If you priced a 32GB DDR5 kit in the summer of 2025, you paid about $115 for it on average. Today the cheapest 32GB DDR5 kit Amazon sells itself, a Corsair Vengeance RS at 6000 MT/s, costs $474.99. That is a good price, because the median DDR5 desktop listing we tracked works out to $17.21 per GB, about 2.0 times the $8.47 per GB a DDR4 kit costs. RAM prices are now the biggest swing in what a build, a laptop upgrade or a homelab node costs, so the order you buy parts in matters more than the brand.
We track the cost per GB of 155 in-stock memory listings on Amazon US across eight types: DDR5 and DDR4 desktop kits, laptop and mini PC SO-DIMMs, ECC UDIMMs and registered RDIMMs. We checked every price below through Amazon’s product API on October 30, 2026, so these are real listings with real sellers, not estimates. The page sits next to our SSD price tracker and the forecast for whether RAM prices drop in 2027, and we refresh it monthly.
The cost per GB at a glance
Start here if you only want to know what RAM costs right now. The median is the number to plan a budget around, and the cheapest listing is what a patient buyer can get today. Both come from new, in-stock listings only, with renewed modules, preorders and bundles filtered out.
| Memory type | Listings | Cheapest per GB | Median per GB | Cheapest listing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DDR5 desktop | 30 | $14.84 | $17.21 | 32GB at $474.99, Amazon.com |
| DDR4 desktop | 25 | $5.98 | $8.47 | 64GB at $382.99, Timetec (brand store) (low stock) |
| DDR5 SO-DIMM | 23 | $15.00 | $16.72 | 16GB at $239.99, Amazon.com |
| DDR4 SO-DIMM | 17 | $5.94 | $8.01 | 16GB at $94.99, Timetec (brand store) |
| DDR5 ECC UDIMM | 18 | $29.37 | $37.22 | 32GB at $939.99, nvtek |
| DDR4 ECC UDIMM | 14 | $8.71 | $9.35 | 64GB at $557.18, OWC (brand store) |
| DDR5 RDIMM | 11 | $36.24 | $42.41 | 16GB at $579.79, Memorybank (low stock) |
| DDR4 RDIMM | 17 | $6.53 | $13.39 | 8GB at $52.24, A-Tech Components (low stock) |
The generation you buy decides the bill more than the brand, the speed or the seller. Three numbers from the table shape every recommendation on this page:
- DDR5 costs about twice DDR4: that holds on desktops and in SO-DIMM form alike, which is why reusing a DDR4 platform is the cheapest way into a new machine this year.
- ECC is nearly free on DDR4: a $9.35 median against $8.47 for desktop kits. On DDR5 it more than doubles the price, $37.22 against $17.21.
- DDR5 RDIMMs top the page: a $42.41 median, because server memory competes for the same chips the AI build-out is buying.
Two of the cheapest-per-GB rows need a footnote. The Timetec DDR4 desktop kit runs at 2666 MT/s CL19, slower than the 3200 MT/s most AM4 and LGA1700 boards are happy at. The cheapest DDR4 RDIMM is an 8GB DDR4-2400 stick, which is fine for an old Xeon but too small to fill a board with, so the medians are the fairer comparison.
The kits we would buy today
Each pick below is sold by Amazon itself or by the memory maker’s own storefront, so warranty claims go to someone who stands behind the module. Start with what your board takes: a desktop board takes UDIMMs, laptops and most mini PCs take SO-DIMMs, and a server or workstation board may need ECC.
Cheapest DDR5 sold by Amazon: Corsair Vengeance RS 32GB
At $474.99, the Corsair Vengeance RS 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6000 CL38 works out to $14.84 per GB, the lowest DDR5 desktop price on the page, and Amazon ships it. The G.SKILL Ripjaws S5 at $479.00 and the Patriot Viper Venom RGB at $479.99 are within a few dollars, but neither comes from Amazon directly. CL38 is a looser timing than the CL30 kits enthusiasts chase, a trade we would take on a homelab or dev box where capacity matters more than a few nanoseconds of latency.
