For years, Raspberry Pi has been hailed by the tech world and the DIY community as the "people's computer," thanks to its rock-bottom price and endless customizability. That friendly image is now fading under an unprecedented wave of price hikes. Just two months after its first price adjustment, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has announced a second increase as 2026 begins. The root cause lies outside the company: a global "thirst" for memory chips driven by the explosion of artificial intelligence (AI) has more than doubled component costs, and consumers are left to absorb the damage.
How the AI "Price Storm" Is Wiping Out the Definition of a Cheap Computer
In its latest announcement, founder Eben Upton had to acknowledge a harsh reality: input component costs have more than doubled in just the past quarter. It is a direct result of big tech companies buying up memory chips to feed AI servers and data centers. When supply is scarce, rising prices are inevitable, and smaller makers like Raspberry Pi have no choice but to raise selling prices to keep operating.
For fans of this single-board computer, it is a real shock. When it launched in 2012, Raspberry Pi's mission was to bring computing to students at "dirt cheap" prices. Now, at the new prices, it is slowly turning into a luxury toy. The change affects not just individuals but also IT businesses that use Raspberry Pi as the brain of industrial IoT (Internet of Things) systems.
Upton expects 2026 to remain a challenging year. The company is working to hold back the increases and hopes this is only temporary, but with the AI boom showing no sign of cooling, users can hardly expect prices to come back down anytime soon.
The New Raspberry Pi Price List: How to Buy Smart
This round of increases hits the high-RAM versions hardest, since RAM is the most expensive component right now. The biggest "victim" is the Raspberry Pi 5 16GB, which rises by 85 USD to a final price of 205 USD (roughly over 5 million VND). At that price, the Raspberry Pi 5 no longer holds a clear competitive edge over Mini PC models running older Intel or AMD chips, which offer stronger processing performance and come with a case and power supply included.
Here is how prices changed across the popular models:
- Raspberry Pi 4 (4GB): Up 20 USD, new price 75 USD.
- Raspberry Pi 4 (8GB): Up 40 USD, new price 115 USD.
- Raspberry Pi 5 (2GB): Up 15 USD, new price 65 USD.
- Raspberry Pi 5 (4GB): Up 25 USD, new price 85 USD.
- Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB): Up 45 USD, new price 125 USD.
Still, there are a few bright spots in this gloomy picture for buyers on a tight budget. The best value is the Raspberry Pi 5 (1GB), which stays at 45 USD. It is the ideal choice for anyone who only needs to run light tasks such as ad blocking (Pi-hole) or a basic smart home setup (Home Assistant).
Older products such as the Pi Zero and Raspberry Pi 3 have also come through the price storm unscathed. They use the aging LPDDR2 memory standard, a component the Raspberry Pi Foundation has stockpiled enough of to last several more years. So if your project does not demand much processing power, going back to the Pi 3 or Pi Zero is a smart way to save money.
In short, if you are looking for a device to learn programming or build small projects, think carefully about how much RAM you need. Buying the highest-RAM version is no longer the "default" choice given the steep price gap. Be a savvy shopper: pick the version that is enough for your needs, or look to older models to protect your wallet during this price storm.
