SSD prices, September 2026, in brief: a mainstream Gen4 NVMe SSD costs about $177 per terabyte on Amazon US, roughly 3.5 times the June 2023 all-time low of about $50/TB. The cheapest new NVMe drives sit near $100-$106/TB (WD Blue SN5100 4TB, Kingston NV3 2TB). After NAND contract prices rose 55-60% in Q1 and 70-75% in Q2 2026, retail SSD prices plateaued in Q3: our own tracking shows flat to slightly lower prices from August to September. TrendForce expects NAND to rise another 15-20% in Q4 2026, driven by enterprise demand, with only small increases for consumer drives. Our forecast: no meaningful relief before late 2027.
If you bought an SSD in 2023, you timed the market perfectly. If you are shopping in late 2026, you are buying after the steepest price rise the storage market has ever seen. This page is our SSD price tracker: a running record of what solid-state drives cost from 2020 to today, the SSD price chart that shows it, and the market forces behind every turn.
It is updated with September 2026 prices. Below you will find current SSD prices by capacity, type and model, the full 2020-2026 price history, what our own tracking of Amazon listings shows for Q3 2026, the SSD trends that matter for 2027, and a practical answer to the question everyone asks: buy now or wait? For a live ranking of every drive by price per terabyte, see SSD prices and the cheapest $/TB across all drives.
SSD Price Tracker: September 2026 Snapshot
These are the headline numbers for new drives on Amazon US as of September 26, 2026. "Mainstream" means a typical popular TLC NVMe drive; the averages are across the widely sold models we and other trackers follow.
| Segment | Price per TB | Example | vs June 2023 low |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheapest new NVMe | $100.48 | WD Blue SN5100 4TB at $401.93 | about 2.6x |
| Cheapest 2TB NVMe | $106.47 | Kingston NV3 2TB at $212.93 | about 2.8x |
| Gen4 NVMe (average) | $177 | WD Black SN7100 2TB at $299.24 | about 3.5x |
| Gen5 NVMe (average) | $228 | Crucial T710 4TB at $717 ($179/TB) | new category |
| SATA SSD (average) | $160 | Crucial MX500 2TB at $279.99 | about 3.5x |
| Cheapest SSD overall (SATA) | $96.61 | Crucial BX500 4TB | about 2.5x |
Two things stand out. First, the cheapest drives have risen the least: budget NVMe is about 2.6-2.8 times its 2023 price, while mainstream and premium drives are 3.5 times or more. Second, the old price ladder has broken. SATA SSDs, once the budget choice, now average about the same per terabyte as NVMe, and some legacy flagships cost more than their faster successors.
Popular SSD prices right now
Current prices for the most-searched drives, new, Amazon US, September 26, 2026. The best price per terabyte for each model is in bold.
| SSD | Type | 1TB | 2TB | 4TB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung 990 Pro | Gen4 NVMe | $319.00 | $389.99 ($195/TB) | $994.71 ($249/TB) |
| Samsung 990 Evo Plus | Gen4 NVMe | $208.44 | $369.99 ($185/TB) | $599.00 ($150/TB) |
| Samsung 9100 Pro | Gen5 NVMe | $249.00 | $399.99 ($200/TB) | $1,119.75 ($280/TB) |
| WD Black SN850X | Gen4 NVMe | $244.99 | - | $699.99 ($175/TB) |
| WD Black SN7100 | Gen4 NVMe | $191.00 | $299.24 ($150/TB) | $539.16 ($135/TB) |
| Crucial P310 | Gen4 NVMe | $172.18 | $251.21 ($126/TB) | - |
| Crucial T710 | Gen5 NVMe | $239.98 | $432.99 ($217/TB) | $717.00 ($179/TB) |
| Kingston NV3 | Gen4 NVMe | $150.00 | $212.93 ($106/TB) | - |
| Crucial MX500 | SATA | $164.97 | $279.99 ($140/TB) | - |
| Samsung 870 EVO | SATA | $329.70 | $467.22 ($234/TB) | $1,069.95 ($267/TB) |
Notice the Samsung 9100 Pro 1TB, a Gen5 drive, is $70 cheaper than the older Gen4 990 Pro 1TB. As older models sell through and retailers hold on to remaining stock, some legacy SKUs now carry a premium over their replacements. Always compare the current price of the successor before buying a well-known older drive.