Skip it if you expect to need 64GB. On a two-slot board you would have to replace the kit, and on a four-slot board a second kit means four DIMMs, which boards rate at lower speeds than two. A comparable kit with CL30 timings, the Kingston FURY Beast 6000 CL30, was $790.00 from Amazon on the same day, $315 more for timings most homelab work never notices.
64GB of DDR5 for $1,000: Corsair Vengeance RGB RS
The Corsair Vengeance RGB RS 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5-6000 CL40 was $999.99 from Amazon, $15.62 per GB. That is 9% under the DDR5 desktop median and the cheapest Amazon-sold 64GB kit we found. The TEAMGROUP T-Force Delta Alpha 64GB from TEAMGROUP’s own store was 50 cents cheaper at $999.49, so take whichever is in stock.
64GB is where a Proxmox or Kubernetes lab on one desktop stops being cramped. Our Proxmox RAM sizing guide explains how far 64GB goes with ZFS ARC and a handful of VMs. The cheapest 2x32GB kits cost only about 80 cents more per GB than the cheapest 2x16GB kits, so buying the larger kit once costs little more than upgrading twice.
DDR4 desktop: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB, or Timetec for less
Amazon sold the Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 for $259.99, $8.12 per GB. It is the only DDR4 desktop kit in our pull that Amazon shipped itself, and CL16 at 3200 MT/s is the configuration AM4 Ryzen and DDR4 LGA1700 boards run best at. The TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z with the same speed and timings was $237.99 from a reseller.
For an office PC or an old server board that runs at 2666 MT/s anyway, Timetec’s own store had a 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4-2666 kit for $191.99 and a 64GB (4x16GB) kit for $382.99. Both work out to about $6 per GB. Our DDR4 RAM kit picks go through which kits suit which platform, and the cheap build that reuses your DDR4 shows how much a DDR4 board saves on a whole machine.
SO-DIMM for laptops and mini PCs: two Corsair 16GB sticks
For DDR5 SO-DIMM, the cheapest way to 32GB was not a kit. Amazon sold the Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR5-5600 SO-DIMM for $239.99, so two sticks cost $479.98, $20 less than the cheapest 2x16GB kits from TEAMGROUP and Timetec at $499.99. Two matching modules give you dual-channel memory, which matters on mini PCs where the integrated GPU shares that bandwidth.
The 32GB single stick from the same Corsair line was $479.99 at the same $15.00 per GB, which suits a laptop with one free slot. On DDR4, Timetec’s 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4-3200 SO-DIMM kit at $189.99 tied for the lowest price per GB on the whole page at $5.94. If you are choosing a machine rather than upgrading one, our laptops for virtualization and mini PCs for a Proxmox homelab guides flag which models still have SO-DIMM slots instead of soldered memory.
ECC for a homelab: OWC 32GB DDR4 ECC UDIMM
OWC’s own store sold its 32GB DDR4-3200 ECC UDIMM for $279.99, $8.75 per GB, and the 64GB (2x32GB) kit for $557.18, $8.71 per GB. That is within about 3% of the non-ECC DDR4 median, so if your AM4 Ryzen or Xeon E board supports unbuffered ECC, there is no reason left to skip it. The same OWC module was $279.99 on October 19 as well.
DDR5 ECC is a different story at $37.22 per GB median, and we would only buy it for a board that needs it. Our ECC RAM guide for homelabs covers which AMD and Intel platforms run ECC UDIMMs and how to confirm it is active.
DDR5 prices per GB for desktop kits
DDR5 desktop kits are where most RAM price searches start. The spread is wide, with 32GB of DDR5-6000 running from $474.99 to $790.00 on the same day. The verdict compares each kit’s cost per GB with the median of all 30 in-stock DDR5 desktop listings in our pull, single modules included ($17.21): Good is 5% or more below it, Fair runs from 5% below to 15% above it, and Overpriced is anything higher. Linked prices are sold by Amazon or the brand’s own store.
