Raspberry Pi 5 16GB Price Hike and the RAM Shortage Behind It

Raspberry Pi 5 16GB Price Increase

The Raspberry Pi 5 16GB is seeing a major price jump. When this model first launched, it cost $120. It now costs $220, a $100 increase tied to an AI-driven RAM shortage.

The increase doesn’t stand alone, either. Higher memory costs are pushing up pricing across multiple Raspberry Pi products, making the broader lineup more expensive for buyers who need more RAM.

Why Raspberry Pi Prices Are Going Up

For months, memory and storage prices have been climbing. That pressure has already affected computers, tablets, and smartphones, and Raspberry Pi is now feeling the same impact.

The key issue is the shortage in RAM supply, described as AI-driven. As memory becomes more expensive, Raspberry Pi is passing those higher component costs into retail pricing.

AI-Driven Memory Shortage

The shortage is directly tied to RAM. That matters most for higher-memory configurations, which is why models with 4GB or more memory are among those getting hit with price increases.

Storage Costs Are Rising Too

The pressure isn’t limited to RAM alone. Rising storage costs are also part of the broader pricing problem, adding to the strain across the Raspberry Pi range.

Raspberry Pi Models Affected by the Price Hikes

The Raspberry Pi 5 16GB may be the clearest example, but it isn’t the only product getting more expensive.

According to the announcement, price increases are affecting:

• Raspberry Pi 4 and Raspberry Pi 5 models with 4GB or more memory
• Raspberry Pi 500 and 500+
• All variants of Compute Module 4
• All variants of Compute Module 4S
• All variants of Compute Module 5

That shows this is not a one-off change on a single board. It’s a broader adjustment across several families of Raspberry Pi hardware.

New Raspberry Pi 4 3GB Model Offers a Lower-Cost Option

Alongside the price increases, Raspberry Pi introduced a more affordable option: a Raspberry Pi 4 model with 3GB of memory.

This version is priced at $83.75. It gives buyers a lower-cost alternative at a time when higher-memory boards are becoming much more expensive.

Raspberry Pi 4 3GB vs 4GB and 8GB Pricing

The new 3GB model sits well below the updated prices of the larger-memory Raspberry Pi 4 versions:

For buyers who don’t need as much memory, that 3GB version may offer some relief while prices remain elevated.

Raspberry Pi Says the Higher Prices Are Temporary

Raspberry Pi has also signaled that these increases are not expected to last forever. Eben Upton, CEO of Raspberry Pi Ltd., said memory prices will not remain at their current very high level indefinitely and that the company plans to reverse the price increases when conditions improve.

That doesn’t change the current reality for buyers, but it does suggest the company sees these higher prices as a response to present market conditions rather than a permanent reset.

What the Raspberry Pi Price Changes Mean for Buyers

Anyone shopping for a Raspberry Pi with 4GB or more memory should expect higher prices right now. The biggest jump is on the Raspberry Pi 5 16GB, but the effect spreads across the wider product stack.

For people trying to keep costs down, the new Raspberry Pi 4 3GB model stands out as the clearest budget-friendly choice in the current lineup. And if memory pricing eases later, Raspberry Pi says those increases could be rolled back.