If you've priced up a memory card recently, you already know something has changed.
SD, CFexpress and SSD prices have climbed steadily through 2026, and in some cases doubled or tripled compared to a year ago. The cause has nothing to do with photography, it's a global flash memory shortage triggered by AI infrastructure, and it's reshaping what storage costs for everyone downstream, including Australian photographers and videographers.
AI Data Centres Are Buying Up the World's NAND Flash
Every SD card, CFexpress card and SSD is built around NAND flash chips, and that's exactly what large AI data centres now need in enormous volume. SSD and memory card prices have risen worldwide because the raw NAND flash they're built from costs more and supply is tight, not because of pricing decisions in any single market. Hyperscale computing clusters need huge amounts of storage for AI workloads, and this demand consumes a disproportionate share of global memory output, leaving less for consumer SSDs and camera memory cards.
Manufacturers have responded by chasing the more profitable customer. Major memory makers including Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron have pre-committed production capacity to AI and cloud customers years ahead, leaving consumer-grade memory cards and storage further down the priority list for manufacturers.
How Much SD, CFexpress and SSD Prices Have Actually Risen
The numbers behind this shift are stark. A 1TB TLC NAND chip that cost roughly US$4.80 in July 2025 was going for around US$10.70 by early 2026. SanDisk raised its NAND flash contract prices by 50% in November 2025 alone, its third major increase that year, while Samsung hiked memory chip prices by up 60%+ compared with September 2025.
SD and microSD Cards
A SanDisk Extreme Pro 128GB SD card sold for roughly US$30 in January 2026, and by March had reached about US$52, a jump of nearly 70%. A Samsung EVO Select 512GB microSD card jumped from around US$35 to roughly US$70 over the same stretch. These are global benchmark prices reported in US dollars, but the direction and scale of the increase is the same trend Australian buyers are seeing on local shelves.
CFexpress Cards
High-capacity cards have taken the hardest hit, since they use more NAND per unit. One European retailer watched the price of a 512GB CFexpress card climb from around EUR 160 to over EUR 360 in the space of two weeks, before easing back somewhat. It's a volatile market, and CFexpress cards at higher capacities are the most exposed to sudden swings.
Why Retail Buyers Are Feeling It Fastest
Card manufacturers have started passing the cost straight through to shoppers. Lexar has raised prices on SD and microSD cards by more than 25% from June 2026, and other major brands have followed with their own increases through the year. Legacy formats haven't been spared either. Anyone still shooting on older bodies that rely on Compact Flash cards is competing for the same shrinking pool of NAND supply as everyone buying SD and CFexpress.
When Prices Are Expected to Come Back Down
Don't expect quick relief. A new NAND fabrication plant costs US$15 to US$20 billion and takes two to three years to reach volume production, so supply can't respond quickly to demand. MLC NAND flash capacity is expected to fall 41.7% year-on-year in 2026 as major producers cut or halt output and redirect investment toward advanced process technology instead of expanding capacity. Most forecasts now point to continued tightness through 2026 and into 2027 before new capacity meaningfully changes the picture.
How to Manage Your Storage Budget Right Now
There's no way to dodge the underlying shortage, but there are ways to reduce how much it costs you.
Buy the capacity you actually need rather than over-specifying "just in case", since the price gap between mid and high-capacity cards has widened the most
Standardise on fewer card formats across your kit where your cameras allow it, so you're not stockpiling multiple types at inflated prices
Keep a reliable card reader on hand so you can offload and reuse cards quickly instead of buying more to keep up with a shoot
Watch for genuine retailer clearance pricing rather than assuming stock will get cheaper later in the year
Find the Right Storage at C.R. Kennedy
Prices across the memory card and SSD market are moving quickly, and availability on some capacities can tighten with little warning. C.R. Kennedy stocks a current range of memory cards and storage so you can secure what your workflow needs before the next round of price rises lands.
