How do you read this RAM prices chart?
Each week we record the price of the RAM kits listed at Amazon.co.uk, AWD-IT, Box, CCL, Laptops Direct, Overclockers UK and Scan, including VAT. Fig. 1 then draws two lines: the cheapest kit in stock and the median kit, the one sitting in the middle of the price list. The notes beside the chart switch to price per GB, which puts a 16GB kit and a 64GB kit on the same scale. For the story behind the numbers, start with our RAMageddon explainer.
Our UK tracking started in October 2026, so the line only goes back to then. Change since 13 October 2026: not measured yet. That figure stays at "not measured yet" until there are eight weeks of history behind it. To shop rather than watch, go to all RAM prices, DDR5 prices or 32GB RAM prices.
What happened to RAM prices before our chart?
The squeeze started in 2025, months before our first UK run. We have no British shop data from that period and will not invent any, so here is what others measured. TechPowerUp, using PCPartPicker data from the US, reported DDR5 kits up 372% to 485% year on year by August 2026, and DDR4 kits up 120% to 177%. For the eurozone, TechPowerUp passed on a 345% rise reported by ComputerBase for the same month. Neither figure covers UK shops.
The Guardian tracked the knock-on effect here: Sony added £90 to the PS5 in April 2026, Microsoft raised Surface starting prices by £170 to £200, and Apple put £100 on the MacBook Air while doubling its base storage.
Will RAM prices go down?
Forecasters disagree. TrendForce expects contract prices for conventional DRAM, the deals between chipmakers and big buyers such as PC brands, to go up another 10% to 15% in the last quarter of 2026. Micron's chief executive told investors that supply will be even tighter in 2027 and 2028. Acer's chief executive takes the other side: he expects PC prices to peak in the first half of 2027 and then ease.
Shop prices trail those deals. Spot prices, set by traders on the open market, move faster, while retail can take weeks or months to catch up. A quiet week on the chart is therefore not proof that the pressure has gone.
The 4 and 12 week changes need at least two weeks of data. Until then they read "not measured yet", which means no history, not no change.