| Kit | Speed | Price | Per GB | Sold by | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patriot Viper Venom 2x8GB | 6000 CL36 | $252.99 | $15.81 | Patriot (brand store) | Good |
| G.SKILL Flare X5 2x8GB | 6000 CL30 | $267.99 | $16.75 | Newegg Business | Fair |
| Crucial DDR5 2x8GB | 5600 CL46 | $347.49 | $21.72 | Blue Orbit Commerce Group (low stock) | Overpriced |
| Kingston FURY Beast 2x8GB | 5600 CL40 | $349.99 | $21.87 | Hyperdealz, LLC (low stock) | Overpriced |
| Corsair Vengeance RS 2x16GB | 6000 CL38 | $474.99 | $14.84 | Amazon.com | Good |
| G.SKILL Ripjaws S5 2x16GB | 6000 CL36 | $479.00 | $14.97 | electrolert (low stock) | Good |
| Patriot Viper Venom RGB 2x16GB | 6000 CL36 | $479.99 | $15.00 | Patriot (brand store) | Good |
| Patriot Viper Venom 2x16GB | 6000 CL30 | $489.99 | $15.31 | Patriot (brand store) | Good |
| TEAMGROUP T-Force Delta RGB 2x16GB | 6000 CL38 | $495.00 | $15.47 | Giz-Promo | Good |
| G.SKILL Flare X5 2x16GB | 6000 CL36 | $505.00 | $15.78 | Tri-State Gifts (low stock) | Good |
| TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 2x16GB | 6000 CL38 | $524.90 | $16.40 | Amazon.com (low stock) | Fair |
| Crucial Pro 2x16GB | 6400 CL32 | $532.99 | $16.66 | QyTech (low stock) | Fair |
| G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo RGB 2x16GB | 6000 CL36 | $549.99 | $17.19 | RACERSPEED INC. | Fair |
| Crucial DDR5 2x16GB | 5600 CL46 | $609.95 | $19.06 | STOCKYFY (low stock) | Fair |
| Kingston FURY Beast 2x16GB | 5600 CL36 | $609.99 | $19.06 | electrolert (low stock) | Fair |
| Kingston FURY Beast 2x16GB | 6000 CL30 | $790.00 | $24.69 | Amazon.com (low stock) | Overpriced |
| TEAMGROUP T-Force Delta Alpha RGB 2x32GB | 6000 CL38 | $999.49 | $15.62 | TEAMGROUP (brand store) | Good |
| Corsair Vengeance RGB RS 2x32GB | 6000 CL40 | $999.99 | $15.62 | Amazon.com | Good |
| G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo RGB 2x32GB | 6000 CL36 | $1,089.99 | $17.03 | RACERSPEED INC. | Fair |
| Crucial Pro 2x32GB | 6000 CL40 | $1,109.99 | $17.34 | Vaya Components (low stock) | Fair |
| Crucial Pro 2x32GB | 5600 CL46 | $1,178.77 | $18.42 | SiliconValleySeller (low stock) | Fair |
| G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo 2x32GB | 6000 CL30 | $1,199.99 | $18.75 | RACERSPEED INC. | Fair |
| G.SKILL Ripjaws S5 2x32GB | 6000 CL30 | $1,199.99 | $18.75 | RACERSPEED INC. | Fair |
| TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 2x32GB | 6000 CL34 | $1,229.99 | $19.22 | TEAMGROUP (brand store) | Fair |
| Kingston FURY Beast 2x32GB | 6000 CL30 | $1,299.99 | $20.31 | Nutrend Automotive Inc (low stock) | Overpriced |
| G.SKILL Flare X5 2x32GB | 6000 CL30 | $1,299.99 | $20.31 | RACERSPEED INC. | Overpriced |
| G.SKILL Ripjaws S5 2x48GB | 5600 CL40 | $1,509.99 | $15.73 | RACERSPEED INC. (low stock) | Good |
| TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 2x48GB | 6400 CL32 | $1,949.99 | $20.31 | TEAMGROUP (brand store) | Overpriced |
| G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo RGB 2x48GB | 6000 CL28 | $2,169.99 | $22.60 | RACERSPEED INC. | Overpriced |
| Crucial DDR5 2x64GB | 5600 CL46 | $2,599.99 | $20.31 | ROKC Electronics (low stock) | Overpriced |
Tighter timings cost real money at 64GB: the four CL30 kits run $18.75 to $20.31 per GB, against $15.62 to $17.34 for the CL36 to CL40 kits at the same 6000 MT/s. 16GB kits mostly cost more per GB than 32GB kits, because the fixed cost of two modules is spread over less memory. The 96GB kits range from $15.73 to $22.60 per GB, and the cheap end is the G.SKILL Ripjaws S5 at 5600 MT/s, which is the kit we would pick for a 96GB workstation that cares about capacity first.
