On October 1, 2026, Raspberry Pi raised the price of the 2GB Raspberry Pi 4 and Raspberry Pi 5 by $12.50 each. The Pi 4 goes from $55 to $67.50, and the Pi 5 from $65 to $77.50. Lower-capacity models, which were left unchanged in the April price revision, are now feeling the effects of rising memory prices.
CEO Eben Upton explained that, with memory prices continuing to rise, it had become difficult to hold the line on 2GB pricing any longer. Raspberry Pi has kept prices low by offering finer-grained memory options and by drawing on component inventory it bought cheaply. But the room to do so is shrinking. Looking at past price revisions alongside the latest earnings report helps explain why the increases have now reached the 2GB models.
$35 was not the launch price but a price cut made in 2020
The 2GB Pi 4 has risen about 93% in nominal terms, from $35 in 2020 to $67.50 in October 2026. However, $35 was not the price at launch. When it went on sale in June 2019, the 1GB model cost $35 and the 2GB model cost $45.
The 2GB model was cut to $35 in the February 2020 price revision. RAM prices had fallen from the previous year, making it possible to offer more memory at the same $35. It was the opposite of today: a time when falling component costs could be passed on in product prices.
| Raspberry Pi announcement date | Official price of 2GB Pi 4 | Details and reason for change |
|---|---|---|
| June 24, 2019 | $45 | 2GB launch price |
| February 27, 2020 | $35 | $10 cut after RAM prices fell |
| October 20, 2021 | $45 | $10 increase amid semiconductor shortages |
| February 2, 2026 | $55 | $10 increase across 2GB models |
| April 1, 2026 | $55 | 1GB and 2GB Pi 4 and Pi 5 left unchanged |
| October 1, 2026 | $67.50 | 2GB models raised by $12.50 |
The increase is calculated as (67.50 ÷ 35 − 1) × 100, or about 92.9%. Using the 2019 launch price of $45 as the baseline, the rise is 50%. The same product can give a very different impression depending on the reference point.
The table also compares nominal US dollar prices for the board alone, with no adjustment for inflation. It differs from the total cost including taxes, shipping, import costs and accessories, and from retail prices in Japan, which are affected by exchange rates.
The increase is $12.50 for both the Pi 4 and Pi 5. The 1GB models stay at $35 for the Pi 4 and $45 for the Pi 5. The "$35 Raspberry Pi" has not disappeared; the memory capacity available at $35 is now 1GB.
2GB Compute Modules were already raised in April
In the October announcement, prices for the 2GB Compute Module 4 and Compute Module 5 are unchanged. From that alone, it might look as though only the standard 2GB boards were raised this time.
But in the April 1 price revision, the 2GB versions of Compute Module 4, Compute Module 4S and Compute Module 5 were already raised by $12.50.
In other words, 2GB products were raised at different times. In April, the 1GB and 2GB Pi 4 and Pi 5 were left alone while the 2GB Compute Modules went up first. In October, the standard 2GB boards were raised, and the Compute Modules received no further increase.
The lack of an increase this time does not mean Compute Modules have escaped the rise in memory costs.
In April, higher-capacity Pi 4 and Pi 5 models also saw large increases: $25 for the 4GB version and $50 for the 8GB version. Of the low-priced 1GB and 2GB tier that had been held steady, the 2GB model is now being raised. The pressure from memory prices, which started with higher-capacity models, has spread to products with less memory.
The benefit of cheaply acquired memory inventory has nearly run out
Raspberry Pi has been growing its business despite difficult memory prices and supply conditions. According to its first-half 2026 results announced on September 24, revenue for the period to June 30 rose 90% year on year to $256.9 million, and gross profit rose 79% to $59.4 million. Both figures are unaudited.
However, gross profit in absolute terms and gross margin have not grown in the same way. Company-wide gross margin fell from 25% a year earlier to 23%. Meanwhile, gross profit per unit for SBCs and Compute Modules rose 53%, from $8.0 to $12.2.
The latter is a per-unit measure for the whole product group, not the profit on the 2GB models raised this time. Nor is it a company-wide margin figure. A rise in profit amounts does not mean price increases lifted margins.
The "Gross profit per board" section of the results says that memory inventory secured cheaply in 2025, together with later product price increases, pushed up gross profit per unit.
But that effect does not last. The low-cost inventory held at the start of the period has nearly all been used, and the cost of the inventory now held is approaching market prices. In June, gross profit per unit had already fallen to $10.8.