Prices move daily. Our live tables at the top of this page and on NVMe SSD prices and SATA SSD prices update from Amazon throughout the day.
SSD Price Chart: 2020-2026 Price History
The chart below tracks SSD price per terabyte from January 2020 to September 2026. The orange line is a mainstream NVMe drive; the teal line is the cheapest new NVMe drive available at the time. The dashed lines are our forecast to the end of 2027.
The shape tells the whole story of the last six years: a COVID-era peak in mid-2021, a collapse to an all-time low in June 2023, a slow recovery through 2024 and 2025, then a near-vertical climb in the first half of 2026 as AI demand swallowed NAND supply. Since July 2026 the line has flattened and dipped slightly, but at a level roughly three and a half times the 2023 low.
SSD price history data table (2020-2026)
| Date | Mainstream $/TB | Mainstream $/GB | Cheapest NVMe $/TB | Typical 2TB SSD | YoY | Market phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2020 | $120 | $0.120 | $95 | $240 | - | Pre-COVID baseline |
| Jul 2020 | $110 | $0.110 | $85 | $220 | - | Early pandemic |
| Jan 2021 | $125 | $0.125 | $95 | $250 | +4% | Supply chain stress |
| Jul 2021 | $140 | $0.140 | $105 | $280 | +27% | COVID-era peak |
| Jan 2022 | $105 | $0.105 | $80 | $210 | -16% | Oversupply begins |
| Jul 2022 | $80 | $0.080 | $60 | $160 | -43% | Price collapse |
| Jan 2023 | $62 | $0.062 | $45 | $124 | -41% | Fire-sale era |
| Jun 2023 | $50 | $0.050 | $38 | $100 | - | All-time low |
| Dec 2023 | $60 | $0.060 | $45 | $120 | - | Production cuts bite |
| Jun 2024 | $75 | $0.075 | $52 | $150 | +50% | Recovery |
| Dec 2024 | $80 | $0.080 | $58 | $160 | +33% | Enterprise demand builds |
| Jun 2025 | $80 | $0.080 | $60 | $160 | +7% | Plateau |
| Dec 2025 | $95 | $0.095 | $68 | $190 | +19% | Wafer prices spike |
| Jan 2026 | $110 | $0.110 | $75 | $220 | - | Shortage begins |
| Mar 2026 | $135 | $0.135 | $88 | $270 | - | Q1 contract +55-60% |
| May 2026 | $165 | $0.165 | $105 | $330 | - | Q2 contract +70-75% |
| Jul 2026 | $190 | $0.190 | $115 | $380 | - | Retail peak (our tracker) |
| Aug 2026 | $185 | $0.185 | $110 | $370 | - | Plateau |
| Sep 2026 | $177 | $0.177 | $106 | $354 | - | Plateau, slight easing |
Key insight: a typical 2TB NVMe SSD that cost about $100 in June 2023 costs about $354 in September 2026, a 254% increase in a little over three years. The budget floor rose less, from $38/TB to $106/TB (+179%).
SSD Prices in 2026: Month by Month
2026 is the year SSD prices broke records. This is how it unfolded, using retail price per terabyte for a mainstream NVMe drive and the quarterly NAND contract-price changes reported by TrendForce.
| Month | Mainstream $/TB | Cheapest NVMe $/TB | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | $110 | $75 | Wafer prices had spiked in late 2025; retailers begin passing on increases |
| Feb 2026 | $120 | $80 | TrendForce upgrades its Q1 NAND forecast from +33-38% to +55-60% |
| Mar 2026 | $135 | $88 | Popular 1TB drives pass $200; deals become rare |
| Apr 2026 | $150 | $95 | Q2 opens with TrendForce forecasting NAND contract prices +70-75% |
| May 2026 | $165 | $105 | Cloud providers lock in long-term supply agreements |
| Jun 2026 | $180 | $112 | Retail prices approach their peak |
| Jul 2026 | $190 | $115 | Retail peak; our tracker's US median for 1TB NVMe hits $215/TB |
| Aug 2026 | $185 | $110 | Brief discounting, e.g. Samsung 990 Pro 2TB falls to $390 from a $640 list |
| Sep 2026 | $177 | $106 | Plateau; OEM inventories high, consumer demand soft |
NAND contract prices vs retail SSD prices
| Quarter | NAND contract price (QoQ) | Enterprise SSD (QoQ) | What drove it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | +5-10% | - | QLC demand spills over from enterprise |
| Q1 2026 | +55-60% | +53-58% | Suppliers prioritise servers; forecast upgraded mid-quarter |
| Q2 2026 | +70-75% | rising | Cloud providers sign long-term agreements; client SSD supply limited |
| Q3 2026 | +10-15% | rising | OEMs overstocked in H1; consumer buyers hit their affordability limit |
| Q4 2026 (forecast) | +15-20% | +23-28% | QLC enterprise SSDs for AI KV-cache offload; consumer segments see only minimal increases |
Source: TrendForce quarterly forecasts published September 2025, February, March, July and September 2026.
