Sadly, straight from the horse’s mouth, we are looking at a massive price hike on new batches of Banana Pi products. I reached out to the BPI Shop, and they confirmed my worst fears: significant price increases are coming for any new inventory.
While existing stock might stay steady for a moment, if you’re waiting for the BPI R4 Pro 8X (or any DRAM-heavy SBC), expect the price to rise sharply. In 2026, the rule is simple: the more RAM a board has, the harder your wallet is going to get hit. If you currently debating whether or not to buy a product from BPI, I recommend you do not wait, once those stocks are depleted, there is a huge chance of a massive price hike on new stock.
My Experience & The Price Gouging
I originally managed to snag the BPI R4 Pro for $218.00 USD, but unfortunately, my unit developed a fault within the first week. I returned it to the SinoVoIP AliExpress store and got my account credited. However, when I went to buy a replacement, the landscape had changed completely:
- Official Stock is Gone: SinoVoIP has delisted the board from their main AliExpress store.
- Price Gouging: Third-party sellers (like the MII Store (AVOID)) are now listing units with markups as high as $400 to $600 MSRP.
- New Reality: Evidence suggests the “official” restock price may be as high as double what it was at launch.
Too Much
At $400+, this board is officially out of my budget. I simply can’t justify spending that much on an SBC router—especially one that still doesn’t have a stable, mainstream build of OpenWrt. It’s a great piece of hardware, but at double the price, it loses the “bang-for-your-buck” appeal that makes Banana Pi worth the software headache. From the email I received it looks like BPI is banking on customers opting to migrate the hikes by opting to purchase the product with less ram, less emmc, and most likely this unit will cost more than what it cost to buy the 8GB version.
From my own research, price is from September 2025 and March 2026 prices:
| 8GB DDR4 RAM | ~$20.00 | ~$65.00+ | +225% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8GB eMMC 5.1 | ~$4.00 | ~$9.00 | +125% |
So if BPI increases prices between $50 to $200 extra on devices, then At these prices, BPI’s sales will crater. They are losing the very ‘price-to-performance’ edge that built their community.
Image from BPI Tech Limited.
