2026 could well be the year of the $500 32GB DDR5 memory module — experts predict DDR will go up by 60% in Q1 2026 alone

• DDR5 pricing is already sky high and further increases look likely this year
• A 60% DRAM rise could push 32GB DDR5 modules beyond $500
• Server and AI demand is reshaping supply for consumer memory

You can’t have failed to notice that DRAM memory pricing is already high - and sadly, new forecasts have suggested prices are about to climb much further.

Industry analysts expect a major increase in DDR5 costs in 2026, driven by tightening supply and shifting priorities across the memory market.

TrendForce says it expects DRAM contract prices to jump by around 55 to 60% in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the quarter before, reflecting tighter supply across the market.

Worrying forecast

The research links the increase to suppliers moving advanced capacity toward server and HBM products, which tightens supply in other markets, something I wrote about recently.

It's important to note that TrendForce's forecast is about contract pricing, not a guaranteed one to one jump for retail modules. Still, it gives a sense of the kind of pressure that can flow through to PC parts if inventories tighten and module makers pass costs along, which they surely will.

As an example of where things might lead, on Newegg, a single Patriot Viper Venom 32GB DDR5-5200 module is currently listed at $325.99.

If retail pricing rose in line with the top end of TrendForce’s forecast, multiplying that $325.99 baseline by 1.6 would put it around $521.60, a figure that would have been unthinkable this time last year.

DDR5 is particularly exposed because it shares production processes with server focused memory.

Even where demand has softened, supply constraints are still pushing prices upward, as NAND Flash pricing is also expected to rise, although the dynamics differ.

TrendForce forecasts increases across all NAND categories, with client SSD prices projected to climb by more than 40% quarter over quarter.

For PC builders, the outlook is uncomfortable right now. Memory budgeting is becoming harder, and components once considered secondary are increasingly becoming central to build decisions.

Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.