Cheapest 16GB DDR4 RAM ranked by price per GB

16GB DDR4 RAM: the standard upgrade for AM4, Intel and DDR4 laptops

16GB of DDR4 is the most common target for an upgrade in 2026: an AM4 Ryzen desktop, an Intel PC from the 6th to the 14th generation on a DDR4 board, or a laptop from 2016 to 2023 with two slots. It is enough for office work, browsing, streaming and most games, and DDR4 is still cheaper per gigabyte than DDR5. The 846 16GB DDR4 kits above are ranked by price per gigabyte, from £2.98/GB to £91.03/GB with a median of £7.26/GB; the cheapest right now is CORSAIR VENGEANCE LPX DDR4 RAM 16GB (2x8GB) Up to 3200MHz CL16 Intel X… at £47.68.

2x8GB or 1x16GB?

Both appear on this page and the price per GB is calculated on the full 16GB either way. Which to buy depends on your slots:

• 2x8GB is the standard desktop buy. It runs in dual channel, which is worth 10 to 20 percent in games and memory-bound work over a single stick, and it fills two of four slots.
• 1x16GB suits a laptop with one free slot, a single-slot mini PC, or a desktop where you plan to add a second 16GB later for 32GB. On its own it runs in single channel, so pair it when you can.
• 16GB modules are usually dual-rank on DDR4, and two dual-rank sticks give Ryzen a small performance edge over two single-rank 8GB sticks at the same speed and latency. It is a few percent, not a reason to overspend.

Speed and latency

Speeds here run from 666 to 4,133MHz. 3200MHz CL16 is the value point on AM4 and Intel desktops and costs little more than slower kits; 3600MHz CL18 or CL16 is the enthusiast pick for Ryzen 3000 and 5000, where it suits the memory controller. Beyond 3600 the gains in games are small. Laptops and prebuilt PCs run at their fixed speed, usually 2666 or 3200MHz, so a JEDEC-speed SO-DIMM is all they need; check the 16GB laptop RAM page for those on their own. On a desktop, enable XMP or DOCP after fitting or the kit runs at 2133MHz.

Is 16GB enough?

For an existing AM4 or Intel DDR4 machine, 16GB total is the sensible target and the cheapest improvement you can make. For a new gaming build, a growing number of current games recommend 32GB, and the 32GB DDR4 page often shows a lower price per gigabyte than this one. Our how much RAM guide sets out the workloads where each size starts to pinch.

Reading the table

The Capacity column shows the kit layout and the For column the machine type. Low-profile kits such as Corsair Vengeance LPX, Kingston FURY Beast, G.Skill Ripjaws V and TeamGroup Vulcan Z clear large air coolers. Server 16GB DDR4 RDIMMs also appear and will not work in a desktop board; those are on the 16GB server RAM page. If you are deciding whether to move platforms, read DDR4 vs DDR5 and compare the 16GB DDR5 page. All sizes: 16GB; all generations of DDR4: DDR4.