SSD Pricing Update, Q2 2024: A Rising Trend for Storage

Until last year, there was plenty of talk about declining solid-state drive prices. However, as we showed a few months ago, that trend has reversed.

With employees returning to the office after the pandemic, NAND manufacturers faced an oversupply of chips and consequently reduced production. Nevertheless, demand has continued to soar, especially with current-gen games recommending or even requiring SSD storage.

Additionally, the AI race has become a significant factor, with models requiring vast amounts of data for training, which is also starting to affect disk drive prices.

For our previous SSD pricing update (Q1/24), we selected some of the most popular SSDs across three different capacities and analyzed how their average prices on Amazon have fluctuated over the past year. Now is the time to see how things have changed since then.

500GB SSD Pricing

The SK Hynix P41 Platinum is arguably the fastest 500GB drive on the market. While some of its competitors start at 1TB, the question remains: Is it a good deal? A year ago, it cost $105. At one point, it could be had for just $41, but more often it sold for $66. Now, it's selling for $83.

For those buying multiple 500GB drives to upgrade several systems, these price fluctuations are significant.

The Corsair MP600 Pro is a drive we recommend for its sustained write speed. The 500GB version has fewer NAND chips, which halves the speed compared to higher-capacity versions, but it remains a decent option. The PlayStation 5-optimized LPX version started at $76 at the beginning of 2023, often sold for $53, and now goes for $70.

The Samsung 970 Evo Plus is an excellent choice for systems that only support PCIe 3.0 speeds. It began last year at $70, dropped to as low as $25, and more commonly sold for $30. It's now back up to $75.

The Crucial MX500 is a top-choice SATA drive. It was a good deal at the beginning of 2023 for $45, and for much of that year it could be found for $35, but now it's risen to $55.

The Samsung 870 Evo is a good alternative to the Crucial MX500. A year ago, it cost $60, but since then, it was available for $30, more often for $40, and now it's back to $60, exceeding the price of the Crucial drive.

1TB SSD Pricing

Moving on to 1TB drives allows us to add several drives and models to the comparison. The Samsung 990 Pro used to cost $170 a year ago, dropped to $60, and then stabilized around $80 for a few months. It now costs $120.

Another high-end PCIe 4.0 drive, the WD Black SN850X, was about $110 in January 2023, and for a while it could be had for $60. For several months it was stable at $85, but in the past month things have deteriorated, and now it's $100.

Meanwhile, the SK Hynix P41 Platinum was $150 a year ago, but for most of 2023 it remained at $90, with dips as low as $55. It now goes for $100, making its 500GB version look redundant.

The Corsair MP600 Pro LPX started last year at a reasonable $110 and spent much of the year at around $70. It now costs $90.

The WD Black SN770 has been a decent option for those with a PCIe 4.0 system looking to save money. Starting last year at $90, it remained at around $50 for several months, with its lowest dip at $43. It has fluctuated on a rising pattern and now it's stable at $85.

The Samsung T7 Shield is an external SSD that we've been recommending for over a year. It used to cost $100, and later was available around $75 to $90. These days, it's usually $110.

The Crucial MX500 1TB started last year at $70, but spent much of the year under $50. Now it sits at $90 – a price it hasn't seen since 2022. The Samsung 870 Evo is a similar story: a year ago, it was too expensive compared to the MX500 at $90. During the year it became a stronger competitor with prices under $60, down as much as $49. In January it became overpriced again at $90, and as of writing it's $100, but now the Crucial drive is catching up.

2TB SSD Pricing

Throughout last year we noted that 2TB drives offered better value than lower-capacity models, but in the past few months, price changes created some exceptions. Has this trend continued? Let's find out.

The Samsung 990 Pro used to cost $300 a year ago, but for a few months it was available for less than half that amount, including a $120 Black Friday deal. For the past few weeks its price has been stable around $190 – that's significantly better value than the 1TB model if you need the space.

The WD Black SN850X started 2023 at a more sensible $190, and for a while it could be had for just $110. Current prices are about $150, so the 1TB model looks worse than it did last time.

The SK Hynix P41 Platinum was $260 at the start of 2023, but spent most of the year at least $100 cheaper, including a few weeks at $115 towards the year's end. The price was much higher last January at $140-160 and now has increased further to sit at $170. That's still a better value than the 1TB model, but not by much.

The Corsair MP600 Pro LPX was often available for $130 or less throughout 2023, dipping as low as $110. Last month, the price fluctuated between $150 and $165, making the larger capacity still a better deal than the 1TB model, though not by much.

The WD Black SN770 started last year at $160 but fluctuated around $100 later on. Early this year, it was listed at $140 but was frequently discounted to $107, making it a significantly better value than the 1TB model. Now, those deals are no longer available.

The Samsung T7 Shield has seen a long history of price fluctuations. Starting the year at around $170, it often sold for around $125, with the lowest price at $100. Now it's at $180, making the 1TB model still relevant in the market, even though it offers technically worse value.

The Crucial MX500 remained one of the most consistently priced drives last year, starting at $150, but never costing more than $120. It fluctuated between $90 and $110, dipping to $80 around Black Friday. Now at $160, it's not significantly better than the 1TB version.

The Samsung 870 Evo also went from being overpriced compared to the MX500 at $175, to a good alternative with prices between $100 and $120, and short dips to $90 and $80. Gone up to $180, it's an unappealing option for most.

Solid Takeaways

The SSD price drops from last year have completely reversed. A concerning trend in the past few months is the disappearance of good value options like the Crucial MX500 or the frequent sales of the WD SN770. This trend is not limited to specific brands or capacities, and we don't recommend settling for drives with slower and less durable QLC flash.

The question remains: How much worse will it get? We don't expect a return to 2021 prices, created by shortages and supply chain issues. At some point, people will start buying fewer units, and manufacturers are trying not to reach that point. Prices are likely to decrease eventually as production ramps up and new technologies are introduced. If you don't urgently need a new SSD, there's no benefit in acquiring one preemptively, just to avoid possible future price hikes.

Your choice of storage device and its intended use also play crucial roles. For desktop PC users looking to store large quantities of photos and videos, a traditional hard drive remains a viable alternative, but you may want to get one soon before the AI craze reaches those, too.

For instance, the Seagate IronWolf often sells for just $80 for 4TB. Laptop users who don't mind carrying an additional, smaller external drive might consider the WD Passport, which currently offers 2TB for around $80. For PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series owners, such drives can play older games, albeit with longer load times.

We'll report back next quarter with more SSD pricing updates.