RAM Price Increase: How Much Have Prices Risen?

How much have RAM prices gone up?

A lot, and the exact figure depends on which kit and which price you follow. The clearest UK example comes from OC3D, which tracked one Amazon UK listing for a Crucial Pro 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 6000 CL36 kit. It cost £79 on 18 September 2025 and £422 on 14 October 2026, about 5.3 times as much.

That is one kit at one retailer, not a UK average, but it matches the wider picture. In the US, DDR5 kits were 372% to 485% dearer in August 2026 than a year before, according to PCPartPicker data reported by TechPowerUp. Our RAMageddon explainer tells the full story of the shortage. This page sticks to one question: how big the RAM price increase is, and whether it is still going on.

The RAM price increase, step by step

The same Amazon UK listing shows how fast the increase built up. OC3D recorded the price at five points:

Most of the jump came in the four months to January 2026. By October 2026 it was higher again, but the step from January was far smaller. The kit has a second twist: Micron announced in December 2025 that it would leave the Crucial consumer business, with shipments to shops ending after February 2026. What is left on UK shelves is remaining stock.

Corsair kits followed the same path. PCMag, citing PCPartPicker, reported a Corsair Vengeance 32GB DDR5 6000 kit going from about $90 in July 2025 to about $200 by early November 2025. That is a US price, but it shows the DDR5 price increase hit the big brands early.

Behind the shop prices sits the chip market. The benchmark DDR4 chip traded at about US$5.95 on the spot market in late September 2025, TrendForce reported. On 20 October 2026 it was about US$46.36, close to eight times as much. Contract prices, which PC makers pay each quarter, climbed about 93% to 98% in the first three months of 2026 alone.

What our UK prices show this week

We check Amazon.co.uk, AWD-IT, Box, CCL, Laptops Direct, Overclockers UK and Scan every week. These are the figures from the check on 2 November 2026, including VAT.

Change in the median DDR5 desktop price per GB over 4 weeks: not measured yet. Over 12 weeks: not measured yet. Change since 13 October 2026: not measured yet.

Our UK tracking started long after the increase began, so these numbers measure what happens from here, not the jump from 2025. The RAM price chart adds each new week as it comes in.

Are RAM prices still going up?

Yes, but the pace has slowed sharply. TrendForce reported that conventional DRAM contract prices climbed about 93% to 98% quarter on quarter in the first quarter of 2026. For the third quarter it forecast 13% to 18%, as PC and phone makers reached what it called an affordability limit. For the fourth quarter it expects another 10% to 15%.

A TrendForce news item from 20 October 2026 puts the fourth quarter gain at about 20%, without naming the report or the type of DRAM behind it. Either way, a slower rise on top of a price that is already several times higher still means dearer memory.

The spot market tells a similar story. In its 21 October 2026 update TrendForce described DDR5 spot supply as tight, with sellers holding back and some buyers raising bids without getting stock. Finished devices show it too: the Guardian reported in May 2026 that the PS5 went up £90 and the MacBook Air starting price £100 in the UK. For the causes behind all this, see why RAM is so expensive.

Will RAM prices keep going up?

Nobody can say for sure, and the people closest to the market disagree. Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said on the September 2026 earnings call that demand will exceed supply in 2027 and 2028, with the market tighter than in 2026, Tom's Hardware reported. TrendForce also warns that PC memory supply could shrink in 2027 as makers move more capacity to servers.

Acer CEO Jason Chen sees it differently. He told DigiTimes, as reported by TechSpot, that he expects PC prices to peak in the first half of 2027 and then ease, partly thanks to cheaper Chinese supply. We do not pick a side. Every forecast we can source is collected on our RAM price forecast page.

Buying RAM while prices are this high

If you need memory now, waiting for a fall is a gamble the forecasts do not back. A few choices still make a real difference to what you pay.

Buy the capacity you will actually use. Newegg's 2026 guide puts 16GB as enough for office work and most 1080p gaming, and 32GB for gaming with other apps open or photo editing. Our guide on how much RAM you need sets out the sizes by use. Compare kits by price per GB rather than by the headline price, because two kits of the same size can sit far apart.

DDR4 is no longer the cheap way out. Kits for older boards were 120% to 177% dearer in the US in August 2026 than a year earlier, according to PCPartPicker data via TechPowerUp. If your board takes DDR4, compare DDR4 RAM prices with the cost of a new platform. For a new build, see this week's DDR5 RAM prices or go straight to 32GB DDR5 desktop kits.

What we do not know yet

• How much higher UK shop prices go in the coming months, now that contract price rises have slowed.
• Whether the Amazon UK kit OC3D tracked is typical of UK prices, as no verified UK retail index exists that we can cite.
• How long remaining Crucial stock lasts in UK shops, and what replaces it at the low end.
• Whether new factories due from 2027 add much consumer DDR5, or mainly serve AI and server memory.