Prices for high-capacity drives have jumped nearly 50% in months. We look at the "AI Tax" and why your next upgrade might cost much more than expected.
By The Storage Team
EasyDriveCompare.com
If you've been shopping for a high-capacity hard drive lately, you've likely noticed a shock on the price tag. Since September 2025, hard drive prices have surged by an average of 46%. Iconic drives like the 24TB Seagate BarraCuda, once found for significantly less, are now pushing the $500 (£395) mark.
This sudden price hike has caught consumers and businesses off-guard, but the underlying causes have been brewing for months. The market is facing a perfect storm of AI-driven demand and global manufacturing shifts.
While much of the AI hype focuses on GPUs and RAM, bulk storage is the hidden casualty of the AI boom.
Training modern Large Language Models (LLMs) requires petabytes of raw data. While the training happens on SSDs, the "warm" and "cold" archives of these massive datasets live on traditional HDDs.
The explosion in AI buildouts is consuming global DRAM and HBM capacity, squeezing the supply of SSDs. This has forced many enterprises back to HDDs for bulk data, increasing competition for every unit produced.
Adding to the strain is the aggressive promotion of PC adoption and infrastructure in China. As one of the largest PC markets globally, China's renewed focus on domestic hardware has created a massive spike in demand for storage components.
Manufacturers have recorded the biggest price increases in eight quarters. Suppliers are warning that the pressure will likely continue through mid-2026 as production struggles to keep pace with the dual demand from Hyperscalers (Cloud Providers) and the consumer market.
| Drive Category | Trend | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise (20TB+) | ↑ 40-50% | Heavy AI/Cloud Demand |
| NAS (8TB - 16TB) | ↑ 15-25% | Moderate Consumer Spike |
| Desktop (4TB - 6TB) | Stable | Low Supply Pressure |
If you need high-capacity storage, waiting for prices to "return to normal" may take another year. Use our comparison tools to find the best current value.
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