Compounded, NAND contract prices roughly tripled between the end of 2025 and Q3 2026. Retail SSD prices rose far less, about 1.7 times from January to the July peak. Retail lags contract prices by four to eight weeks, and brands absorbed part of the increase with thinner margins, cheaper component choices and fewer promotions. That gap is also why retail prices are unlikely to fall quickly: brands are still catching up with the costs they already paid.
Why SSD Prices Went Up: The 2026 NAND Shortage Explained
The current rise is not a normal cycle. It is a reallocation of the world's flash memory from consumers to AI infrastructure.
1. AI data centers are consuming the supply
Training and serving large AI models needs enormous amounts of fast storage. Every GPU server carries multiple terabytes of NVMe, and newer AI systems increasingly use high-capacity QLC SSDs to hold model data and the "KV cache" that lets chatbots handle long conversations. TrendForce reported in September 2026 that US cloud providers raised their enterprise SSD demand forecasts again, with QLC drives for agentic AI and vector databases now a major growth driver.
2. Capacity was sold out a year in advance
Phison's CEO summed up the situation early in the cycle: "Every NAND manufacturer told us 2026 sold out." Cloud providers signed long-term agreements to guarantee supply, which leaves consumer SSD brands buying whatever is left on shorter contracts at higher prices.
3. Manufacturers are prioritising margin
After losing billions in 2023, NAND makers have little reason to chase low-margin consumer volume. Enterprise SSDs pay more per bit, so wafers go there first. IDC described it in December 2025 as "not just a cyclical shortage" but "a potentially permanent, strategic reallocation of the world's silicon wafer capacity."
4. New capacity takes years
A new NAND fab takes two to three years to build and ramp. The capacity announced in 2025 and 2026 is not expected to relieve supply until late 2027 or 2028, which is why every serious forecast keeps prices elevated through 2027.
SSD Price History by Phase (2020-2025)
Phase 1: COVID-era volatility (2020-2021)
When the pandemic hit, demand for laptops and PCs surged as millions moved to remote work and school. PC sales grew 13% in 2020, the fastest growth in a decade, while factory closures and shipping delays constrained supply. By July 2021 the average consumer SSD reached about $140 per TB, the highest point of that cycle. A 1TB Samsung 980 Pro launched at $230, and even budget SATA drives cost more than $100 per TB.
Phase 2: The great collapse (2022-2023)
Manufacturers had expanded production for pandemic-level demand that never returned. PC shipments fell 16% in 2022, smartphone sales weakened, and new 176- and 232-layer NAND made every wafer more productive. The result was a glut.
| Metric | Peak (Jul 2021) | Bottom (Jun 2023) | Decline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 512Gb TLC NAND chip | $3.82 | $1.63 | -57% |
| 256Gb TLC NAND chip | $2.14 | $0.92 | -57% |
| 128Gb TLC NAND chip | $1.28 | $0.58 | -55% |
| Mainstream SSD ($/TB) | $140 | $50 | -64% |
Source: DRAMeXchange spot pricing.
By mid-2023 Samsung's semiconductor division posted its first quarterly loss in 14 years. Manufacturers responded with deep production cuts: Samsung reportedly cut NAND output by around half and Micron reduced wafer starts by 25%. Those cuts set the stage for everything that followed.
