Raspberry Pi 5 Price Jumps to $385 for 16GB Model on RAM Shortage

The Raspberry Pi 5 price for the 16GB model rose by $80 to $385 on November 2, 2026, Raspberry Pi said, blaming a lack of alternative supply for 16GB DRAM and other ongoing component shortages. The 16GB variants of Compute Module 5 also go up by $40 each, while the Raspberry Pi 500+ keyboard computer, which also has 16GB of RAM, keeps its current price.

CEO Eben Upton announced the change in a post on the Raspberry Pi blog. He said the company has been making “selective price increases” on the products hit hardest by memory costs, and that the new prices apply from today. Updated Compute Module 5 prices are listed in the product brief on the module’s product page.

Why the Raspberry Pi 5 price keeps climbing

The 16GB Raspberry Pi 5 launched at $120 in January 2025, so the new $385 list price is more than three times its launch price. Memory is the main driver. AI data centers are buying up DRAM and high-bandwidth memory, which has pushed prices up for everyone from PC builders to single-board computer makers, as we explained in our guide on why RAM is so expensive.

This is not the first increase. On October 1, the company raised the 2GB models by $12.50, to $67.50 for Raspberry Pi 4 and $77.50 for Raspberry Pi 5, after holding the low-memory versions steady during an earlier round of increases in April. The 1GB Raspberry Pi 4 and Raspberry Pi 5 were left unchanged at that time.

Raspberry Pi is far from alone. Graphics cards have seen even steeper jumps, with the RTX 5090 now selling for about $9,400 in the US, as AI demand soaks up memory supply.

What it means for buyers

At $385, the top Raspberry Pi 5 now costs as much as some complete mini PCs, before adding a case, storage or a power supply. Upton acknowledged that the increases are “unwelcome news” and urged customers to make sure they are “not paying for more memory than you need.”

His suggestions include using lower-memory variants or earlier Raspberry Pi models, and optimizing applications to use less RAM. Hobbyists can ask for advice on the Raspberry Pi forums, while business customers can contact the company directly about memory optimization.

The company also warned that some sellers are taking advantage of the shortage by charging inflated prices or selling products that are “not what they seem.” It recommends buying only from its Approved Resellers, which sell at official prices.

Upton repeated that the current memory market is “difficult but ultimately temporary” and said Raspberry Pi will roll back the increases when memory costs fall. He did not give a timeline. For now, PC gamers are feeling the same squeeze, as the latest Steam Hardware Survey shows 16GB of RAM retaking the top spot from 32GB.