rewrite this title Memory card and flash drive pricing surges 120%, with some models spiking 260%

Editor’s take: We’re living in unprecedented times when it comes to memory-infused electronics. Historically, consumer goods like game consoles and laptops become cheaper over time, thanks in part to steadily improving manufacturing processes. However, the ongoing global memory shortage has flipped everything on its head. It feels as though we’re living in a parallel universe where up is down, left is right, and everything is completely backwards.

Take flash-based memory cards, for example. Building on data from a PCWorld investigation, Tom’s Hardware recently found that memory card and USB drive prices have increased by an average of 123% compared to last year. And that’s just the median – in one extreme example, a 256GB Lexar Blue microSDXC UHS-I card shot up a whopping 261% percent year over year.

The publication didn’t identify a single instance in which pricing stayed the same or decreased for a specific product; in each and every instance, a price hike compared to last year was noted.

As Tom’s highlights, memory cards and USB drives still use NAND chips made from wafers manufactured on the same production lines as chips for SSDs – the difference in what goes where often comes down to binning and quality tiers. If AI data center customers are willing to pay a premium for higher-quality NAND, manufacturers are likely obliging and optimizing production lines accordingly. This could result in lower-bin NAND chips for memory cards and USB drives, limiting their buying options.

The situation has forced some memory card brands to focus more of their efforts on premium products. Earlier this month, SanDisk rolled out a new 2TB SD card priced at an eye-watering $2,000 – and that’s after a $500 discount.

Fortunately, the current situation is expected to pass and pricing will eventually normalize. The question on everyone’s mind is, of course, when will that happen? Some believe the situation could extend well into 2027, while others point to recent DDR5 price drops as evidence that the correction is already underway. Personally, I’d hold off on buying any memory-related products for a while longer unless they were absolutely mission critical.