“Why are IT quotes suddenly more expensive?”
If you’ve priced up new laptops, PCs, or even business mobiles recently, you may have felt a quiet shock.
The same specification that felt reasonable a year or two ago now looks noticeably more expensive and it’s not always clear why.
One of the biggest drivers sits behind the scenes: RAM pricing.
In plain English, the cost of the memory inside your devices has gone up, and that increase is now feeding directly into the equipment your business buys.
I speak to business owners and directors about this every week. The good news? Once you understand what’s happening, you can plan around it, instead of being caught out by surprise quotes and creeping costs.
What is RAM and why does it matter to your costs?
RAM (Random Access Memory) is your device’s short-term working memory.
It’s what allows email, browsers, accounting software, and background apps to run smoothly at the same time.
Over the last few years, expectations have shifted:
- 8GB used to be acceptable for business use
- 16GB is now considered the comfortable standard
- 32GB+ is common for heavier users
That change alone means businesses are buying more memory per device than they used to. When memory prices rise, the cost impact multiplies quickly.
Why RAM prices are rising in 2025 and 2026
1. AI is consuming vast amounts of memory
Artificial Intelligence isn’t just clever software. It runs on huge data centres filled with powerful servers. These systems use far more memory than traditional IT.
Memory manufacturers are prioritising this demand because it’s:
- high volume
- long-term
- more profitable
When suppliers focus on AI and cloud platforms, there’s less capacity left for everyday business hardware like laptops and desktops.
2. Manufacturers follow margins, not office demand
Even when new factories are announced, that doesn’t automatically mean cheaper business hardware.
Manufacturers increasingly allocate production to:
- enterprise servers
- AI-focused components
- higher-margin memory products
That leaves mainstream business devices competing for a smaller share of supply.
3. Many businesses are refreshing IT at the same time
There’s also a timing issue.
Support for Windows 10 ended in October 2025, which pushed many organisations to replace devices across 2025 and 2026. When lots of businesses buy at once:
- discounts become harder to secure
- pricing is less flexible
- quotes don’t stay valid for long
This creates a perfect storm: higher demand, tighter supply, rising prices.
How much has RAM actually gone up in price?
One of the clearest ways to see the impact is to look at a very common decision:
upgrading a laptop from 8GB of RAM to 16GB.
A few years ago
For most mainstream business laptops:
- Moving from 8GB to 16GB typically added £30–£50 to the price.
- Many manufacturers bundled 16GB as a low-cost or promotional upgrade.
It was an easy decision to “future-proof” devices.
In 2025 and into 2026
That same upgrade now commonly adds:
- £80–£120 per device, sometimes more on premium or AI-branded models.
In some ranges, 8GB options have disappeared entirely, meaning the higher cost is built in by default.
What this means at business scale
On a single laptop, an extra £60 or £70 doesn’t sound dramatic.
Across a refresh, it adds up quickly:
- 10 laptops → £600–£700 extra
- 25 laptops → £1,500–£1,750 extra
- 50 laptops → £3,000+ extra
And that’s before factoring in:
- higher base device prices
- increases in other components
- shorter quote validity periods
This is why many business leaders feel IT costs have crept up “quietly”, rather than through one obvious price hike.
What this means for your business day to day
Laptops and PCs
This is where most SMEs feel the impact first.
- Entry-level business devices are disappearing
- “Standard” specs now cost more
- AI-branded PCs often include higher memory as default
Even when buying the same brand, the model range itself has shifted upwards in price.
Mobile phones
Phones are affected too, particularly mid-range business handsets. When memory costs rise, manufacturers can’t always absorb the increase, so prices creep up or specifications change quietly.
Budgeting becomes harder
One of the most common frustrations I hear is:
“The price changed between approval and purchase.”
That’s not poor planning. It’s market volatility. When component pricing moves quarter by quarter, hardware costs can change very quickly.
How long are higher RAM prices likely to last?
No one can give a precise end date, but from a business planning perspective, the message is consistent.
A sensible assumption is:
- 2025–2026: ongoing pressure and volatility
- Short-term dips: possible, but unlikely to stick
- Meaningful relief: more likely later in the decade, once new supply fully comes online
The takeaway I share with clients is simple:
Plan as though pricing stays higher for longer, and treat any drops as a bonus rather than a guarantee.
A note on working with the right IT partner
This is where proactive IT advice really matters.
At Nxt Gen IT, I often see businesses overspend not because they’re careless, but because no one is translating market trends into practical decisions.
The right guidance helps you:
- avoid surprise costs
- budget with confidence
- make IT decisions that support growth rather than disrupt it
Nxt Steps
Rising RAM prices aren’t something you can control but how you plan for them absolutely is.
If you’re refreshing laptops, onboarding new staff, or worried about unpredictable IT costs in 2025 and 2026, the next step is simple: plan before you buy.
Explore how Nxt Gen IT supports businesses with hardware procurement, lifecycle planning, and predictable IT strategy or book a call with us and start a conversation about protecting your IT budget in a rising-cost market.
Ben helps growing businesses turn technology into a driver of performance instead of a barrier. At Nxt Gen IT he works with SME leaders, recruiters, and fast-scaling teams to design solutions that improve reliability, strengthen security, and unlock growth.
With a background in email deliverability and cloud systems, Ben specialises in making sure businesses communicate effectively, keep data safe, and get the most from Microsoft 365. His experience spans solution design, managed IT services, and virtual CIO support, always with a focus on practical outcomes that reduce headaches for business owners.
Ben has supported organisations across the UK, from recruitment agencies struggling with inbox placement to SaaS firms scaling fast, and SMEs needing a trusted partner for their IT. He believes tech is never the end goal: growth is. His role is to make sure technology never gets in the way of it.