How do you read the RAM price chart?
Fig. 1 plots the median price per GB of desktop kits in stock, one point per weekly run. We use price per GB because it lets you compare a 16GB kit with a 64GB kit, and the median because one odd listing does not move it. Prices are excluding sales tax, so what you pay at checkout will be higher in states that charge it.
Our own tracking began in October 2026. Until the line has a few months behind it, the 4 and 12 week changes in the notes read "not measured yet". Once they fill in, you can see at a glance whether the market is still climbing, flat or turning.
What happened before the chart starts?
The surge began in 2025, well before our first run, so here is the outside record with its sources. PCMag, citing PCPartPicker data, reported a Corsair Vengeance 32GB DDR5 6000 kit going from about $90 in July 2025 to about $200 by early November 2025. By August 2026, PCPartPicker data reported by TechPowerUp showed US DDR5 kit prices up 372% to 485% year over year, depending on the kit, and DDR4 kits up 120% to 177%.
Those are different measures from our median, so do not splice them onto the chart. They show the size of the move. They do not replace our weekly line.
Why contract, spot and retail prices differ
Contract prices are negotiated, usually quarterly, between memory makers and big buyers. Spot prices are what traders pay on the open market. Retail prices, which we track, lag both by weeks to months. TrendForce reported that conventional DRAM contract prices rose about 93% to 98% in the first quarter of 2026, and it expects a further 10 to 15% in the fourth quarter of 2026. Retail prices tend to follow those moves with a delay, which is why a flat week in the chart does not mean the pressure has gone.
The change figure compares the latest median DDR5 price per GB with a baseline week, so it measures change since our tracking began. It does not include the rise that came before.