Raspberry Pi has recently announced significant price increases for its popular single-board computers, attributed to rising memory costs across the industry. Alongside this announcement, the company has introduced a new Raspberry Pi 4 model with 3GB of RAM in an attempt to mitigate the impact of these price hikes.
This marks the second price increase in just a few months for Raspberry Pi, with earlier adjustments occurring in February that raised the retail price of Raspberry Pi 5 boards by up to $20. The latest increases are notably more substantial. For example, the Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB) that initially sold for about $80 has now soared to approximately $130, reflecting an increase of $50. In the UK, a 16GB Raspberry Pi 5 now costs over £290, up from the initial £180 at launch.
Other models have similarly felt the sting of rising costs. Prices for the Compute Module 4, Compute Module 4S, and Compute Module 5 have risen by $11.25 to $100 depending on their specifications. The compact Raspberry Pi 500 has increased by $50, while the advanced Raspberry Pi 500+ entails an astonishing $150 rise from previous pricing.
Despite these challenges, the Raspberry Pi Foundation assures that memory prices will not remain elevated indefinitely. They have expressed hope that conditions will improve in the future, allowing them to reverse price increases when possible.
In a bid to maintain accessibility in light of these changes, the company has also launched the Raspberry Pi 4 (3GB) model at $83.75, 15% less than the new price of the 4GB variant. This newer model comes in the context of rising demand for memory components, particularly driven by data centers focusing on AI technologies. While memory production capacities are reportedly increasing, it may take time before these savings become apparent in consumer pricing.