Phase 3: Recovery (2024 to mid-2025)
The cuts worked. Inventories drained through late 2023, and TrendForce estimates NAND contract prices rose about 50% cumulatively across 2024. Retail prices recovered more gently, from about $50 to $80 per TB for mainstream NVMe, with a brief correction in the second half of 2024 and a long plateau into mid-2025.
Phase 4: The AI storage shortage (late 2025 to 2026)
In late 2025, AI demand collided with a market that had spent two years restraining supply. NAND wafer prices jumped as much as 65% in a single month in November 2025, and the increases reached retail shelves in early 2026. The details of that climb are in the month-by-month table above.
SSD Prices by Capacity: Price per TB for 1TB, 2TB, 4TB and 8TB
Historically, bigger SSDs cost less per terabyte. In 2026 that rule holds up to 4TB and then breaks.
| Capacity | June 2023 ($/TB) | September 2026 ($/TB) | Change | Typical price today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1TB | $50-$60 | $150-$320 | about +200-430% | $150-$320 |
| 2TB | $45-$50 | $106-$217 | about +135-340% | $213-$435 |
| 4TB | $50-$55 | $100-$280 | about +100-410% | $400-$1,120 |
| 8TB | $60-$75 | $206-$288 | about +240-280% | $1,650-$2,300 |
4TB is the sweet spot. It has the cheapest drives per terabyte on the market (the WD Blue SN5100 4TB at about $100/TB, the WD Black SN7100 4TB at about $135/TB and the Samsung 990 Evo Plus 4TB at about $150/TB). 1TB is the worst value it has been in years: fixed costs such as the controller, circuit board and packaging are spread over less NAND, and brands have raised small-capacity prices hardest. 8TB consumer drives remain a niche, with only a few models and prices of $206-$288 per TB, because they use the same high-density NAND that enterprise buyers are competing for. See the live rankings for 2TB drives and 4TB drives, or our gaming picks for 1TB, 2TB and 8TB.
SSD Prices by Type: NVMe Gen4 vs Gen5 vs SATA
| Type | Average $/TB (Sep 2026) | Best $/TB (Sep 2026) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen4 NVMe (TLC) | $177 | $100 (WD Blue SN5100 4TB) | Almost everyone: gaming, PS5, laptops, desktops |
| Gen5 NVMe | $228 | $179 (Crucial T710 4TB) | Large file work, video editing, very fast workstations |
| SATA SSD | $160 | $97 (Crucial BX500 4TB) | Older laptops and PCs without an M.2 slot |
| QLC NVMe | lower than TLC at the same size | varies | Bulk game libraries and media, light write loads |
Gen5 costs about 30% more per terabyte than Gen4 on average. For gaming the load-time difference is small, and Gen5 drives run hotter, so most buyers still get better value from a good Gen4 TLC drive with DRAM or HMB. Watch for exceptions, though, like the 9100 Pro 1TB undercutting the 990 Pro.
SATA is no longer the cheap option. With SATA averaging about $160/TB against $177/TB for Gen4 NVMe, the price gap has almost vanished, and some SATA models (the Samsung 870 EVO in particular) cost more than faster NVMe drives. Buy SATA only when your device needs it. Our NVMe vs SATA comparison covers the performance side.
Popular SSD Price History: 2023 Low vs 2026
How the drives people search for most have moved, 1TB models, from their 2023 lows to today.
| SSD (1TB) | 2023 low | Feb 2026 | Sep 2026 | vs 2023 low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crucial MX500 | $47 (Apr 2023) | $195-$250 | $164.97 | 3.5x |
| Samsung 870 EVO | $50 (Jun 2023) | $199-$270 | $329.70 | 6.6x |
| Samsung 990 Pro | $70 (2023) | $218 | $319.00 | 4.6x |
| WD Black SN850X | $96 (Apr 2023) | $240-$320 | $244.99 | 2.6x |
2023 lows from Pangoly and Amazon price history; February 2026 figures are our earlier snapshot across multiple sellers; September 2026 prices are new listings on Amazon US on September 26.
The divergence is striking. The Crucial MX500 is now cheaper than it was in February, and the SN850X sits at the bottom of its February range, while the Samsung 870 EVO and 990 Pro have kept climbing. When a market is this tight, individual models move on their own supply situation, so a single model's price history is a better buying signal than the market average.