DDR4 prices per GB for desktop kits
DDR4 desktop memory has a $8.47 per GB median across 25 in-stock listings, about half the DDR5 figure. The cheap end of the table is crowded with 3200 MT/s kits within a dollar of each other. Verdicts use the same rules against the DDR4 median.
| Kit | Speed | Price | Per GB | Sold by | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Timetec 2x8GB | 3200 CL22 | $110.99 | $6.94 | Timetec (brand store) | Good |
| Patriot Viper Steel 2x8GB | 3600 CL18 | $124.99 | $7.81 | Patriot (brand store) | Good |
| TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 2x8GB | 3200 CL16 | $129.99 | $8.12 | TEAMGROUP (brand store) | Fair |
| Crucial DDR4 2x8GB | 3200 CL22 | $135.50 | $8.47 | eStarDeals | Fair |
| Corsair Vengeance LPX 2x8GB | 3200 CL16 | $169.99 | $10.62 | Nutrend Automotive Inc (low stock) | Overpriced |
| Timetec Elite 2x16GB | 2666 CL19 | $191.99 | $6.00 | Timetec (brand store) | Good |
| Crucial Pro 2x16GB | 3200 | $229.99 | $7.19 | Newegg Business | Good |
| TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 2x16GB | 3200 CL16 | $237.99 | $7.44 | GizRenew | Good |
| Corsair Vengeance LPX 2x16GB | 3200 CL16 | $259.99 | $8.12 | Amazon.com | Fair |
| Kingston FURY Beast 2x16GB | 3200 CL16 | $308.82 | $9.65 | Ironleaf Partners (low stock) | Fair |
| Patriot Viper Steel RGB 2x16GB | 3200 CL16 | $421.00 | $13.16 | trippodoshop | Overpriced |
| Timetec 4x16GB | 2666 CL19 | $382.99 | $5.98 | Timetec (brand store) (low stock) | Good |
| Patriot Viper Steel 2x32GB | 3600 CL18 | $499.99 | $7.81 | Newegg Business | Good |
| Crucial DDR4 2x32GB | 3200 CL22 | $515.79 | $8.06 | Memorybank (low stock) | Fair |
| Kingston FURY Beast 4x16GB | 3200 CL16 | $1,000.12 | $15.63 | Garner Supply (low stock) | Overpriced |
| Kingston FURY Beast 2x32GB | 3200 CL16 | $1,059.99 | $16.56 | Newegg Business (low stock) | Overpriced |
The Kingston FURY Beast 64GB (2x32GB) is the trap in this table. At $1,059.99 it costs $16.56 per GB, close to the DDR5 median, while the Patriot Viper Steel 64GB (2x32GB) DDR4-3600 was $499.99 from Newegg Business on Amazon. Brand loyalty costs $560 here, so compare per GB before you compare names.
SO-DIMM prices for laptops and mini PCs
SO-DIMMs cost about the same per GB as desktop memory of the same generation: a $16.72 median for DDR5 and $8.01 for DDR4. Most run at JEDEC speeds (5600 MT/s for DDR5, 3200 for DDR4) without heat spreaders, so the spread between brands is narrower than on desktops, and nearly every laptop or mini PC with slots accepts the plain modules below.
