RAM and DDR5 Prices Statistics (2026)

Memory has gone from the cheapest afterthought in a gaming build to its single most volatile line item. Through late 2025 and into 2026 an AI-driven scramble for DRAM sent DDR5 and even legacy DDR4 prices spiralling, reshaping PC-build budgets and pushing console and GPU makers to raise prices. This page collects the verified figures a journalist needs to cover the 2026 memory crunch. Free to use with a link back to ShaneTheGamer as the source.

Key Takeaways for Journalists

• PC DRAM contract prices jumped over 100% quarter-on-quarter in Q1 2026, which TrendForce called a new record for a single-quarter surge.
• A 32GB DDR5-6000 kit rose from roughly $80 in mid-2025 to about $432 by early 2026 — an increase of more than 400% in under a year, per Newegg tracking.
• DDR5 chip prices climbed from about $6.84 per 16Gb chip in September 2025 to $27.20 by late December 2025, roughly a 298% jump in three months.
• The global memory semiconductor market is projected to hit US$633 billion in 2026, up from US$216 billion in 2025 — about 193% growth, according to Gartner data cited in SK hynix filings.
• DDR4 has become the surprise casualty, with some 32GB kits that sold for $60–90 in October 2025 reaching $150–180 by January 2026, per Tom’s Hardware.
• Nintendo raised the Switch 2 by $50 to $499.99, effective September 1, 2026, citing market conditions widely tied to the memory shortage.
• AI infrastructure is the root cause, with IDC projecting 2026 DRAM supply growth of just 16% year over year — below historical norms.
• Samsung, SK hynix and Micron control more than 95% of global DRAM output, and all three have shifted wafers from consumer memory toward high-margin HBM.
• Combined Q1 2026 memory revenue for the big three reached about US$114.9 billion, a 77% sequential increase, per DIGITIMES.
• Most analysts see no meaningful relief inside 2026, with Gartner’s “memflation” analysis placing the earliest normalisation in the second half of 2027.

How Far Prices Have Actually Moved

The scale of the 2026 memory surge is difficult to overstate because it happened so quickly. Gaming-industry hardware buyers who treated RAM as a near-commodity in early 2025 found the ground shifting under them within a single quarter. According to Tom’s Hardware, DDR5 memory prices exploded over the last trimester, with triple and, in some cases, quadruple increases.

The chip-level data tells the clearest story. According to figures reported across the trade press, DDR5 prices climbed from $6.84 per GB in September 2025 to $27.20 per GB by December 2025 — nearly a fourfold increase. At the module level the effect is almost linear: a 32 GB DDR5-6000 kit that cost around $80 in mid-2025 reached approximately $432 by early 2026 — an increase of more than 400% in under a year, according to Newegg.

By the middle of 2026 the pain had broadened to every capacity tier. Tech Insider, citing Tom’s Hardware’s price index, reported that an August 2026 U.S. best-price tracking puts a 32GB DDR5-6000 kit at $392, a 64GB kit at $849, and a 96GB kit at $1,799, while a flagship 128GB DDR5-6400 kit has rocketed to $3,399 — up from a record-low $329 for that same capacity tier. Techtimes similarly noted that a 32GB DDR5 kit that sold for double digits in mid-2025 now carries a floor near $375, and RGB or high-frequency kits run higher.

Even DDR4, long considered a value refuge, offered no shelter. Tom’s Hardware reported that it was common to find 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 memory kits selling for between $60 to $90 back in October 2025, but by January 2026 the same memory kit could cost anywhere between $150 and $180.

Why It Happened: AI Demand and Capacity Reallocation

The 2026 crunch is not the result of a factory fire or natural disaster; it is a deliberate reallocation of capacity toward the most profitable product in the memory industry. According to reporting drawing on TrendForce and vendor data, Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron have been shifting fab capacity away from ordinary consumer DDR5 and NAND flash toward HBM production for Nvidia and other AI chipmakers.

That reallocation is happening against a backdrop of already-thin supply growth. According to IDC, “IDC expects 2026 DRAM and NAND supply growth to be 16% and 17% year-on-year, below historical norms.” With demand accelerating and supply constrained below trend, price became the release valve. TrendForce explained the mechanism directly, noting that in 1Q26 suppliers would continue to reallocate advanced process nodes and new capacity toward server and HBM products to support rising AI server demand, significantly limiting supply in other markets and causing conventional DRAM contract prices to increase by about 55–60% QoQ.

