RAM and SSD Prices Diverge as DDR5 Index Rises 397% Versus 158% for SSDs
Kalmar, Sweden – September 18, 2026 – MemoryPriceChart reports a widening divergence between retail DDR5 memory and SSD pricing, with its chain-linked DDR5 trend now 397% above its August 2025 backcast point compared with a 158% increase for its SSD index.
The difference represents a 239-percentage-point gap between the two independently constructed retail price indices. The data highlights how memory-related components can experience substantially different pricing cycles even when they are exposed to some of the same semiconductor supply, AI infrastructure demand and production-capacity pressures.
The latest RAM prices chart tracks six eligible 32GB and 64GB desktop DDR5 kits from four brands. At the latest published weekly point, the basket median stands at $18.44 per GB, while the mean is $18.83 per GB. The DDR5 trend was also up 1.7% from the previous successful observation.
The separate SSD Price Chart tracks six mainstream 1TB and 2TB internal PCIe 4.0 NVMe drives. Its latest basket median is $159.94 per TB, with a mean of $168.83 per TB. The most recent SSD weekly median increased 3.9% from the prior successful point.
Different parts of the memory market are moving at different speeds
MemoryPriceChart constructs the RAM and SSD series separately rather than combining DRAM-based system memory and NAND-based storage into a single memory-price measure.
The DDR5 index is based on new desktop memory kits, while the SSD index follows mainstream consumer NVMe drives. Both use observable US retail listings and normalize prices by capacity, but each index has its own product basket and market dynamics.
Since the August 2025 historical comparison point, the difference in the two indices has become increasingly visible:
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DDR5 chain-linked median trend: +397%
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SSD chain-linked median trend: +158%
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Difference between the two increases: 239 percentage points
The comparison does not mean DDR5 and SSD prices should normally move together. DRAM and NAND have different production economics, inventories, customer groups and product cycles. The data instead illustrates the extent to which retail component pricing has diverged during the current memory-market cycle.
“Memory prices are still moving higher. After the pace of increases slowed at the beginning of 2026, upward pressure has returned, particularly across DRAM and GPU memory markets,” said Per of MemoryPriceChart. “The growing difference between RAM and SSD pricing also shows why it is useful to track these markets separately rather than treating memory as a single price category.”
AI demand remains part of the wider supply picture
The retail trends are developing as memory manufacturers continue to allocate capacity across consumer, enterprise and AI-related markets.
AI infrastructure growth is increasing demand for several categories of memory and storage, including data-center DRAM, high-bandwidth memory and enterprise NAND. These markets do not map directly to consumer DDR5 modules or retail NVMe SSDs, but changes in manufacturing priorities, product mix and available capacity can affect the broader supply environment.
MemoryPriceChart therefore treats its indices as measurements of observed retail pricing rather than forecasts or direct measures of semiconductor contract or spot prices.
The RAM prices chart and SSD Price Chart are updated from scheduled observations of eligible US retail listings, with product-level observations consolidated into weekly data points.
About MemoryPriceChart
MemoryPriceChart is an independent memory, storage and high-VRAM GPU price reference. The project tracks observable retail listings and separately sourced market data to provide transparent price histories for computer memory and storage categories.
Its DDR5 index follows mainstream desktop RAM, while its SSD index tracks 1TB and 2TB internal PCIe 4.0 NVMe drives. The project publishes its product baskets, methodology and data limitations so readers can evaluate how each series is constructed.
Website: https://memorypricechart.com/
SSD Price Chart: https://memorypricechart.com/ssd/
Media contact: https://memorypricechart.com/contact/
Media Contact
Company Name: Seodev AB
Contact Person: Per
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City: Kalmar
Country: Sweden
Website: https://memorypricechart.com/
