Even Raspberry Pi isn't safe from the RAMpocalypse — Second price hike in three months pushes 16GB Pi 5 beyond $200

Raspberry Pi is all about getting computers into the hands of anyone who wants one, and its budget pricing has traditionally reflected that stance. Unfortunately, as memory prices continue to climb, that rule is getting a lot harder for the company to adhere to.

It's only been a few months since Raspberry Pi 4 and Pi 5 prices were increased to offset the rising costs of LPDDR4 memory. December 2025 saw prices raised by up to $25 for the Raspberry Pi 5 with 16GB of memory.

Now, unfortunately, another price increase is on the way. Co-founder and CEO of Raspberry Pi, Eben Upton, published an update on the company's site detailing the price hikes.

Raspberry Pi 4 and Pi 5, as well as Compute Module 4 and Module 5, with 2GB or more memory, are all affected. The biggest change comes to the 16GB models, which are going up by $60. Here's a look at the price increases.

• 2GB — $10
• 4GB — $15
• 8GB — $30
• 16GB — $60

Combined with the price hikes from December 2025, you're now looking at a very different Raspberry Pi market.

The Raspberry Pi 5 with 16GB of RAM, for example, used to cost $120. In December 2025, it climbed to $145. With the most recent February 2026 price hike, it has now surpassed $200. That's roughly a 70% price increase.

Upton notes that while Raspberry Pi 500 and 500+ models are a part of the price hike, the Raspberry Pi 400 will not change and will remain at $60. Similarly, 1GB Pi 4 and Pi 5 models are not subject to the price increase.

As for products that use LPDDR2 memory, including the Raspberry Pi Zero and Pi 3, there is no price hike due to the company having a generous stockpile purchased before the "RAMpocalypse" began.

What's causing RAM prices to skyrocket, and is there an end in sight?

RAM prices have reached insane levels of late due mainly to the AI infrastructure build-out. AI datacenters require an unholy amount of memory to operate, and thanks to their deep pockets, AI firms are able to buy up the world's supply for years ahead.

It's a competition that consumers and other companies are losing, and there's unfortunately no real end in sight.

However, that doesn't mean Raspberry Pi's CEO is giving in. Upton notes that the company is "working hard to limit the impact" of the global RAM shortage, going so far as to state that it looks "forward to unwinding these price increases once it abates."

What do you think about the Raspberry Pi price hikes caused by RAM shortages? Let me know in the comments section!

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