TrendForce then repeatedly revised those forecasts upward as negotiations played out. By early February 2026 the firm reported that in a market dominated by sellers, PC DRAM prices in 1Q26 are projected to increase by over 100% QoQ, setting a new record for a quarterly surge. When the quarter closed, TrendForce found that the memory industry experienced a significant boost in 1Q26 due to rapidly rising contract prices for conventional DRAM, which increased by approximately 93% to 98% QoQ, contributing to an overall industry revenue increase of 81% QoQ, reaching $97 billion.

The pressure did not ease in the second quarter. TrendForce expects conventional DRAM contract prices to rise another 58–63% QoQ in 2Q26, driven by continued strong data-center procurement.

The Impact on Gaming PCs, GPUs and Consoles

Because every device that ships with RAM or flash inherits a slice of the increase, the crunch touched the entire PC-gaming stack at once. As one industry summary put it, every device that ships with RAM or flash storage inherits some piece of that cost increase, and gaming hardware is simply where the effect is most visible.

System integrators felt it first. Wccftech reported that AI laptops equipped with an NVIDIA RTX PRO 500 Blackwell GPU saw a $530 increase, and companies like ASUS and Acer were reported to be bumping up PC pricing to cope with memory shortages. Graphics cards were exposed through the same suppliers: reporting indicates fixed-price GPU memory contracts expired at the end of 2025, and supply-chain reporting indicates AMD raised card prices about 10% in January 2026 with Nvidia following in February.

Consoles took the most visible hits. Nintendo confirmed a $50 US increase on the Switch 2, from $449.99 to $499.99, effective September 1, 2026, citing medium-to-long-term market conditions widely understood to mean the DRAM shortage. Microsoft, meanwhile, said storage and memory costs rose more than 2.5x ahead of its August 2026 Xbox hike, and Sony raised the PS5 again in the same environment. Valve was the most aggressive: reporting indicates it lifted Steam Deck pricing by roughly $240 to $300 — close to a 50% jump on some configurations — explicitly blaming global memory and storage shortages.

TrendForce quantified the knock-on effect for finished devices, noting that memory typically makes up 10–15% of a system’s bill of materials. Contract prices for DRAM in the fourth quarter were expected to grow by more than 75% YoY, and given that memory usually makes up 10–15% of the total BOM cost, this led to an overall unit cost increase of about 8–10% in 2025. The firm added that if brands pass these increased costs onto consumers, average retail prices for notebooks might rise by 5–15%.

DDR4: The Legacy Squeeze

One of the stranger features of the 2026 market is that older DDR4 became, in some cases, more expensive to replace than the newer standard. The trigger was the coordinated wind-down of legacy production. According to TrendForce reporting, Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron are set to end DDR4 shipments between late 2025 and early 2026 as they shift capacity to DDR5 and HBM.

The exact timeline varied by supplier. Tom’s Hardware reported that Samsung and SK hynix will maintain production of DDR4 memory until the end of 2025 and Q1–Q2 2026, respectively, while Micron issued end-of-life notices for DDR4 and LPDDR4 products to customers in multiple high-volume segments and notified them that final shipments of mainstream DDR4 and LPDDR4 devices will occur within the next two to three quarters.

Suppliers even delayed some phase-outs precisely because DDR4 had become unexpectedly lucrative. TrendForce reporting noted that Samsung would continue production through 2026 while SK hynix took the same approach — boosting DDR4 output at its older Wuxi fabs in China — a move that has been sending DDR4 prices soaring. For older AM4 and LGA1700 platforms, the practical advice from analysts was blunt: buyers on older AM4 or LGA1700 platforms should secure DDR4 while remaining inventory lasts, since no new consumer DDR4 is being produced.

The Money Behind the Shortage

The flip side of consumer pain has been a historic windfall for memory makers. According to Gartner figures cited in SK hynix regulatory filings, the overall memory semiconductor market is projected to increase from US$216 billion in 2025 to US$633 billion in 2026, representing year-over-year growth of 192.7%, and to grow to approximately US$748 billion in 2027. The same filing projects that overall DRAM revenues are forecast to grow from US$143 billion in 2025 to US$401 billion in 2027, while HBM revenues increase from US$33 billion in 2025 to US$86 billion in 2027.

Quarterly results reflect that surge. DIGITIMES observed that the combined memory revenue of Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron reached US$114.9 billion in the first quarter of 2026, representing a 77% sequential increase, and expected Q2 could surpass US$170 billion. SK hynix’s own filing described Q2 2026 revenue of 79.3 trillion won, up 257% year over year, with operating profit of 60.5 trillion won and a 76% operating margin — all-time quarterly records.

