RAM crisis gets worse: Memory to get 110% more expensive in Q1 as SSD prices go up by 60%

According to an analysis by 3DCenter, RAM prices barely increased between January 18 and February 1 in Germany. But compared with last July, RAM kits are now 340% more expensive on average. These rather stable prices over the past two weeks are unlikely to last, as TrendForce analysts assume that the costs of DDR4 and DDR5 RAM for the PC market will rise by 105% to 110% in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the fourth quarter of 2025.

Laptop memory such as LPDDR4X and LPDDR5X is expected to become 88% to 93% more expensive, as is DRAM for servers. According to TrendForce, the very high DRAM demand for AI data centers is responsible for these rising prices. Since TrendForce’s figures refer to the purchase prices of memory for PC and laptop manufacturers, it will likely take some time before the increase is passed on to consumers. Either way, if TrendForce’s forecast is accurate, it can be assumed that RAM prices will rise sharply over the coming months.

NAND demand is also skyrocketing due to the AI boom, and TrendForce expects price increases of 55 to 60% compared to the fourth quarter of 2025. An end to this SSD shortage is not in sight either. Some memory makers assume that the situation might improve in 2028 at the earliest. As a consequence, DRAM and NAND prices as well as smartphone, PCs and laptop prices will likely continue to rise over the next 2 to 3 years.