Raspberry Pi 5 with 16GB RAM just got an $80 price hike, taking its official cost to $385. The company blames a shortage of memory chips and other parts, with few ways to source the DRAM it needs.
And this is not a price rise for every Pi. The 16GB Compute Module 5 costs $40 more, while the Raspberry Pi 500+ with the same RAM size keeps its old price. Different boards, different cost pressures.
For makers and devs, that changes the math quite a bit. A Pi 5 with lots of RAM is far less cheap than before, mainly for projects that need all 16GB to run well.
Still, Raspberry Pi says these hikes are meant to be short-lived. It plans to cut prices once memory gets cheaper, but there is no set date or firm pledge that costs will drop by a certain amount.
Anyone building a new setup has a few ways to save cash. Smaller RAM models may work fine for light tasks, and older Pi boards remain an option. Tweaking apps to use less memory could help keep costs down as well.
But projects that rely on large amounts of RAM face a harder choice. Cutting memory use may not be easy, and switching boards could mean making changes to code or hardware.
There's another catch for buyers. The $385 tag is the official figure, not a promise that each shop will charge that sum. Tax, stock levels, and local reseller fees can all affect what ends up on the bill.
Raspberry Pi has also flagged dodgy sellers who may ask for steep markups or give false details about their stock. Its advice is to use approved dealers and check that a listing is for the correct board.
Worth keeping in mind, the price jump stems from Raspberry Pi's supply issues. It does not prove that PC RAM, graphics memory, or all other hardware will face the same kind of hike.
And this is not a price rise for every Pi. The 16GB Compute Module 5 costs $40 more, while the Raspberry Pi 500+ with the same RAM size keeps its old price. Different boards, different cost pressures.
For makers and devs, that changes the math quite a bit. A Pi 5 with lots of RAM is far less cheap than before, mainly for projects that need all 16GB to run well.
Still, Raspberry Pi says these hikes are meant to be short-lived. It plans to cut prices once memory gets cheaper, but there is no set date or firm pledge that costs will drop by a certain amount.
Anyone building a new setup has a few ways to save cash. Smaller RAM models may work fine for light tasks, and older Pi boards remain an option. Tweaking apps to use less memory could help keep costs down as well.
But projects that rely on large amounts of RAM face a harder choice. Cutting memory use may not be easy, and switching boards could mean making changes to code or hardware.
There's another catch for buyers. The $385 tag is the official figure, not a promise that each shop will charge that sum. Tax, stock levels, and local reseller fees can all affect what ends up on the bill.
Raspberry Pi has also flagged dodgy sellers who may ask for steep markups or give false details about their stock. Its advice is to use approved dealers and check that a listing is for the correct board.
Worth keeping in mind, the price jump stems from Raspberry Pi's supply issues. It does not prove that PC RAM, graphics memory, or all other hardware will face the same kind of hike.
