Will RAM Prices Go Down in 2027? What the Analysts Actually Say

The short answer

If you are holding off on a PC build or upgrade in the hope that RAM gets cheap again in 2027, the current consensus is discouraging: memory makers and market researchers broadly expect DRAM to stay in short supply and prices to remain high, or keep climbing, through 2027, with any real relief unlikely before 2028. There will likely be dips within the year, but a return to 2024-style pricing is not on any public forecast right now.

Why prices exploded in the first place

The cause is AI. High-bandwidth memory (HBM), the stacked memory that sits next to AI accelerators, has been soaking up DRAM production capacity, and because HBM requires significantly more wafer input than conventional DRAM, higher wafer starts do not translate proportionally into more standard memory bits. That crowding-out effect has pushed retail prices to levels PC builders have not seen before: Tom's Hardware reported in 2026 that 32GB of DDR5 had a minimum price around $375, on kits that routinely cost under $100 just a year earlier, with 16GB fetching upwards of $240.

What TrendForce forecasts for 2027

In a July 30, 2026 outlook, market research firm TrendForce said AI will remain the primary driver of memory demand in 2027 and that continued HBM capacity allocation, robust AI server demand, and growing CPU-memory procurement will keep DRAM supply constrained and prices on an upward trajectory. Crucially, although several suppliers plan to bring new capacity online in 2027, TrendForce said construction, equipment installation and material lead times will delay meaningful ramp-ups until the second half of 2027, with substantial output not expected until 2028. It pegged the DRAM sufficiency ratio at roughly -1% to -2% in 2026 and said the supply-demand gap is expected to widen further in 2027.

The manufacturers are just as gloomy

The people who make the memory are not offering much hope either. SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung said in July 2026, as reported by Reuters, that the global memory industry is heading for its worst-ever supply shortage in 2027, with demand set to outstrip the company's ability to produce it well into the next decade despite aggressive capacity expansion. Micron has indicated the shortage should ease in 2028 rather than 2027, and analysts at UBS have projected undersupply lasting until at least the second quarter of 2028. Reports also note the big three suppliers have already committed most of their 2027 production capacity.

It is not the same story for storage

One nuance worth knowing: DRAM (your system RAM) and NAND Flash (SSD storage) are diverging. TrendForce expects NAND to move into a looser supply environment in the second half of 2027 as new capacity comes online while consumer demand stays weak, putting downward pressure on NAND prices. So the outlook for SSDs is less dire than for RAM, though enterprise SSD demand from AI data centers keeps that market from fully softening.

The one thing that could change it

The biggest wildcard is AI capital spending. The entire shortage rests on hyperscalers (the large cloud providers) pouring record sums into AI infrastructure. TrendForce noted that cloud providers' capital expenditure stayed at record levels through 2026, with some even reporting negative free cash flow, and flagged that if memory prices remain elevated it could eventually affect their investment plans. If AI demand cools sharply, DRAM capacity would free up quickly and prices could fall faster than any current forecast predicts. Barring that, the safer assumption is that RAM stays expensive through 2027.

What it means if you are buying

For anyone planning a build or upgrade, the practical takeaway is that waiting for a 2027 price collapse is betting against nearly every analyst and the manufacturers themselves. If you need the memory and can tolerate today's prices, buying sooner is the lower-risk choice; if you can wait, 2028 is when new fab capacity is expected to start easing supply. Either way, treat any within-year dip as an opportunity rather than the start of a sustained decline.

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Sources

• Diverging Memory Market Outlook in 2027, DRAM Supply Remains Tight (TrendForce, 30 Jul 2026)
• SK hynix CEO sees worst-ever memory supply shortage in 2027 (Reuters, 10 Jul 2026)
• 32GB of DDR5 now costs $375 minimum as AI shortage squeezes PC building (Tom's Hardware)

Published date reflects the original event date (2026-09-23). This article is original Skillo editorial written from the sources above; facts were verified in September 2026.