Raspberry Pi 5 16GB Hits $385, Triple Its $120 Launch Price

How the 16GB Pi 5 went from $120 to $385

The threefold increase is cumulative, not a single jump. The 16GB Pi 5 launched at $120 in January 2025 and has climbed through four rounds of increases.

The first increase came in December 2025, taking the board from $120 to $145. February added $60, leaving it 70% more expensive than at launch. April added another $100. The November 2026 round adds $80, or roughly 26% on its own, and brings the total to $385.

That is more than triple the launch price for the same board with the same 16GB of LPDDR4 memory. The 16GB Compute Module 5 rises by $40 in the same round, while the Raspberry Pi 500+, the keyboard computer that also offers 16GB, keeps its existing price.

Raspberry Pi also raised prices on its 2GB boards by $12.50 each barely a month before this round, after deciding that shielding those models from earlier increases was no longer sustainable.

Raspberry Pi 5 16GB: price and key facts

Why 16GB DRAM is the bottleneck

Upton's explanation is more specific than a general complaint about RAM prices. He blamed "a lack of alternative supply for 16GB DRAM, compounded by other ongoing component shortages."

That wording points to sourcing at a particular density rather than cost alone. Raspberry Pi has been qualifying additional memory suppliers through 2026 to widen its options, but the alternatives appear thinnest at the top of the range.

The wider market is not helping. TrendForce expects DRAM suppliers to keep prioritizing server products through the fourth quarter, leaving the rest of the market undersupplied even as contract prices climb. SK Hynix titled a section of its third-quarter results "Memory supply shortage to persist through 2030," and Micron has warned of shortages into 2028 or beyond.

Upton has described the cycle as "a large, but ultimately typical, instance of a phenomenon that periodically affects the industry." He expects meaningful new supply in 2028. That is a long definition of temporary.

The memory crunch is reshaping hardware well beyond hobbyist boards. Apple's 512GB Mac Studio lists at $29,799 with a $15,500 memory upgrade, and even AI hardware makers are designing around scarce RAM, as Tiny's SSD-heavy tinybox shows. For more on how the shortage is changing buyer behavior, see our coverage of Sam Altman's walk-back on RAM comments.

The odd math of buying a 16GB Pi 5 today

At current prices, the 16GB board is hard to justify against Raspberry Pi's own alternatives.

The 8GB Raspberry Pi 5 lists at $175, which means the extra 8GB on the 16GB model now costs $210, more than an entire 8GB board. The Pi 500+ sharpens the point: for $25 more than the bare 16GB board, it pairs the same processor and memory with a 256GB NVMe SSD and a mechanical keyboard. It is no substitute for embedded projects that need the bare board's footprint, but for desktop use the standalone 16GB Pi 5 is difficult to defend once the cost of an SSD is counted.

Buying a cheaper board and upgrading it is not a workaround. Raspberry Pi firmware locks boards to the memory capacity they shipped with.

Demand has not fallen. Direct sales of the Pi 5 rose 47% in the half, and Raspberry Pi says demand for the 8GB variants continued to grow despite higher prices. The entry-level boards remain untouched: the 1GB Pi 4 and Pi 5 are still $35 and $45. Schools and kids can still get started, at least at the bottom of the range.

Upton's advice is to avoid paying for memory you do not need by choosing lower-density variants or older models, or by optimizing applications. He also warned that some sellers are inflating prices or misrepresenting products and urged buyers to stick to approved resellers.

What it means for buyers in the US, UK and EU

The new $385 price applies to direct sales from Raspberry Pi and approved resellers. Local pricing in the UK and EU will vary with taxes, shipping and reseller margins, so expect the sterling and euro figures to move in line with the dollar list price rather than match it exactly.

Raspberry Pi says it intends to roll back the increases once memory costs fall, but it does not expect meaningful new supply until 2028. If you need 16GB now, compare the Pi 500+ and the 8GB board before paying the premium; if you can wait, the entry-level boards are still at their original prices.

The 16GB Pi 5 has become a premium product by necessity rather than design. The $35 and $45 entry boards still hold the line for schools and beginners, but anyone who needs the top model is now paying memory-market prices. Until DRAM supply loosens, the smart move is to buy only the RAM you will actually use.