- RAM prices in Germany are still rising at a rate of knots
- DDR5 memory is up 27% month-on-month and is now 4.4 times more expensive than it was in July 2025
- DDR4 (and DDR3) RAM isn’t quite as expensive, but it’s catching up to DDR5’s massive inflation, and these German numbers reflect the global picture
Here’s your weekly dose of bad news on the RAM front, with rising prices in Germany serving as yet another indicator that the price of system memory worldwide is likely to keep rising – even from the exorbitant levels it’s already reached.
VideoCardz discovered that German tech website 3D Center updated its ‘Memory Crisis Price Index’ which, as the name suggests, tracks RAM prices at German retailers (and only retailers – third-party marketplace sellers or auction sites, aka scalpers, are not included).
Figures for January 2026 show that DDR5 RAM (in Germany) is now 4.4 times more expensive than it was in July 2025, just half a year ago (based on an average price of 20 different DDR5 products across different RAM kit capacities and speeds).
The good news – such as it is – is that DDR5 memory isn’t increasing as steeply now compared to the previous month, and it’s up 27%, which sounds like a lot, but not seen through the lens of the 93% increase from November to December.
Looking at older RAM, meaning DDR4 and also DDR3 memory – and the latter is becoming increasingly popular as a budget alternative for some people with the price crunch – these prices are rising faster than DDR5, but are still at a relatively lower level of inflation overall.
In January 2026, the DDR4 and DDR3 RAM kits monitored by the 3D Center increased by 46% relative to their cost, which was a faster increase than the previous month when their price inflation was 30%.
Compared to July 2025, these older standards of RAM are 3.2 times more expensive, so they haven’t reached the same levels as DDR5 yet. But month-to-month increases are steeper, meaning that DDR4 (and DDR3) is catching up to DDR5 for the overall price increase experienced.
Analysis: a global headache that won’t go away
Of course, it makes sense that with DDR5 having really gone through the roof (and still climbing skyward), those thinking they might need an upgrade to their DDR4 memory are now seeing the price of that RAM reflect the newer standard in the form of a meteoric rise — and likely deciding to pull the trigger before things get worse.
On top of that, perhaps those building a new PC simply choose to go the DDR4 route instead — or even DDR3, perhaps, if they only want a PC for basic computing tasks. However, I still wouldn’t recommend stepping back that far if you can possibly avoid it, although these products remain very cheap (relatively) even with price inflation (which is obviously the attraction for a niche set of buyers).
Although this is only one temperature taken in relation to how the RAM market is overheating right now, the German tech scene is the biggest in Europe and it obviously reflects what is happening around the globe. Although there will be small differences from market to market, we are all seeing big price increases and elsewhere DDR4 prices will probably mirror what is happening in Germany now. After all, we all suffer from the same dwindling RAM chip supply.
Meanwhile, 3D Center points out another worrying development fresh for this month – GPUs are rising in price, up 14% (compared to September 2025). Of course, that doesn’t sound like much compared to the RAM increases, but it’s still a significant jump for products that in many cases already cost a big chunk of money, and some high-end graphics cards in particular have been hit hard, as we’ve seen.
Storage is also witnessing big increases, with SSDs up 79% in price according to 3D Center statistics, and hard drives now up 53% (compared to July 2025). Building a new PC from scratch becomes a much more expensive endeavor as a result, as you pay a lot more for your system RAM and SSD, and quite a bit extra on the GPU to boot.
The obvious prediction made by the 3D Center is that high prices are not going away, and if anything, they will get even worse. About the best we can hope for is a shift towards a plateau in prices for those products that have seen near-vertical increases in their costs, especially DDR5 RAM, and a drop in prices would only be triggered by some big event like the AI bubble bursting (which is unlikely, to say the least).
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