What Our Own Tracker Shows for Q3 2026
storagediskprices.com records a daily snapshot of the lowest and median price per terabyte for every drive type and capacity across seven Amazon marketplaces. Our German data has the largest sample of any market we track, so it gives the clearest read on what retail prices did from August to September 2026 (median of new, in-stock listings, euros per TB).
| Germany (Amazon.de) | Early Aug 2026 | Late Sep 2026 | Change | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVMe 1TB | €184 | €180 | -2% | 99 |
| NVMe 2TB | €151 | €146 | -3% | 96 |
| NVMe 4TB | €130 | €131 | 0% | 64 |
| SATA and external 1TB | €160 | €159 | -1% | 40 |
| SATA and external 2TB | €140 | €143 | +2% | 32 |
| SATA and external 4TB | €125 | €117 | -6% | 23 |
The signal is consistent: the rise has stopped, but prices have not fallen back. Every NVMe capacity moved within 3% over the two months. In the US, our tracker recorded median prices of about $215/TB for 1TB, $195/TB for 2TB and $181/TB for 4TB NVMe in July 2026, the peak of the cycle; the September market figures above sit a little below that. This matches TrendForce's view that consumer demand has hit an affordability limit while enterprise demand keeps the floor high.
SSD Trends to Watch in 2026-2027
- AI keeps first claim on NAND. Enterprise SSD contract prices are forecast to rise 23-28% in Q4 2026, well ahead of consumer drives. As long as that gap persists, consumer supply stays tight.
- QLC goes enterprise. High-capacity QLC SSDs, once the budget consumer option, are now in demand for AI KV-cache and vector databases. That pulls QLC supply away from cheap consumer drives.
- The capacity curve has shifted. 4TB is the value sweet spot, 1TB is the worst value per terabyte in years, and 8TB carries a premium.
- Quieter "shrinkflation". Brands are revising products with different NAND or controllers at the same or higher prices. Engadget reported in 2026 that a revised, slower version of the Samsung 990 Pro launched for more than the original, so check reviews for the exact revision you are buying.
- Legacy models cost more than new ones. As older drives sell through, their remaining stock often costs more than the successor, as with the 990 Pro vs 9100 Pro.
- Sales are shorter and shallower. Discounts still happen, like the 990 Pro 2TB at $390 in August, but they sell out fast. Deal timing matters more than it did in 2023.
- Hard drives are tight too. AI data centers also buy high-capacity HDDs for cold storage, which has pushed up enterprise HDD lead times and prices. See our HDD price history for that side of the market.
SSD vs HDD Price Gap: 2020-2026
| Year | SSD $/TB (mainstream) | HDD $/TB (large drives) | SSD premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $120 | $20 | 6.0x |
| 2021 | $140 | $18 | 7.8x |
| 2022 | $80 | $16 | 5.0x |
| 2023 | $50 | $15 | 3.3x |
| 2024 | $80 | $14 | 5.7x |
| 2025 | $80-$95 | $13 | 6-7x |
| Sep 2026 | $177 | $15-$25 | 7-12x |
At the budget end the gap is smaller: the cheapest SSDs at about $100/TB are roughly five times the price of a large hard drive. For enterprise capacity pricing the gap is wider still; storage analyst Tom Coughlin, writing in Forbes in April 2026, put SSD capacity prices at more than 20 times HDD. For bulk storage, backups and media libraries, hard drives remain the value choice; see our live hard drive prices and SSD vs HDD comparison.
SSD Price Forecast: Q4 2026, 2027 and Beyond
What the analysts expect
- TrendForce (September 2026): overall NAND contract prices +15-20% in Q4 2026 and enterprise SSD +23-28%, with consumer segments seeing only "minimal compensatory increases".
- TrendForce (July 2026): Q3 increases moderated because PC makers overstocked in the first half and consumers hit their affordability limit.
- IDC (December 2025): high prices likely through 2026, with new fabs not bringing relief until late 2027-2028, signalling "the end of an era of cheap, abundant memory and storage, at least in the medium term".
