

Key features

Raspberry Pi 5 compatible
M.2 M-key
2230/2242
PCIe Gen 2/Gen 3 support
NVMe boot
Power monitoring
EEPROM
Dual LED indicators
40-pin GPIO header

Waveshare also offers versions bundled with 128GB and 256GB NVMe drives.

Pros

Affordable
Compact
NVMe boot support
Power monitoring
Multiple kit options

Cons

Limited to 2230/2242 drives
Cable-based installation
Less integrated than some server-oriented designs

Best for

Budget-conscious Raspberry Pi 5 owners.

It’s a good option when you want NVMe storage without spending much on the adapter itself.

4. Geekworm X1004 — Best Dual-NVMe HAT

If one NVMe drive isn’t enough, the Geekworm X1004 is one of the more interesting options.

The X1004 supports two full-size 2280 NVMe SSDs, with a total advertised capacity of up to 8TB when using two 4TB drives.

It uses a PCIe switch to provide two NVMe connections while maintaining access to the Raspberry Pi’s GPIO header.

Key features

Raspberry Pi 5 only
Two M.2 2280 NVMe slots
Up to 8TB total advertised capacity
PCIe 2.0
40-pin GPIO access
Drive activity LEDs
Compatible with Raspberry Pi official passive cooling
HAT-style mounting
Supports HAT+ standby power state

One important limitation is that the ASMedia PCIe switch means the X1004 operates at PCIe 2.0 even if PCIe Gen 3 is enabled on the Raspberry Pi 5.

Pros

Two NVMe drives
2280 support
Excellent storage capacity
Useful for NAS projects
GPIO remains accessible
Can be used alongside certain other HATs

Cons

PCIe 2.0 limitation
More expensive
More complicated than a single-drive HAT
Uses additional PCIe switching hardware

Best for

NAS and high-capacity Raspberry Pi 5 servers.

If you’re building a serious storage server rather than simply replacing your SD card, the X1004 is much more interesting than a basic single-drive adapter.

5. Waveshare PoE M.2 HAT+ B — Best for Raspberry Pi Servers

For a Raspberry Pi that will live in a network rack or home server setup, combining PoE and NVMe can be extremely useful.

The Waveshare PoE M.2 HAT+ B supports 802.3af/at Power over Ethernet while providing an M.2 NVMe interface. The B version supports 2230, 2242, 2260 and 2280 drives.

That means one Ethernet cable can provide both networking and power to the Raspberry Pi.

Key features

Raspberry Pi 5
NVMe M.2 support
2230/2242/2260/2280
PCIe Gen 2/3 support
IEEE 802.3af/at PoE
40-pin GPIO header
NVMe boot support
5V and 12V auxiliary outputs
Cooling system included

Waveshare specifies up to 5V 4.5A output and a combined 12V/5V maximum of 25W for the B version.

Pros

NVMe + PoE in one board
Excellent for servers
Supports 2280 SSDs
Single network cable for power and data
Auxiliary power outputs
GPIO remains available

Cons

More expensive
More complex
Requires a compatible PoE network
Cooling configuration needs attention

Best for

Home servers, network appliances and rack-mounted Raspberry Pi projects.

Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+ vs NVMe Base vs X1004

Here’s the quick comparison:

Feature	Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+	Pimoroni NVMe Base	Geekworm X1004
Raspberry Pi 5	✅	✅	✅
NVMe	✅	✅	✅
2230	✅	✅	—
2242	✅	✅	—
2260	—	✅	—
2280	❌	✅	✅
Number of SSDs	1	1	2
PCIe 2.0	✅	—	✅
NVMe boot	✅	✅	✅
GPIO access	✅	—	✅
Best use	General	Server	NAS

The biggest decision is therefore not simply which HAT is fastest. It is which storage configuration fits your Raspberry Pi project.

What Is an NVMe HAT?

An NVMe HAT is an expansion board that allows a Raspberry Pi to connect to an M.2 NVMe SSD through its PCIe interface.

