Three small boxes can put an RDP session on a desk. They cost similar money on day one and behave very differently over three years. Here is the honest comparison that nobody selling any of the three will give you.
Every IT discussion about cheap desks ends at the same three names. A thin client is built for exactly one job. A mini PC is a whole computer in a small box. A Raspberry Pi is a hobby board that can be persuaded to do the job. All three can display an RDP session - the differences are in effort, reliability and year three.
✓ All three show the same server desktop. You are choosing who does the maintenance, not who shows the picture.
👆 Same session on the screen - the real difference is three years of upkeep behind it.
A thin client is an appliance: a small locked OS whose one talent is connecting to your server. A mini PC is a complete Windows or Linux computer - it can run apps locally, browse, print and do anything a desktop does. A Raspberry Pi is a bare board that becomes a desk only after you add a case, a proper power supply, storage and an OS you maintain yourself.
Day-one prices mislead. The Pi's board is cheap, but the real kit - board, case, quality power supply, a durable microSD card or SSD, your setup hours - closes much of the gap. The mini PC costs the most to buy and keeps costing in patching, antivirus and eventual Windows support. The thin client usually costs the least to own: no per-desk patching, tiny power draw, and nothing for users to break.
MicroSD cards are the Pi's known weak point in 24x7 office duty - carry spares and a ready image. Mini PCs fail like PCs do: updates at the wrong moment, fans, user-installed clutter. Thin clients fail rarely and boringly - and when one dies, you swap the box and the user's session is untouched on the server, because nothing lived in the box.
For displaying an RDP session - typing, forms, reports - all three are honestly fine on a wired network. The differences appear at the edges: local browsing with many tabs, local video, and multi-monitor work favour the mini PC; the Pi asks for patience; the thin client deliberately does only its one job and does it without drama.
Before you decide, see what purpose-built thin clients look like in real testing - four models compared live in the video.
▶️ Watch Full VideoTechnically yes, with an RDP client on Raspberry Pi OS, and for one or two seats it can work well. Across many office seats, SD card failures, power supplies and DIY support usually cost more than proper thin clients.
If the seat needs local apps - heavy browsing, video calls, local tools - yes. If the seat only connects to a server, the thin client's locked, fanless, low power design is the better tool for that job.
On purchase price, the Raspberry Pi. On three-year total cost in a managed office, usually the thin client - because your own time is the most expensive line in the other two columns.