DDR5 RAM prices have surged by a shocking 440%, while DDR3 and DDR4 prices have also climbed sharply.
Anyone planning a PC upgrade in Germany will likely face an increasingly volatile market. The latest price data shows memory costs continue to skyrocket, extending a trend that began in the second half of 2025 and shows little sign of slowing down into 2026.
According to updated data from the 3DCenter memory price index, retail RAM prices in Germany continued to climb until mid-January. This index tracks products listed on Geizhals, excluding eBay and Amazon Marketplace, clearly reflecting the impact of persistent supply pressures on the consumer RAM market across various generations. While the report focuses on the German market, 3DCenter suggests that the US and many other regions may also be experiencing similar pressures.
DDR5 is at the heart of the price surge.
The most significant inflation remains focused on DDR5 RAM for desktop computers. Broadly speaking, DDR5 prices are now more than four times higher than they were in July 2025, making it the most volatile segment in the entire 3DCenter index.
Although the surge is no longer as explosive as it was at the end of last year, DDR5 prices have still increased significantly. In January alone, DDR5 continued to rise by 27.6% compared to the previous month, following a staggering 93% increase in the period from November to December.
This increase becomes more apparent when looking at individual products. High-capacity DDR5 kits have seen monthly price increases even higher than their original prices six months ago. For example, a 2x32GB DDR5-5600 kit increased from 530 euros in December to 677 euros in January. Meanwhile, mainstream configurations have experienced the largest percentage increases, due to their much lower initial prices.
Not only DDR5, but older memory standards are also starting to feel the impact. DDR3 and DDR4 have seen faster price increases in recent weeks, with the monthly rate of increase showing no signs of slowing down. According to 3DCenter, the average price of these RAM types is now 219% higher than in July 2025, equivalent to about 3.2 times the original price.
AI continues to be the main cause.
These figures align with G.SKILL's recent explanation. According to the company, the surge in DDR5 prices is a consequence of a severe supply shortage combined with unprecedented demand from the AI sector.
The DRAM industry is facing widespread shortages, as manufacturers increasingly prioritize enterprise-grade memory, especially HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) for data centers, over consumer-grade products.
The impact of this situation has been evident at the retail level. As DRAM supply tightens and costs rise along the entire supply chain, price pressure is not limited to high-end DDR5 kits, but has spread to DDR3, DDR4, and even storage products, which 3DCenter has also noted have seen significant price increases.
For users and system assemblers, the latest data offers little positive news. With supply showing no signs of improvement and AI-driven demand still dominating memory production, retail RAM prices are predicted to remain unstable in the near future.