The competitive order also shifted. Per Counterpoint Research, Samsung claimed the top spot in the DRAM market in Q2 2026 with its share widening to 39%, while SK hynix’s market share tumbled to 26% in Q2 2026 from 39% in Q2 2025, despite a 214% YoY surge in quarterly revenue. Counterpoint also highlighted the rise of a fourth player, noting Chinese supplier CXMT’s rapid growth in DDR5 and LPDDR5 output.

When Will Prices Come Down?

The consensus among analysts is uncomfortable for buyers: relief is not a 2026 story. As one analyst summary framed it, RAM prices are not dropping in 2026 — every major analyst firm covering the DRAM market has reached the same conclusion that the forces keeping prices elevated are structural, not cyclical, and the earliest credible window for meaningful price relief is late 2027.

Techtimes captured the dominant view, reporting that prices are far more likely to climb than to drop through the rest of 2026, and the research firms that track Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron do not expect meaningful relief before late 2027. The core obstacle is physical: new fabrication capacity cannot arrive quickly. As IG reported on the announced expansions, none of this new capacity reaches volume production before 2027.

Team Group summarised the near-term outlook in October 2025, noting the memory supply-demand imbalance is expected to persist through at least the first half of next year. Some tracking data by early 2026 did show the steepest phase of the surge flattening; Newegg noted that in Europe, month-over-month growth was finally flattening by late January 2026, and some segments like 64GB DDR5-6000 kits even saw a brief 15% price correction — but analysts expect DDR5 profitability to remain elevated throughout 2026, meaning meaningful relief is likely still months away.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much have DDR5 RAM prices risen in 2026?

Sharply. Per Newegg tracking, a 32GB DDR5-6000 kit rose from about $80 in mid-2025 to roughly $432 by early 2026, an increase of more than 400%, while TrendForce recorded PC DRAM contract prices rising over 100% quarter-on-quarter in Q1 2026.

Why are RAM prices so high right now?

AI infrastructure demand. Samsung, SK hynix and Micron have reallocated capacity toward high-margin HBM for AI accelerators, and IDC projects 2026 DRAM supply growth of just 16% year over year — well below what the market needs.

Is DDR4 cheaper than DDR5 in 2026?

Not reliably. As the big three wind down legacy production, some 32GB DDR4 kits that cost $60–90 in October 2025 reached $150–180 by January 2026, and analysts advise older-platform buyers to secure DDR4 while remaining inventory lasts.

Did the RAM shortage raise console prices?

Yes. Nintendo raised the Switch 2 by $50 to $499.99 effective September 1, 2026, Microsoft cited memory and storage costs rising more than 2.5x ahead of its August 2026 Xbox hike, and Sony raised the PS5 again in the same environment.

When will RAM prices drop again?

Most analysts, including Gartner, do not expect meaningful relief inside 2026, pointing instead to late 2027 as the earliest credible window because new fab capacity does not reach volume production before 2027.

Methodology & Sourcing

This page compiles publicly reported figures from memory-market research firms (TrendForce, Counterpoint Research, Gartner via SK hynix regulatory filings, IDC), company disclosures (SK hynix, Micron), and reputable trade press (Tom’s Hardware, Newegg Insider, Wccftech, DIGITIMES) published between roughly September 2025 and August 2026. Retail kit prices are drawn from best-price tracking that changes daily and can vary by region, capacity, speed and RGB tier, so any single dollar figure should be read as a snapshot rather than a fixed value. Contract-price percentages are quarter-on-quarter unless stated, and where sources gave ranges we reproduce the range; all forward-looking numbers are labelled as projected or estimated. Because different trackers use different baskets and dates, small discrepancies between sources are expected; readers should verify the latest figures against the daily trackers before publication.

Sources

• TrendForce — DRAM contract price forecasts and market reports (2025–2026)
• Counterpoint Research — Global Memory Tracker, DRAM market share (Q1–Q2 2026)
• Gartner — memory market size forecasts, cited in SK hynix filings (2026)
• IDC — 2026 DRAM and NAND supply-growth projections (2025–2026)
• SK hynix — quarterly results and DRS/A filings (2026)
• Micron — DDR4/LPDDR4 end-of-life notices and executive commentary (2025–2026)
• Tom’s Hardware — RAM price index and DDR4 production coverage (2025–2026)
• Newegg Insider — DDR5 pricing and speed-tier tracking (2026)
• Wccftech — RAM shortage roundup and OEM pricing (2026)
• DIGITIMES — combined memory-maker revenue estimates (2026)
• Techtimes, Ars Technica and additional trade press (2025–2026)

Spotted a newer figure or an error? Contact the ShaneTheGamer desk and we will update this page.