The Raspberry Pi 5 exposes a single-lane PCIe 2.0 connection through a 16-pin connector. The official M.2 HAT+ converts that connection to an M.2 M-key interface.

This allows the Raspberry Pi to use significantly faster storage than a typical microSD card.

A typical setup looks like this:

Raspberry Pi 5
      │
      │ PCIe
      ▼
   NVMe HAT
      │
      │ M.2 M-Key
      ▼
   NVMe SSD

Why Use NVMe Instead of a microSD Card?

The biggest reason is storage performance.

An NVMe SSD offers substantially better random I/O performance and generally provides a better experience for workloads involving many small files.

This becomes particularly noticeable when using a Raspberry Pi as a:

Docker server
Home server
NAS
Nextcloud server
Jellyfin server
Database server
Web server
Development machine
Monitoring server

Raspberry Pi itself describes its SSD solution as particularly useful for I/O-intensive applications and fast booting.

Is PCIe Gen 3 Worth Enabling?

This is one of the most misunderstood aspects of Raspberry Pi 5 NVMe storage.

The Raspberry Pi 5 hardware can expose PCIe Gen 3 speeds, but Raspberry Pi explicitly warns that the Pi 5 is not certified for PCIe Gen 3.0 and that Gen 3 connections may be unstable.

For most users, PCIe Gen 2 is the sensible default.

The official M.2 HAT+ is designed around PCIe 2.0 and provides up to 500 MB/s peak interface bandwidth.

If reliability is more important than benchmark numbers, don’t enable Gen 3 simply because your SSD supports it.

Can Raspberry Pi 5 Boot From NVMe?

Yes.

The Raspberry Pi 5 can boot Raspberry Pi OS from an NVMe drive attached through a compatible M.2 HAT.

The official documentation recommends installing the operating system to the NVMe drive using Raspberry Pi Imager. If an SD card is present, the Pi can be configured to prioritize NVMe through the boot-order settings in raspi-config.

For example:

sudo raspi-config

Then navigate to:

Advanced Options
→ Boot Order
→ NVMe/USB boot

After changing the boot order:

sudo reboot

What Size NVMe SSD Should You Buy?

The right capacity depends on what you’re doing.

Capacity	Recommended Use
128GB	Basic Raspberry Pi OS
256GB	Desktop / Docker
500GB	Home server
1TB	NAS / media / Nextcloud
2TB	Large home server
4TB+	NAS / storage server

For a new Raspberry Pi 5 server, 500GB–1TB is the sweet spot for many users.

If you’re running Docker containers such as Nextcloud, Jellyfin, Pi-hole and other services, having more storage also gives you room for Docker images, databases, application data and backups.

Best NVMe HAT for Docker

If your primary goal is Docker, I’d choose between:

Best overall: Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+

It’s inexpensive, simple and officially supported.

Best for 2280 SSDs: Pimoroni NVMe Base

The under-board design and 2230–2280 compatibility make it attractive for a Docker home server.

Best for multiple drives: Geekworm X1004

Choose this if your Docker server is also becoming a storage server or NAS.

You can use NVMe storage for Docker’s data directory:

docker info

and check your Docker storage location:

docker info | grep "Docker Root Dir"

Best NVMe HAT for a Raspberry Pi NAS

For a NAS, I’d favor Geekworm X1004 if you specifically want two NVMe drives.

The ability to install two 2280 SSDs makes it considerably more flexible than a single-drive adapter. Geekworm advertises support for up to two 4TB drives.

However, an important distinction is that two NVMe drives don’t automatically mean RAID.

You’ll need to configure the storage architecture yourself using Linux software such as:

RAID
ZFS
Btrfs
mergerfs
SnapRAID

depending on the requirements of your NAS.

