Memory card prices have TRIPLED in the last few months: when will this madness stop?!

Photo of a collection of SD cards with dollar signs — (Image credit: Future)

You might have heard about solid state memory becoming a prized commodity, and its makers cashing in on the dramatically increased demand for flash memory. SanDisk in particular has been making headlines for its soaring stock price. But what's good news for shareholders doesn't leave the average photographer much cause for celebration. That increased demand for memory is pushing prices of memory cards and SSDs sky high, and the price jump is now clear to see.

Screenshot of memory card price increases — (Image credit: Future)

We've selected some of the best-selling SD and microSD cards at Amazon.com, and tracked their prices over the last few months: the increase is staggering. For instance, the mid-range SanDisk Extreme 128GB microSDXC card was consistently selling for around $17 in October last year, but since November its price has risen considerably, and now you'll need to part with almost $40 to get your hands on one. It's a similar story with Samsung's EVO Select 512GB microSD card - around $35 late last year, but now it's closing in on $70. Fancy a full-size SanDisk Extreme Pro 128GB SD card? $30 at the start of this year; now around $50.

And it's not just Amazon that's been ramping up its memory prices. It's the same story across the retail sector: Independent photography store Gene's Camera in South Bend, Indiana is also reporting huge price increases:

"You know a card that was $2.99 is now $4.99, and that's a big chunk to swallow. You know, $9.95 to $19.95 is like okay, it's 20 bucks, yeah, but $300 to $500 is ouch," said Jon Gilchrist, co-owner of Gene's Camera.

Image of an IT data center — (Image credit: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0, BalticServers.com)

So why is it so much more expensive to get hold of what seems like such a basic, commonplace piece of tech like an SD card? Well, it's all thanks to unstoppable rise of AI. AI data processing centers devour high-bandwidth memory and fast SSD storage, causing AI companies to buy up huge stocks of solid state memory. This in turn is having a knock-on effect in other sectors that require DRAM and NAND flash memory, such as the memory card industry. Manufacturers of memory cards and SSDs have to fight for the remaining memory stock after the AI tech giants like Google, Meta, Nvidia and Open AI have paid top dollar to fuel their data centers. And when the demand is high, prices go up, resulting in the hugely inflated memory card prices we're now seeing around the world.

Check out our guide to the best memory cards, and to the best CFexpress cards

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Ben is the Imaging Labs manager, responsible for all the testing on Digital Camera World and across the entire photography portfolio at Future. Whether he's in the lab testing the sharpness of new lenses, the resolution of the latest image sensors, the zoom range of monster bridge cameras or even the latest camera phones, Ben is our go-to guy for technical insight. He's also the team's man-at-arms when it comes to camera bags, filters, memory cards, and all manner of camera accessories – his lab is a bit like the Batcave of photography! With years of experience trialling and testing kit, he's a human encyclopedia of benchmarks when it comes to recommending the best buys.

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