In May 2026, typical DDR5 memory cost $19.96/GB — +0.1% compared with April 2026. DDR4 sat at $9.52/GB.
Data through 2026-05-19 · 14 daily snapshots in this month · 3,829 modules tracked · Methodology
Reviewed by C.R. Vinoth Kumar, Founder & Developer · LinkedIn
Other monthly reports
DDR5 · month end
$19.96/GB
+0.1% vs prior month
DDR4 · month end
$9.52/GB
-0.2% vs prior month
All RAM · month end
$12.75/GB
+0.4% vs prior month
DDR5 vs DDR4 premium
$10.43/GB
DDR5 costs more per gigabyte (+109.6% vs DDR4)
Biggest monthly mover
Gaming
+0.9% month over month
Buy timing snapshot (today)
Based on 52-week history through our latest daily refresh — separate from the month-end figures above.
DDR4
Average pricing
46th percentile of recent range
DDR5
Prices are elevated
100th percentile of recent range
What happened this month?
- DDR5 ended the month at $19.96/GB on average — +0.1% versus the prior month.
- DDR4 averaged $9.52/GB (-0.2% month over month).
- We track thousands of in-stock Amazon listings daily — numbers reflect list prices, not checkout coupons.
- DDR5 cost about $10.43 more per GB than DDR4 at month end (+109.6% premium).
Price per GB by capacity (catalog today)
Current Amazon averages across tracked kits — useful for picking 16GB vs 32GB.
| Capacity | DDR4 $/GB | DDR5 $/GB | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8GB | $9.68/GB | $17.02/GB | 580 |
| 16GB | $9.72/GB | $18.81/GB | 900 |
| 32GB | $9.25/GB | $18.43/GB | 945 |
| 64GB | $9.23/GB | $20.88/GB | 458 |
| 128GB | $8.88/GB | $26.13/GB | 251 |
Why prices move (in plain English)
Memory pricing in 2026 is driven by the same forces as other tech commodities: factory capacity, what buyers are hoarding, and which products Amazon still lists at scale. When AI and server demand pull chip production toward specialized memory, consumer DDR4 and DDR5 kits can rise even if your PC use case did not change. This report does not predict the future — it shows what actually happened to average U.S. Amazon list prices in our tracked catalog.
What should buyers do?
The market was relatively stable. Focus on the right capacity (32GB for most gaming PCs in 2026) and compatible speed for your CPU — not the flashiest kit on sale.
Segment comparison table
| Segment | Month end | Prior mo. | MoM | 3 mo ago | 3-mo chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DDR5 | $19.96/GB | $19.94/GB | +0.1% | — | — |
| DDR4 | $9.52/GB | $9.54/GB | -0.2% | — | — |
| All RAM | $12.75/GB | $12.70/GB | +0.4% | — | — |
| Laptop | $9.91/GB | $9.95/GB | -0.4% | — | — |
| Gaming | $16.19/GB | $16.05/GB | +0.9% | — | — |
Module counts: DDR5 1379 · DDR4 1773 · All RAM 3829 · Laptop 1041 · Gaming 1803 · Catalog size -4.4% vs prior month
Common questions
- What did DDR5 RAM cost per GB in May 2026?
- Our month-end snapshot shows DDR5 averaged $19.96/GB across 1,379 tracked in-stock modules on Amazon.
- How much more expensive is DDR5 than DDR4?
- At month end, DDR5 averaged $19.96/GB versus $9.52/GB for DDR4 — about $10.43/GB higher on a price-per-gigabyte basis.
- How is this monthly RAM price index calculated?
- We take the last daily snapshot for May 2026, average list price per GB within each segment (DDR4, DDR5, laptop, gaming, etc.), and compare to prior months. The index tracks 3,829 modules updated through our daily Amazon pipeline.
- When is the next monthly report published?
- A new report is published on the 1st of each month (UTC) after our daily price refresh completes. Use the daily price index page for same-day citation.
Cite this report
Journalists and creators: link to this URL and credit RAM Prices USA.
RAM Prices USA, "RAM Price Index — May 2026" (2026-05-19). https://rampricesusa.com/insights/monthly/2026-05