In May 2026, typical DDR5 memory cost $13.81/GB — -30.7% compared with April 2026. DDR4 sat at $8.97/GB.
Data through 2026-05-27 · 18 daily snapshots in this month · 3,767 modules tracked · Methodology
Reviewed by C.R. Vinoth Kumar, Founder & Developer · LinkedIn
Other monthly reports
DDR5 · month end
$13.81/GB
DDR4 · month end
$8.97/GB
All RAM · month end
$10.28/GB
DDR5 vs DDR4 premium
$4.84/GB
DDR5 costs more per gigabyte (+54.0% vs DDR4)
Biggest monthly mover
DDR5
Buy timing snapshot (month end)
Based on 52-week history through 2026-05-27 — capturing exact historical buy signals at that moment in time.
DDR4 Standard
Great time to buy
DDR5 Standard
Great time to buy
RAM Buying Strategy & Capacity Advisor
Struggling to decide on memory size? Match your system target and budget to calculate the optimal choice using this month's data.
What happened this month?
- DDR5 ended the month at $13.81/GB on average — -30.7% versus the prior month.
- DDR4 averaged $8.97/GB (-6.0% month over month).
- DDR4 saw a sharper swing than DDR5 — worth checking if you are upgrading an older DDR4 system versus building new with DDR5.
- DDR5 cost about $4.84 more per GB than DDR4 at month end (+54.0% premium).
- DDR5 saw the largest swing this month at -30.7% month over month.
Price per GB by capacity (as of month end)
Averages across tracked listings as of 2026-05-27 — highly useful for choosing 16GB vs 32GB upgrades.
| Capacity | DDR4 $/GB | DDR5 $/GB | Tracked Listings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8GB | $9.75/GB | $17.42/GB | 542 |
| 16GB | $9.62/GB | $18.95/GB | 899 |
| 32GB | $9.01/GB | $17.06/GB | 948 |
| 64GB | $8.92/GB | $13.47/GB | 468 |
| 128GB | $6.59/GB | $3.27/GB | 252 |
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?
Prices eased this month. If you have been waiting, compare a few kits by $/GB and buy when you find a strong deal score — waiting for perfection can backfire in a volatile market.
Segment performance comparison
Detailed breakdown of RAM price swings over a 1-month and 3-month scale.
| Segment | Month end | Prior Month | MoM Change | 3 Mo Ago | 3-Mo Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DDR5 | $13.81/GB | $19.94/GB | ↓30.7% | — | — |
| DDR4 | $8.97/GB | $9.54/GB | ↓6.0% | — | — |
| All RAM | $10.28/GB | $12.70/GB | ↓19.1% | — | — |
| Laptop | $9.51/GB | $9.95/GB | ↓4.5% | — | — |
| Gaming | $12.21/GB | $16.05/GB | ↓23.9% | — | — |
Common questions
- What did DDR5 RAM cost per GB in May 2026?
- Our month-end snapshot shows DDR5 averaged $13.81/GB across 1,378 tracked in-stock modules on Amazon.
- How much more expensive is DDR5 than DDR4?
- At month end, DDR5 averaged $13.81/GB versus $8.97/GB for DDR4 — about $4.84/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 3,767 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.
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Cite this report
Journalists and creators: link to this URL and credit RAM Prices USA.
RAM Prices USA, "RAM Price Index — May 2026" (2026-05-27). https://rampricesusa.com/insights/monthly/2026-05