| Module or kit | Type | Speed | Price | Per GB | Sold by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corsair Vengeance SODIMM 1x16GB | DDR5 | 5600 CL48 | $239.99 | $15.00 | Amazon.com |
| TEAMGROUP Elite 1x16GB | DDR5 | 5600 CL46 | $252.99 | $15.81 | TEAMGROUP (brand store) |
| Timetec 1x16GB | DDR5 | 5600 CL46 | $259.99 | $16.25 | Timetec (brand store) |
| Samsung 1x16GB | DDR5 | 5600 CL46 | $267.99 | $16.75 | Aeon Micro, Inc. (low stock) |
| Crucial 1x16GB | DDR5 | 5600 CL46 | $287.00 | $17.94 | DEVECHO INC (low stock) |
| Corsair Vengeance SODIMM 1x32GB | DDR5 | 5600 CL48 | $479.99 | $15.00 | Amazon.com |
| TEAMGROUP Elite 2x16GB | DDR5 | 5600 CL46 | $499.99 | $15.62 | TEAMGROUP (brand store) |
| Timetec 2x16GB | DDR5 | 5600 CL46 | $499.99 | $15.62 | Timetec (brand store) |
| Samsung 1x32GB | DDR5 | 5600 CL46 | $500.00 | $15.62 | eStarDeals (low stock) |
| Kingston FURY Impact 2x16GB | DDR5 | 5600 CL40 | $599.66 | $18.74 | prime bay (low stock) |
| TEAMGROUP Elite 2x32GB | DDR5 | 5600 CL46 | $1,049.99 | $16.41 | TEAMGROUP (brand store) (low stock) |
| Crucial 1x64GB | DDR5 | 5600 CL46 | $1,156.99 | $18.08 | RockyStone Electronics (low stock) |
| Crucial 2x48GB | DDR5 | 5600 CL46 | $1,605.13 | $16.72 | Comp Depot (low stock) |
| Timetec 1x16GB | DDR4 | 3200 CL22 | $94.99 | $5.94 | Timetec (brand store) |
| Crucial 1x16GB | DDR4 | 3200 CL22 | $108.77 | $6.80 | Blue Orbit Commerce Group (low stock) |
| Timetec Pinnacle 2x16GB | DDR4 | 3200 CL22 | $189.99 | $5.94 | Timetec (brand store) |
| TEAMGROUP Elite 2x16GB | DDR4 | 3200 CL22 | $200.99 | $6.28 | TEAMGROUP (brand store) |
| Crucial 2x16GB | DDR4 | 3200 CL22 | $224.00 | $7.00 | eStarDeals |
| Corsair Vengeance SODIMM 2x16GB | DDR4 | 3200 CL22 | $269.99 | $8.44 | Platinum Micro, Inc. |
| Timetec 2x32GB | DDR4 | 3200 CL22 | $419.99 | $6.56 | Timetec (brand store) (low stock) |
| Crucial 2x32GB | DDR4 | 3200 CL22 | $499.98 | $7.81 | A-Tech Components (low stock) |
| Kingston FURY Impact 2x32GB | DDR4 | 3200 CL20 | $1,059.99 | $16.56 | Newegg Business (low stock) |
Crucial’s DDR5 SO-DIMMs show what Micron’s exit from the Crucial consumer business did to listings. None of them came from Amazon itself. The 2x16GB kit we tracked on October 19 at $584.98 now has a backorder from a reseller as its buy-box offer, at $528.99. Buy Corsair, TEAMGROUP, Timetec or Samsung modules instead. Before you order, check three things on the target machine:
- Generation: DDR4 SO-DIMMs have 260 pins and DDR5 have 262, and the notch sits in a different place, so neither fits the other’s slot.
- Maximum per slot: older mini PCs and laptops may not accept 48GB or 64GB SO-DIMMs even when the newer ones in the same line do.
- Free slots: many thin laptops solder half their memory, leaving one slot, so a single 32GB stick beats a kit there.
ECC UDIMM and RDIMM prices
ECC prices split cleanly by generation. DDR4 ECC, unbuffered or registered, costs between $8.71 and $13.50 per GB in the table below, while DDR5 ECC UDIMMs start near $29 per GB and most DDR5 RDIMMs cost more than $40. Buy by what the board accepts, not by price, because the two ECC types are not interchangeable:
- ECC UDIMM: desktop-class boards with ECC support, such as AM4 and AM5 boards that enable it, W680 and Xeon E. This is the cheap route on DDR4.
- RDIMM: server and workstation boards that ask for registered memory (Xeon Scalable, EPYC, Threadripper PRO). Old DDR4 RDIMM servers are the cheapest way to a lot of RAM.