Our SSD price forecast
| Period | Mainstream NVMe $/TB | Typical 2TB NVMe | Confidence | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 2026 | $175-$195 | $350-$390 | High | Contract prices still rising, offset by holiday promotions and high OEM stock |
| H1 2027 | $165-$200 | $330-$400 | Medium | Enterprise QLC demand could push higher; weak PC demand could push lower |
| H2 2027 | $140-$180 | $280-$360 | Low | First new fab capacity starts to arrive |
| 2028 | $110-$150 | $220-$300 | Low | Depends on AI capex and how much new capacity serves consumers |
Bottom line: the steep climb is over for now, but the floor is high. Expect prices to move sideways through the rest of 2026 with brief sale dips, and do not plan on a return to $50/TB. Even our most optimistic 2028 case is more than double the 2023 low.
What could change the forecast
- Upside risk (higher prices): faster AI capex, more QLC enterprise orders, or production disruptions.
- Downside risk (lower prices): a slowdown in AI spending, a weak holiday PC market that leaves brands overstocked, or more supply from Chinese manufacturers such as YMTC.
Should You Buy an SSD Now or Wait?
| Your situation | Our advice |
|---|---|
| You need storage now (new build, failing drive) | Buy now. Waiting is unlikely to save money before 2027. |
| You want an upgrade but can wait a few weeks | Wait for Amazon's October Prime event or Black Friday, then buy. |
| You want the best value per TB | Buy a 4TB Gen4 NVMe; it is the cheapest size per terabyte. |
| You are choosing between Gen4 and Gen5 | Gen4 for gaming and general use; Gen5 only when it is priced within 10-15%. |
| You need bulk storage for media or backups | Use a hard drive; it is 5-12 times cheaper per TB. |
| You can wait a year or more | Hold off until late 2027, when new NAND capacity should start to ease prices. |
How to get the best SSD price in 2026
- Compare price per terabyte, not sticker price. A $213 2TB drive is far better value than a $150 1TB drive. Our price-per-TB ranking does the maths for you.
- Check the successor. Newer models are sometimes cheaper than the drives they replace.
- Look beyond the big names. WD, Crucial and Kingston's value lines currently offer the lowest prices per terabyte. Compare brands on our Samsung, Crucial, Western Digital and Kingston pages.
- Buy from reputable sellers. High prices attract counterfeit and relabelled drives. Stick to listings sold or fulfilled by Amazon or the brand.
- Buying for a PS5? Any quality Gen4 drive with a heatsink works; see PS5 SSD prices and the cheapest PS5 SSDs.
Best Value SSDs Right Now
This table updates from Amazon automatically and shows the drives with the best price per terabyte today.
How Our SSD Price Tracker Works
storagediskprices.com checks Amazon listings across seven marketplaces (US, Canada, UK, Germany, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands) every six hours. Each day we record the lowest and median price per terabyte for every drive type (NVMe, SATA and external SSDs, hard drives) and capacity band, counting only new, in-stock listings, so a single out-of-stock or used listing cannot distort the numbers. Our daily history starts in June 2026.
Figures before June 2026 are estimates reconstructed from TrendForce contract-price data, DRAMeXchange spot prices and archived retail prices for popular models. "Mainstream" prices describe a typical popular TLC NVMe drive in the 1-2TB class; "cheapest" is the lowest-priced new NVMe listing. Prices are in US dollars unless marked otherwise.
SSD Price FAQ
What is the current price of an SSD?
As of late September 2026, a mainstream Gen4 NVMe SSD costs about $177 per terabyte on Amazon US. In dollars that is roughly $150-$320 for a 1TB drive, $213-$400 for 2TB and $400-$1,000 for 4TB, depending on the model. The cheapest new NVMe drives cost about $100-$106 per TB.
Why are SSD prices so high in 2026?
AI data centers are buying NAND flash faster than it can be made. TrendForce estimates NAND contract prices rose 55-60% in Q1 2026 and another 70-75% in Q2, as manufacturers sold their 2026 capacity to cloud providers first. Consumer SSDs get what is left, so retail prices rose about 60% from January to their July peak.
When will SSD prices go down?
Not meaningfully before late 2027. New NAND fabs are not expected to add real capacity until late 2027 or 2028, and TrendForce still forecasts NAND prices rising 15-20% in Q4 2026. Retail prices have stopped climbing for now, so short sales dips are likely, but a return to the 2023 lows of about $50 per TB is not in any credible forecast.
Should I buy an SSD now or wait?
