Don't wait if you're planning to upgrade your RAM or SSD, Kingston rep warns — says 'prices will continue to go up,' NAND costs up 246%

Kingston Datacenter SSD Business Manager Cameron Crandall said in an interview that NAND prices for RAM and SSD are expected to rise throughout 2026. The Kingston employee said on The Full Nerd Network podcast that NAND prices increased by 246% from 1Q25, 70% of that happening in just the last 60 days. And with this component making up 90% of the bill of materials for an SSD, the company will have to adjust its pricing accordingly.

When asked how consumers could cope with the ongoing shortage and price hikes, Crandall said, “I think the best thing to do if you’re looking at upgrading your system is to do it now and not wait because prices are going to continue to go up.” He also added, “My advice today would be to not hold off on that purchase because it will be more expensive 30 days from now, and more likely it will be more expensive 30 days after that.” Crandall also stated that prices are increasing "like we've never seen" in 29 years of working at Kingston.

This contradicts Sapphire’s prediction that DRAM prices will stabilize within the next six to eight months, although Crandall says that the memory market has a pricing cycle and that we are in an upswing at the moment. It’s likely because of this that memory companies are holding back on expanding their production lines or building new fabs. After all, there is still the threat of the AI bubble that could leave chipmakers holding expensive NAND inventory with zero demand if it bursts.

Another question tackled during the episode is whether Kingston will follow in the footsteps of Micron and exit the consumer business. Thankfully, Crandall confirmed that Kingston is focused on the distribution channel and that the company, alongside other SSD and RAM suppliers, will take up the slack from the shutdown of Crucial.

In the end, Crandall hopes that the shortage doesn’t drag on too long. Although he does not believe that this pricing apocalypse would last a decade, as some suggest, he still says that pricing is not headed down anytime soon. So, if you’re on the market for memory or storage, he recommends that you get what you can right now.

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