- Neither: a desktop board without ECC support usually runs ECC UDIMMs as plain memory, and it will not boot with RDIMMs at all.
The table mixes both types so you can see the gap between generations in one place.
| Module or kit | Type | Speed | Price | Per GB | Sold by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OWC 1x32GB | DDR4 ECC UDIMM | 3200 | $279.99 | $8.75 | OWC (brand store) |
| NEMIX 1x32GB | DDR4 ECC UDIMM | 3200 | $298.88 | $9.34 | nvtek |
| OWC 2x32GB | DDR4 ECC UDIMM | 3200 | $557.18 | $8.71 | OWC (brand store) |
| NEMIX 2x32GB | DDR4 ECC UDIMM | 3200 | $597.49 | $9.34 | nvtek |
| Kingston Server Premier 1x32GB | DDR4 RDIMM | 3200 | $359.79 | $11.24 | Memorybank (low stock) |
| NEMIX 2x16GB | DDR4 RDIMM | 3200 | $363.95 | $11.37 | nvtek |
| NEMIX 1x32GB | DDR4 RDIMM | 3200 | $431.95 | $13.50 | nvtek |
| NEMIX 1x64GB | DDR4 RDIMM | 3200 | $709.99 | $11.09 | nvtek |
| NEMIX 4x64GB | DDR4 RDIMM | 3200 | $2,834.89 | $11.07 | nvtek |
| NEMIX 1x32GB | DDR5 ECC UDIMM | 4800 | $939.99 | $29.37 | nvtek |
| NEMIX 2x32GB | DDR5 ECC UDIMM | 5600 | $1,898.99 | $29.67 | nvtek |
| NEMIX 1x16GB | DDR5 ECC UDIMM | 5600 | $573.99 | $35.87 | nvtek |
| OWC 1x32GB | DDR5 ECC UDIMM | 4800 | $1,259.99 | $39.37 | OWC (brand store) (low stock) |
| Kingston Server Premier 1x16GB | DDR5 ECC UDIMM | 5600 | $899.00 | $56.19 | MemoryMasters (low stock) |
| Samsung 1x16GB | DDR5 RDIMM | 5600 | $579.79 | $36.24 | Memorybank (low stock) |
| Samsung 1x32GB | DDR5 RDIMM | 4800 | $1,289.40 | $40.29 | A-Tech Components (low stock) |
| NEMIX 2x32GB | DDR5 RDIMM | 4800 | $2,713.99 | $42.41 | nvtek |
| Samsung 1x64GB | DDR5 RDIMM | 5600 | $2,759.79 | $43.12 | Memorybank (low stock) |
If you are building a ZFS box or a small Proxmox host, this table argues for a DDR4 platform. A 64GB DDR4 ECC UDIMM kit costs $557.18, and the 64GB DDR5 ECC UDIMM kit from the same table is $1,898.99, a $1,342 gap that pays for a used motherboard and CPU several times over. Our used workstation picks are built around exactly that kind of cheap DDR4 ECC memory.
How RAM prices moved since 2025
PCPartPicker’s memory price trends give the long view. Their average price for a DDR5-6000 2x16GB kit sat around $115 to $120 from May to August 2025, started rising in September 2025, and reached roughly $625 by mid-October 2026. The DDR4-3200 2x16GB average went from about $70 in May 2025 to about $290, but it has moved sideways since February 2026, while DDR5 kept climbing.
Our own reads of the same Amazon listings show where the last two months went. These are the exact ASINs we priced on September 6 and October 19 for our RAM forecast, read again today:
| Kit | Sep 6, 2026 | Oct 19, 2026 | Oct 30, 2026 | Since Sep 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston FURY Beast 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 | $628.79 | $773.22 | $790.00 | +26% |
| Patriot Viper Venom 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 | $479.99 | $484.99 | $489.99 | +2% |
| G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 | $1,199.99 | $1,199.99 | $1,199.99 | +0% |
| TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 96GB (2x48GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 | $1,649.99 | $1,949.99 | $1,949.99 | +18% |
| Crucial 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-5600 SO-DIMM | $499.95 | $584.98 | $528.99 (backorder) | +6% |
Most of the rise between September and October has stuck, and no kit in the table is cheaper today than it was on September 6. The Kingston kit kept climbing to $790.00, and the Crucial SO-DIMM only looks cheaper because the remaining offer is a backorder from a reseller. The Patriot and G.SKILL kits barely moved in two months, which is the closest thing to good news in the table.
