SSD prices 2026: price chart, current US prices and why NAND is still rising

The short version: SSD prices are still far above 2025 levels. Some high-end drives are back below their April peak (Samsung 9100 Pro 2TB: $478 in April, $399 today), while others kept climbing (9100 Pro 1TB: $262, now $295). On October 11, 2026, the best US offers in our catalog put a 1TB Gen4 NVMe SSD at $144 and a 2TB drive between $253 and $354 depending on the model. A WD Black SN850X 2TB now starts at $354.

• Cheapest 1TB Gen4: Crucial P310 1TB at $144 (Newegg).
• Cheapest 2TB Gen4: Crucial P310 2TB at $253 (Amazon US), then WD SN3000 2TB at $275 (Amazon US).
• Gen5: the Crucial P510 1TB at $175 (Amazon US) costs barely more than a Gen4 drive, while the Samsung 9100 PRO 2TB sits at $399 (Newegg).
• Trend: TrendForce still expects NAND contract prices to rise 15-20% in Q4 2026 (forecast published September 30, 2026).

The table below lists the best US offers found on DropReference product pages (US dollars, US retailers only; no European price is converted). When a drive has no US listing in our catalog we say so. Prices change daily: open a product page for live prices.

About eighteen months ago, a decent 2TB NVMe SSD cost $120-150 on Amazon US. By April 2026, the same kind of drive was listed at $300-480. The Samsung 990 Pro 2TB had hit $189 at its 2025 low; in April 2026, the Samsung 9100 Pro 2TB was listed at $478.

Budget drives were hit just as hard: the Kingston NV3 1TB went from about $80 to $163. Six months later, the trend has not reversed.

In this article: the quarter-by-quarter figures, the causes, the forecasts, and the only question that really matters — buy now or wait.

The reference for memory prices is TrendForce. Its figures track contract prices for NAND Flash, the component that makes up about 90% of an SSD’s manufacturing cost.

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NAND rose 33-38% in Q4 2025, then 85-90% in Q1 2026 (up from an initial 55-60% forecast), and TrendForce was still forecasting 70-75% for Q2 2026. Over three quarters that is a 4.2x to 4.5x multiplier. Kingston saw it coming in December 2025: NAND prices were already up 246% since early 2025.

Latest forecast: on September 30, 2026, TrendForce projected a 15-20% rise for Q4 2026. The increase is slowing sharply, but prices are still going up: only enterprise SSDs are expected to accelerate, driven by cloud providers, while consumer demand remains weak.

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To compare like with like, here are US prices: the 2025 low, April 2026, and the best US offer on DropReference on October 11, 2026 when the drive is tracked in our catalog.

According to Gamers Nexus, NVMe SSDs had risen about 115% on average and SATA drives about 75%. On the enterprise side, a 30TB TLC SSD went from $3,062 in Q2 2025 to $17,500 in Q1 2026, up 472%. Framework also reported its 4TB modules out of stock.

The main reason: AI data centers at Google, AWS, Microsoft, Meta and others absorb a huge share of NAND output. Enterprise SSDs now account for about 60% of global production, and manufacturers earn far higher margins there than on consumer drives.

Micron said it can only meet 55-60% of its key customers’ demand. Samsung and SK Hynix, which together control about half of the NAND market, have chosen not to expand production aggressively.

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The “Big 3” are shifting a growing share of investment to HBM for AI GPUs. SK Hynix directed 30% of its 2026 capex ($20 billion) to HBM3E and HBM4. A new NAND fab takes at least 2-3 years: Micron’s Boise expansion is not expected before 2027.

HP says memory and storage went from 15-18% of a PC’s cost to about 35% in 2026, and Lenovo and Acer raised prices. Samsung reported a 755% jump in Q1 2026 profit, 95% of it from memory.

RAM is following the same path: see our DDR5 RAM price chart and our report on the memory shortage lasting to 2028.

The honest answer: not in the short term. TrendForce’s late-2026 forecast still points up (+15-20% in Q4), even if the pace is far calmer than in the first half.

New capacity — Samsung in Pyeongtaek, Micron in Boise, SK Hynix in Cheongju — will not be fully online before late 2027 at the earliest, and AI demand may absorb it. Phison’s CEO even warns of SSD prices rising until 2030.

The only fast-drop scenario would be a sharp slowdown in AI investment. Nothing points that way for now.

Buy, but compare. In October 2026, $144 for a 1TB Gen4 drive and about $253-275 for a 2TB Gen4 drive are the best US offers in our catalog. Above $400 for 2TB, you are mostly paying for the brand or for Gen5.

Aim for 2027-2028 at best, with no guarantee of a big drop. Waiting has a cost: games you cannot install and backups you do not make.

• Gen4 instead of Gen5: in games the difference is close to zero (see our PCIe 5.0 SSD guide).
• HDDs for bulk storage: still unbeatable on cost per TB for rarely played games and backups, even though they are rising too.
• QLC SSDs: slower and less durable than TLC, but cheaper for pure storage.
• Price alerts: prices move fast between retailers, so compare before you buy.

For a gaming-focused pick, see our best gaming SSD and our 2TB NVMe SSD comparison.

Four drives from our catalog: two Gen4 drives with the best price per TB, and two Gen5 drives for maximum throughput. Prices are US offers only.

On October 11, 2026, the best US offer in our catalog for a 1TB Gen4 NVMe SSD is the Crucial P310 at $144 (Newegg). A 1TB Gen5 drive starts at $175 (Amazon US) (Crucial P510).

Expect $253-275 for an entry Gen4 drive and about $351-354 for a Samsung 990 EVO Plus or WD Black SN850X (best US offers on October 11, 2026).

NAND Flash, about 90% of an SSD’s cost, is in short supply: AI data centers absorb production while Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron prioritize HBM and enterprise SSDs. Contract prices rose 4x to 4.5x between late 2025 and mid-2026.

Not before late 2027 at the earliest. TrendForce still forecasts a 15-20% NAND increase in Q4 2026, and new fabs only ramp up from 2027.

Yes, slightly less: about +75% versus +115% for NVMe according to Gamers Nexus. They use the same NAND, so the increase was unavoidable.

For bulk storage (rarely played games, movies, backups), yes: cost per TB is still unbeatable, even if large HDDs are getting more expensive too.