We know what day it is but these Raspberry Pi price hikes are no joke
(2026/04/01)
- Reference: 1775035688
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/04/01/raspberry_pi_price_hikes/
- Source link:
Raspberry Pi has introduced a 3 GB variant of the Pi 4 as soaring memory costs are passed on to customers.
Just over a year ago, we were scratching our heads over the [1]16 GB Pi 5 blowing past the $100 barrier , but prices have climbed even since then. There was a [2]$25 rise in December 2025, followed by [3]another $60 in February 2026. This morning, Pi boss Eben Upton [4]announced increases, including a $100 hike for the 16 GB Raspberry Pi 5.
We found the units being sold by Farnell for £275.18 ($365.98), including VAT. The Pi Hut will sell you one for £292.80 ($389.42) including VAT.
[5]
The increases have hit much of the Pi 4 and 5 range. The flagship [6]Pi 500+ has increased by $150, and even the humble 1 GB Compute Module 4 and 4S is up by $11.25. The price of the recently released Pi AI HAT+ 2 is also up $50.
[7]
The company has held the price of the Pi 400 and the 1 GB and 2 GB variants of the Pi 4 and Pi 5. Older products, such as the Pi Zero, Zero 2, 1, 3, 3B+, and 3A+, have also been spared. Upton noted: "These products use older LPDDR2 DRAM, of which we currently hold substantial inventory."
[8]Raspberry Pi leans into semiconductors as sales climb – especially in US and China
[9]The idea of using a Raspberry Pi to run OpenClaw makes no sense
[10]Microsoft engineer speedruns Raspberry Pi magic smoke in five minutes
[11]Let them eat Pi: RAM shortage bumps Raspberry prices as much as $60
"We're also doing engineering work to expand the range of memory-density options," he said, hence the 3 GB Raspberry Pi 4 at $83.75, which would have been a silly price a year or so ago, but reflects the reality of today's memory market.
The increases follow a [12]bumper set of results for the group, although it warned of tough times ahead for memory.
The era of over-specifying memory is most definitely behind us, and developers will need to carefully consider exactly how much LPDDR4 their applications truly need. Upton concluded: "2026 looks likely to be another challenging year for memory pricing, but we are working hard to limit the impact. We've said it before, but we'll say it again: the current situation is ultimately a temporary one, and we look forward to unwinding these price increases once it abates." ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/09/the_ultimate_pi_5_arrives/
[2] https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/1gb-raspberry-pi-5-now-available-at-45-and-memory-driven-price-rises/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/02/raspberry_pi_ram_shortage_price_hike/
[4] https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/a-new-3gb-raspberry-pi-4-for-83-75-and-more-memory-driven-price-increases/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aczswdHfeCuKWoVvc8VeOAAAAUE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/25/peak_pi_reached_with_raspberry/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aczswdHfeCuKWoVvc8VeOAAAAUE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/31/raspberry_pi_fy_2025/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/20/raspberry_pi_meme_stock_disorder/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/04/microsoft_manager_pi_smoke/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/02/raspberry_pi_ram_shortage_price_hike/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/31/raspberry_pi_fy_2025/
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Just over a year ago, we were scratching our heads over the [1]16 GB Pi 5 blowing past the $100 barrier , but prices have climbed even since then. There was a [2]$25 rise in December 2025, followed by [3]another $60 in February 2026. This morning, Pi boss Eben Upton [4]announced increases, including a $100 hike for the 16 GB Raspberry Pi 5.
We found the units being sold by Farnell for £275.18 ($365.98), including VAT. The Pi Hut will sell you one for £292.80 ($389.42) including VAT.
[5]
The increases have hit much of the Pi 4 and 5 range. The flagship [6]Pi 500+ has increased by $150, and even the humble 1 GB Compute Module 4 and 4S is up by $11.25. The price of the recently released Pi AI HAT+ 2 is also up $50.
[7]
The company has held the price of the Pi 400 and the 1 GB and 2 GB variants of the Pi 4 and Pi 5. Older products, such as the Pi Zero, Zero 2, 1, 3, 3B+, and 3A+, have also been spared. Upton noted: "These products use older LPDDR2 DRAM, of which we currently hold substantial inventory."
[8]Raspberry Pi leans into semiconductors as sales climb – especially in US and China
[9]The idea of using a Raspberry Pi to run OpenClaw makes no sense
[10]Microsoft engineer speedruns Raspberry Pi magic smoke in five minutes
[11]Let them eat Pi: RAM shortage bumps Raspberry prices as much as $60
"We're also doing engineering work to expand the range of memory-density options," he said, hence the 3 GB Raspberry Pi 4 at $83.75, which would have been a silly price a year or so ago, but reflects the reality of today's memory market.
The increases follow a [12]bumper set of results for the group, although it warned of tough times ahead for memory.
The era of over-specifying memory is most definitely behind us, and developers will need to carefully consider exactly how much LPDDR4 their applications truly need. Upton concluded: "2026 looks likely to be another challenging year for memory pricing, but we are working hard to limit the impact. We've said it before, but we'll say it again: the current situation is ultimately a temporary one, and we look forward to unwinding these price increases once it abates." ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/09/the_ultimate_pi_5_arrives/
[2] https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/1gb-raspberry-pi-5-now-available-at-45-and-memory-driven-price-rises/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/02/raspberry_pi_ram_shortage_price_hike/
[4] https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/a-new-3gb-raspberry-pi-4-for-83-75-and-more-memory-driven-price-increases/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aczswdHfeCuKWoVvc8VeOAAAAUE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/25/peak_pi_reached_with_raspberry/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aczswdHfeCuKWoVvc8VeOAAAAUE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/31/raspberry_pi_fy_2025/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/20/raspberry_pi_meme_stock_disorder/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/04/microsoft_manager_pi_smoke/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/02/raspberry_pi_ram_shortage_price_hike/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/31/raspberry_pi_fy_2025/
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Love
werdsmith
Yes they are still cheap, effectively cheaper than when they arrived in 2012. It is not compulsory to buy the higher spec’d devices in the range.
Love
I love Raspberry pis, I've had at least one since they first arrived, but difficult to justify ar those sort of prices. They were a cheap, low power solution. And now they aren't.