Why are RAM and SSD prices so high, and when will they come down?

RAM and SSD prices are high because the companies that make memory chips are selling them to AI data centers first. Samsung, SK hynix and Micron make most of the world's DRAM, and they keep moving factory capacity to server memory and HBM for AI accelerators, which leaves less for the RAM sticks and SSDs in PCs. TrendForce's contract-price data shows conventional DRAM up 93–98% in the first quarter of 2026 alone, then smaller rises every quarter since. When will they come down? The rises are slowing (TrendForce forecasts +10–15% for Q4 2026), but nobody we read forecasts falling prices before the new factories open, and most of those open in 2028. Checked November 3, 2026.

Why are RAM and SSD prices so high right now?

Because AI data centers outbid everyone else for the same factories. Every DRAM chip in your PC, every NAND chip in your SSD and the HBM stacked next to an AI accelerator come out of fabs run by a handful of companies. When AI customers sign multi-year contracts at record prices, the makers fill those orders first.

The makers say so themselves:

• TrendForce, Sep 30, 2026: DRAM suppliers "continue to prioritize advanced-process capacity for high-performance server products in 4Q26, keeping the overall market undersupplied." TrendForce also expects PC DRAM supply could shrink in 2027 as more capacity moves to servers.
• SK hynix, Oct 28, 2026: the company has signed long-term agreements with 14 major customers, "including leading global cloud service providers (CSPs)", and "The LTA volume secured to date corresponds to more than 50% of total production capacity for 2027 and 2028."
• Micron, Dec 3, 2025: Micron announced it would exit the Crucial consumer business, one of the best-known budget RAM and SSD brands, citing AI-driven data-center demand and the need to improve supply for its "larger, strategic customers in faster-growing segments." Crucial shipments through stores ran until the end of Micron's fiscal Q2 (February 2026); warranty support continues.

The money shows where the chips went. Micron reported fiscal Q4 2026 revenue (quarter ended Sep 3, 2026) of $54.23 billion, against $11.32 billion a year earlier, per its own results release.

How much have memory prices actually gone up in 2026?

A lot at the start of the year, less each quarter since. These are contract prices, what PC makers and module brands pay the chipmakers. Shelf prices follow them with a delay and vary by store.

Multiply those quarters out and conventional DRAM contract prices end 2026 at roughly 3.8 to 4.4 times their level at the end of 2025. That's our arithmetic on TrendForce's ranges (Q1 realized, Q2 to Q4 forecasts), not a TrendForce figure, and it covers chip contracts, not the price tag on a particular RAM kit.

You may also see a "20% in Q4" figure. TrendForce's Oct 20 news piece, citing Commercial Times, says fourth-quarter DRAM contract prices are expected to rise about 20% quarter on quarter, down from about 80% in Q2 and 40% in Q3. It doesn't say it means conventional DRAM, and its quarter figures don't match the press-release series, so treat it as a different measure; the 10–15% figure is TrendForce's own forecast for conventional DRAM, the kind in PC memory.

We don't quote shelf prices for specific RAM kits or SSDs here. We tried to read dated prices on the makers' own US stores on November 3, 2026, and the pages we could open didn't show a price for the models we checked. Check two or three stores on the day you buy.

When will RAM and SSD prices come down?

Not soon. Here's what each signal says, as of November 3, 2026:

• The rises are slowing. TrendForce's quarterly forecasts fell from 93–98% (Q1) to 10–15% (Q4) for conventional DRAM. Its reasons in the July release: record prices are pushing PC and smartphone buyers to their limit, and the comparison base is now much higher.
• Slowing isn't falling. None of the TrendForce releases we read forecasts a quarter of lower DRAM or NAND contract prices.
• The makers expect the shortage to last. SK hynix "expects the structure in which demand exceeds supply to persist through 2030," citing "the long lead time required to build new production facilities." TrendForce reports that Micron's CEO said on Sep 30, 2026 that "memory and storage supply-demand conditions could tighten further in fiscal 2027 and 2028 versus 2026."
• New factories mostly arrive in 2028. Per TrendForce's Oct 6 roundup: SK hynix pulled the opening of Y1's first cleanroom forward to February 2027, with its Cheongju M17 NAND fab targeting December 2028; Samsung's Pyeongtaek P5 is targeted to begin operations in 2028; and, citing Schulz Research, much of the next wave of supply, from Micron's Idaho and Japan fabs to SK hynix's Cheongju expansion, "is not expected to arrive until late 2028." TrendForce's own summary: "the timelines point to 2028 as a key inflection point for new capacity—but with fabs ramping gradually, rather than all at once, supply relief may prove just as gradual."

Our read: expect rises to keep shrinking through 2027 and possibly flatten, with real price drops in 2028 at the earliest, as the new fabs ramp. That's a reading of the makers' and TrendForce's timelines, not a forecast of our own. What could change it: memory is a cyclical business, and a sharp pullback in AI data-center spending would free capacity faster than any new fab. No maker we read expects that.

Does this mean SSDs are affected as much as RAM?

Less in percentage terms, but they're still climbing. SSDs use NAND flash, not DRAM. TrendForce's NAND forecasts run 10–15% for Q3 and 15–20% for Q4 2026, and it says enterprise SSDs, the drives AI servers use, are the only category where price growth is speeding up. TrendForce's Sep 30 release also says PC brands are cutting SSD capacity in mainstream models to save on parts cost, so check the storage size on any prebuilt or laptop you buy this season.

Should I buy RAM or an SSD now, or wait?

If you need it, buy it now; if you don't, don't stockpile. Every forecast above points to flat-to-higher prices for the next year, not lower, so waiting for a crash is a bet against the makers' own guidance. Ways to spend less:

• Size RAM to the job. For gaming, see how much RAM you need for gaming. For local AI, system RAM matters most when a model spills out of your graphics card; how much RAM you need for local AI covers it, and our VRAM calculator shows whether a model fits on the GPU before you pay for 64 GB of RAM.
• Keep the parts you have. A working DDR4 platform or an older SSD that still has room is worth more this year than usual.
• Graphics cards feel it too. GPUs use the same DRAM supply; see why GPU prices are up.

If the reason you're pricing a big RAM build is to try large local AI models, you don't have to buy the memory first. A rented GPU comes with its own system RAM and VRAM, by the hour, and you can see which card a model needs on our live cloud GPU prices page.

The next data points to watch: TrendForce's 1Q27 contract-price forecast and the three makers' next quarterly results. A first forecast of flat or falling contract prices would be the first real sign of relief.