Memory price rises: the causes and finding the best deals

What is behind the increase in memory prices and how to find the best RAM and SSD deals right now

Whether upgrading your enterprise server or trying to find the best DDR5 RAM deals for gaming, if you have tried to buy memory online recently the increasing prices are hard not to notice. Since mid 2025 both RAM and SSD prices having been rising, affecting both those looking to upgrade and those purchasing new machines.

So what is causing the price spike? What is affected and when might prices start to drop? In this article we look at the factors behind the increase as well as what you can do to find cheap RAM modules and buy computer memory in the meantime.

Why are RAM and SSD prices increasing?

The demand from AI and Data Centres. By far the biggest factor has been the rapid development and widespread adoption of AI. The data centres powering AI require huge amounts of server memory to function, the demand for this to be manufactured competes directly with the consumer market with big business having huge spending power.

Reduced production. A slump in demand starting around the beginning of 2022 saw oversupply of cheap RAM on the market. In response to these falling prices, major memory manufacturers scaled back production. The rapid rebounding of the market has led to the existing lower sized stock of memory being depleted quicker.

Supply chain problems and geopolitical uncertainty. Whilst not the primary driver global supply chain disruptions and trade policies caused uncertainty and volatility. Memory chips rely on a complex international manufacturing and logistical chain, and any issues here will ultimately end up impacting those looking to buy memory online.

What products are affected?

In short, anything that needs relatively new memory and memory chips.

Desktop DDR4 and DDR5 RAM. Whether trying to upgrade your PC or build a new one, home users looking for the best DDR5 RAM deals or even DDR4 are noticing much higher pricing.

SSDs. NAND flash memory prices started to increase off the back of the memory shortage. When trying to find the best SSD for gaming the current pricing has led many to have to trade off capacity against speed.

Laptops and prebuilt PCs. Increased in cost to manufacturers has of course led to at least part of these costs being passed onto consumers.

Enterprise server memory. Those looking to buy RAM for servers are facing huge increases in cost due to the very high demand for this particular type of memory.

When might prices come down?

There is no definite answers and its hard to say for sure.  There have been some signs that those looking to buy computer memory have experienced slight drops in pricing in Europe.

However in the long term predictions can range from the end of 2026 through to the situation continuing into the next decade.

With demand looking unlikely to drop in the short term, any price relief will come from increased levels of production, with new fabrication capacity continuing to come online. However any uptick in supply will take time to reach consumers and businesses.

Looking to buy memory now?

If your memory or SSD upgrade isn’t critical waiting until the end of 2026 or early 2027 may pay off if memory or SSD price trends start to improve. However if you need to buy now there are multiple ways to try and minimise the costs.

Compare prices and do your research. Run a thorough RAM price comparison across multiple retailers. Prices currently vary more than they usually would due to the volatility of the mark.

Don’t overbuy capacity. For example consider whether you really need 64GB memory now or whether 32GB might suffice in the short term, with the option to upgrade later. Consult a memory upgrade guide when looking to buy RAM or an SSD to see what you really need for your daily requirements.

Consider buying refurbished RAM. Whilst used DDR5 memory is relatively hard to come by, if you are looking to buy cheap refurbished DDR4 RAM you may find a considerable cost saving compared to buying new.

Wait for traditional seasonal sales. With the increased prices computer memory sales are likely to be rarer, however you may still find discounted RAM in promotional periods.

In Conclusion

At least in the short term we are unlikely to see a return to cheap computer memory prices. The continued demand from AI data centres is likely to keep prices high in the short term and monitoring memory and SSD price trends until the market improves may be the best option if the upgrade isn’t urgent.

However those looking to buy memory online right now can still achieve cost savings by comparing RAM prices or by looking to buy refurbished memory.