When products sold at higher prices are built with cheaply bought parts, profit per unit is large for a while. Once that inventory is used up and replaced with parts bought at higher prices, profit shrinks even if selling prices stay the same.
Building up inventory can delay when higher component prices show up in product profitability, but it cannot eliminate the rise in component prices themselves. This time lag makes it easier to understand why profits grew strongly in the first half while product price increases continued afterward.
The rise in memory prices has also been steep. In April, Upton explained that the purchase price of LPDDR4 DRAM, used in products such as the Pi 4 and Pi 5, had increased sevenfold over the previous year. That was a statement as of April, and does not mean October prices are seven times those of a year earlier.
In its February announcement, the company also cited intensifying competition for memory fab capacity driven by the expansion of AI infrastructure as a background factor in rising prices.
Even so, Raspberry Pi says it already holds or has ordered the memory it needs to meet its 2026 production targets. Securing the needed volume is a separate matter from buying it at the cheap prices of the past.
The decline in low-cost inventory described in the results also applies to the product range as a whole; it has not been confirmed that inventory for 2GB models ran out precisely in October. The reason the company gives directly for this increase is that memory prices continue to rise.
Even cost-conscious design cannot absorb rising memory prices
Raspberry Pi has not kept prices low through cheap component purchasing alone. For the 2GB Pi 5 launched at $50 in August 2024, it did not simply reduce memory capacity but also reworked the processor.
In the D0 revision of the BCM2712 used in that model, it removed circuitry that had been included for other uses and was not used in the Pi 5. The change made the chip smaller while preserving the features users rely on.
Combined with the cut in RAM from 4GB to 2GB, this made possible a $50 price, $10 below the 4GB version, which then cost $60. This does not mean the entire $10 difference came from the processor redesign alone.
That 2GB model then rose to $55 in December 2025, to $65 in February 2026 and now to $77.50. That is a 55% rise from the $50 launch price in 2024.
Cost savings from product design are a separate matter from the later rise in memory purchase prices. Even a smaller processor that lowers costs cannot eliminate the RAM the product needs.
Raspberry Pi has also continued to add more finely graded capacity options. In December 2025 it added a $45 1GB Pi 5, and in April 2026 it introduced a $83.75 3GB Pi 4.
On the Pi 5, there is now a $32.50 gap between the $45 1GB model and the $77.50 2GB model. If 1GB is enough for a given use, avoiding unnecessary memory can greatly reduce the cost.
However, the amount of RAM needed depends on the software being run and how much is processed at once. Efforts to keep Raspberry Pi OS lightweight widen the range of uses possible with little memory, but 1GB cannot handle every workload.
In the October announcement, Upton also said that the Pi 3 generation may suit some uses, and advised buyers not to pay for more performance or memory than they need. Rather than choosing a high-performance model across the board, picking the generation and memory capacity that match the work required now has a bigger effect on purchase price than before.
Price cuts are intended, but there is no sign of when memory prices will fall
Upton has also said he would like to reverse the increases once memory prices settle. He has not given a specific timeframe.
As with the 2020 cut of the 2GB Pi 4 from $45 to $35, falling RAM purchase prices could be reflected in product prices. The question is when memory prices will fall.
In prepared remarks for its results announced on September 30, memory maker Micron does not assume an early easing of supply and demand. In its "Market outlook," it expects the memory and storage markets in 2027 and 2028 to be even tighter than in 2026, and sees DRAM supply constraints continuing through both years. HBM shipments are expected to grow faster than conventional DRAM, and it does not give a clear timeframe for when supply and demand will balance.
This is Micron's forecast for the memory industry as a whole, not a direct prediction of LPDDR4 prices used by Raspberry Pi or of future Raspberry Pi product prices.
Still, it is premature to assume memory will become cheap as soon as new fabs are finished. In the same document, Micron explains that even after production begins at new DRAM and NAND fabs, it will take several quarters before they contribute meaningfully to supply. Time is needed not only to build the fabs but also to ramp up actual output.
For now, anyone buying a Raspberry Pi should check the prices listed for approved resellers and how much RAM their use actually requires. Whether the $35 1GB Pi 4 is enough or 2GB or more is needed will largely determine how much this increase affects them.
If cheap memory becomes available again and the lower costs are reflected in official prices, it may become possible to choose more memory at low prices once more. The basis for expecting price cuts will come only when those conditions actually begin to appear in the memory market.