If you need the storage, buy now, ideally during a sale event such as Amazon's October Prime event or Black Friday. Prices plateaued in Q3 2026, but the supply outlook for 2027 still points up rather than down. Waiting only makes sense if you can hold off until late 2027 or later.
How much does a 1TB SSD cost in 2026?
A new 1TB NVMe SSD costs about $150-$320 in September 2026. Budget drives such as the Kingston NV3 1TB start at $150, the Crucial P310 1TB is about $172 and premium drives like the Samsung 990 Pro 1TB are about $319. That is three to six times the 2023 lows, and 1TB is now the most expensive size per terabyte.
How much does a 2TB SSD cost in 2026?
Expect $213-$435 for a new 2TB NVMe SSD in September 2026. The Kingston NV3 2TB is the cheapest at about $213 ($106 per TB), the WD Black SN7100 2TB is about $299 and the Samsung 990 Pro 2TB is about $390. A 2TB drive sold for $100-$130 in mid-2023.
What SSD capacity is the best value right now?
4TB. It is the cheapest size per terabyte in September 2026: the WD Blue SN5100 4TB is about $100 per TB and the WD Black SN7100 4TB about $135 per TB, against $150-$320 per TB for 1TB drives. 8TB consumer drives cost more per terabyte again, because there are few models and enterprise buyers compete for the same high-density NAND.
What is a good price per TB for an SSD in 2026?
Under $110 per TB is a very good price for a new NVMe SSD in late 2026, $110-$150 per TB is fair for a quality TLC Gen4 drive, and anything over $200 per TB is premium pricing. For comparison, the 2023 low was about $50 per TB.
Are Gen5 SSDs worth the extra cost?
Usually not for gaming or everyday use. Gen5 NVMe averages about $228 per TB in September 2026 against about $177 for Gen4, and the real-world difference in load times is small. There are exceptions: the Samsung 9100 Pro 1TB is currently cheaper than the older 990 Pro 1TB, so check the actual prices rather than assuming Gen5 costs more.
Are SATA SSDs cheaper than NVMe?
Not any more, in most cases. SATA SSDs average about $160 per TB in September 2026, similar to NVMe, and the Samsung 870 EVO costs more than many faster NVMe drives. The exceptions are budget SATA models like the Crucial BX500 4TB (about $97 per TB). Buy SATA only if your device has no M.2 slot.
What was the cheapest SSDs have ever been?
SSD prices hit their all-time low in June 2023 at about $50 per TB for mainstream NVMe drives and under $40 per TB for budget models. A 1TB NVMe SSD cost $50-$60 and 2TB drives sold for under $100. The Crucial MX500 1TB reached $47 and the Samsung 870 EVO 1TB $50.
Will SSD prices go down in 2027?
Probably only in the second half, and only modestly. Our forecast has mainstream NVMe at $165-$200 per TB in the first half of 2027, easing to $140-$180 per TB in the second half as new capacity comes online. That is still roughly three times the 2023 low.
Are HDDs still cheaper than SSDs?
Yes, by a wide margin. Large hard drives cost roughly $15-$25 per TB in 2026, against about $100 per TB for the cheapest SSDs and $177 for mainstream NVMe, so an SSD costs roughly 5-12 times as much per terabyte. For bulk storage, backups and media libraries, HDDs remain the value choice.
How do you track SSD prices?
storagediskprices.com checks Amazon listings across seven marketplaces every six hours and records a daily snapshot of the lowest and median price per terabyte by drive type and capacity, counting only new, in-stock listings. You can see today's ranking on our SSD prices and price-per-TB pages.
Sources
- TrendForce: quarterly memory price forecasts (September 25, 2025; February 2, March 31 and July 3, 2026), the 4Q26 Memory Price Forecast (September 24, 2026) and enterprise SSD outlook (September 21, 2026)
- DRAMeXchange: NAND flash spot pricing
- IDC: memory shortage analysis, December 2025
- Amazon US listings via CheapestSSD's price tracker, September 26, 2026
- Pangoly and Amazon price history: historical prices of individual SSD models
- Forbes (Tom Coughlin), April 16, 2026: SSD vs HDD capacity pricing
- Engadget and Gizmodo, 2026: Samsung 990 Pro pricing and revisions
- storagediskprices.com: daily price snapshots across seven Amazon marketplaces since June 2026
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