Best NVMe HAT for a Raspberry Pi Home Server

For a typical home server, my ranking would be:

Pimoroni NVMe Base — excellent 2280 compatibility
Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+ — simplest official option
Waveshare PoE M.2 HAT+ B — best if you want PoE
Geekworm X1004 — best for multiple NVMe drives

If you’re building a server with Docker, I’d prioritize reliability, cooling and storage capacity over chasing the highest possible PCIe benchmark.

NVMe HAT Cooling

Don’t forget cooling.

The Raspberry Pi 5 can generate significantly more heat than earlier Raspberry Pi models, particularly under sustained workloads.

An NVMe SSD can also become warm during continuous writes.

For a server, consider:

Raspberry Pi Active Cooler
A case with active airflow
NVMe heatsink
Good ventilation
Monitoring SSD temperatures

The official M.2 HAT+ is designed to work with the Raspberry Pi Active Cooler, while other HATs have their own mechanical and cooling requirements.

Official Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+ Compact

There is also a newer M.2 HAT+ Compact.

Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+ Compact documentation

The Compact model is designed specifically to work inside the official Raspberry Pi 5 case. It supports 2230 M.2 devices and leaves room for the case’s integrated fan.

This makes it an excellent choice if you want:

Raspberry Pi 5 + official case + NVMe SSD

without having a large HAT sticking out of the enclosure.

The tradeoff is that you’re limited to 2230 SSDs.

Which NVMe HAT Should You Buy?

🏆 Best Overall

Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+

The best choice for most Raspberry Pi 5 owners.

💰 Best Budget

Waveshare PCIe to M.2 HAT+

A low-cost way to add NVMe storage.

📦 Best for 2280 SSDs

Pimoroni NVMe Base

Excellent if you already have a standard 2280 NVMe drive.

🗄️ Best for NAS

Geekworm X1004

The dual-NVMe design makes it ideal for larger storage projects.

⚡ Best for PoE Servers

Waveshare PoE M.2 HAT+ B

Excellent for network appliances and always-on home servers.

🧩 Best for Official Raspberry Pi Case

Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+ Compact

The cleanest option for an NVMe-equipped Raspberry Pi 5 inside the official case.

Final Verdict

The Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+ remains the safest recommendation for most Raspberry Pi 5 users. It is inexpensive, officially supported, supports NVMe booting and integrates cleanly with the Raspberry Pi ecosystem.

But it isn’t necessarily the best HAT for every project.

If you’re building a Docker server, look at the Pimoroni NVMe Base. If you’re building a NAS, the Geekworm X1004 is much more interesting because it supports two 2280 drives. And if you’re building a network appliance where you want power and storage over a single Ethernet cable, the Waveshare PoE M.2 HAT+ B deserves a close look.

For a new Raspberry Pi 5 home server in 2026, my preferred setup would be:

Raspberry Pi 5 + Active Cooler + 1TB NVMe SSD + NVMe HAT + 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS

That provides a strong foundation for Docker, Nextcloud, Jellyfin, Pi-hole, Tailscale and other self-hosted services.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Raspberry Pi 5 support NVMe?

Yes. Raspberry Pi 5 exposes a PCIe interface that can be connected to an NVMe SSD through an M.2 HAT or compatible adapter.

Can Raspberry Pi 5 boot directly from NVMe?

Yes. Raspberry Pi 5 supports booting Raspberry Pi OS from an NVMe drive connected through a compatible HAT.

Is an NVMe HAT faster than an SD card?

For storage-intensive workloads, NVMe generally provides substantially better I/O performance than microSD storage. Raspberry Pi specifically positions its SSD solution for I/O-intensive applications and fast booting.

Can I use a 2280 NVMe SSD with the official Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+?

No. The standard official M.2 HAT+ supports 2230 and 2242 form factors. For a 2280 drive, use a compatible third-party board such as the Pimoroni NVMe Base or Geekworm X1004.

Is PCIe Gen 3 safe on Raspberry Pi 5?

Raspberry Pi warns that the Pi 5 is not certified for Gen 3 and that Gen 3 connections may be unstable. For a reliable server, PCIe Gen 2 is generally the safer choice.