RAM prices & memory chip price tracker.

RAM & memory chip price FAQ

Why are RAM prices so high right now?

AI datacenter demand is the whole story. HBM consumes roughly three times the wafer area per shipped bit versus commodity DDR5, so every wafer a DRAM maker converts to HBM for AI accelerators removes several times more mainstream bits from the market. Effective industry bit supply is shrinking even as wafer starts grow, which is why DDR5, DDR4 and retail RAM kit prices have run up so hard.

When will RAM prices go down?

Not quickly. New greenfield DRAM fabs take roughly seven to nine quarters from tool-in to meaningful bit output, and the capacity being added is heavily earmarked for HBM. Until those bits land or AI accelerator demand cools, RAM prices are expected to stay structurally elevated — the tracker's 12-month charts are the fastest way to see whether the trend has actually turned.

Why is RAM so expensive now compared to last year?

Compare the year-over-year column on the price board: DRAM contracts across the tracked basket are up in the hundreds of percent, and DDR4 has moved most of all because suppliers are ending legacy nodes to free capacity for DDR5 and HBM. Retail DDR5 kits absorb that squeeze last but hardest, since consumers bid against hyperscaler purchase orders.

Where can I see a RAM price chart or DRAM price graph?

The price explorer on this page plots every tracked contract over 30 days to 12 months, as a line, area, change or AI-exposure scatter chart, indexed or in absolute dollars. You can filter by HBM, DRAM, NAND or retail and export the underlying series to CSV or Excel.

What is HBM and why does it cost so much?

High Bandwidth Memory stacks DRAM dies vertically with through-silicon vias next to an AI accelerator. Low stacking yields, advanced packaging constraints and allocation-based selling mean an HBM3E stack sells for hundreds of dollars versus low double digits for a commodity DRAM die.

Where do DRAM spot prices come from?

There is no exchange for memory. Public DRAM spot prices come from broker surveys — primarily the DRAMeXchange/TrendForce daily spot board — plus quarterly contract settlements, company filings and retail trackers such as PCPartPicker and Newegg. Every level here is flagged reported, derived or estimate and links to its source.

How often are memory chip prices updated?

DRAM and NAND spot levels move on a daily survey cycle, contract prices settle quarterly, and HBM is sold on multi-quarter allocation rather than an open market. The tracker records the session date alongside every price so you always know how fresh a number is.

Who makes the memory chips used in AI chips and datacenters?

SK hynix, Samsung and Micron supply essentially all HBM going into Nvidia, AMD and hyperscaler accelerators, with CXMT, Nanya and Winbond in commodity DRAM and Kioxia, SanDisk and others in NAND. The manufacturer leaderboard ranks them by bit share, HBM share, quarterly revenue, order backlog and capex.

More detail on contract definitions, units and data quality flags lives in the methodology, including the ranked list of data sources.