Set against PCPartPicker’s average, Amazon’s cheapest DDR5 kit is the better buy: $474.99 for 32GB of DDR5-6000 against an average near $625. That is still about four times what the same 32GB cost before the shortage. DDR4 at $259.99 for 32GB is roughly 3.7 times its May 2025 average.
Buy RAM now or wait for Black Friday?
Buy now if you need the memory in the next three months. Contract prices are still rising into the fourth quarter, our own reads show no kit cheaper than in September, and the forecasts do not put relief before late 2027. A Black Friday discount is a percentage off today’s price. 15% off the $474.99 Corsair kit would still leave it near $404, three and a half times its 2025 average. How we would decide:
- You are building a PC now: buy the RAM first and on its own, because it is the part most likely to cost more next month. If the platform is still open, a DDR4 board saves roughly half on memory.
- Your laptop or mini PC has an empty slot: fill it with one module that matches the existing one, rather than replacing both. A 16GB DDR5 SO-DIMM is $239.99 from Amazon.
- You run a homelab on DDR4 ECC: buy spares now. The OWC 32GB module and the in-stock NEMIX 32GB modules cost the same as on October 19, and makers are winding DDR4 production down.
- You want 64GB+ of DDR5 but nothing is broken: wait, and watch the 2x32GB rows here. A seasonal sale will not undo a fourfold rise, but a monthly drift down would show up in this table first.
- You need DDR5 RDIMMs: buy only what the build needs this quarter. Server memory is where AI demand bites hardest, and it shows in the $40-plus per GB prices.
Whatever you buy, compare per GB before brand. On one day, 32GB of DDR5-6000 ran from $474.99 to $790.00 and 64GB of DDR4 from $499.99 to $1,059.99, and our GPU price tracker shows the same spread with graphics cards.
Why DDR5 keeps climbing while DDR4 holds
Memory makers are moving wafers to HBM and server DDR5 for AI accelerators, and consumer DDR5 gets what is left. TrendForce’s September 30 outlook expects conventional DRAM contract prices to rise another 10% to 15% in the fourth quarter of 2026, on top of an estimated 13% to 18% in the third. TrendForce’s earlier figures put the first quarter at more than 90% and the second close to 60%. Module makers buy chips on those contracts, so a contract increase reaches retail kits over the following months.
DDR4 sits on a different curve. Its retail price jumped early, as the big makers announced end-of-life plans for DDR4 and module makers stocked up ahead of them, and PCPartPicker’s average has held near the same level since February. That does not make it cheap, but it makes it predictable. Our explainer on why RAM and storage prices exploded covers the supply side in more detail, including what happened to NAS drives and SSDs at the same time.
How we collected these prices
Every price on this page came from the Amazon Creators API for the US store on October 30, 2026. We searched 46 product lines, kept new listings that were in stock or low stock, and dropped renewed modules, replacement parts sold for a specific OEM machine, bundles and preorders. That left 155 listings across the eight memory types, which set the medians; the tables also show a few kits we re-read by ASIN for the price history. The API returns the buy box offer, so a cheaper offer from another seller can sit on the same product page.
Three limits matter when you compare our numbers with other trackers:
- One store: Newegg, B&H and Micro Center can beat Amazon on any given day, and PCPartPicker’s averages blend many retailers.
- One day: Amazon reprices constantly, and a low-stock listing can vanish within hours.
- Price, not compatibility: a Good verdict says the price is low for its type. Check your board’s QVL and maximum capacity per slot before you buy, and see our DDR5 picks for homelab and workstation builds for which kits suit which platform.
We keep every monthly pull in the page’s data files, so next month’s update will show which of these prices moved and whether DDR5’s climb has finally slowed.
