When will CPU prices go down?
Checked onThey are already easing: the same 272 processors on Newegg cost 8.5% less in total than on Sep 29, 2026. No maker has given a date for further cuts.
What to do depends on how soon you need one.
What to do now
You need one this week
Buy now. Waiting has no measured payoff, and the price list shows the cheapest processor of each kind.
An upgrade that can wait
Decide the price you would pay, then watch the 7- and 30-day moves. A product at the lowest price we have recorded for it says so on the list.
A new build
Price the whole build. The processor is one part, and a cheaper choice elsewhere can cover a rise here.
What retail prices actually did
Of the same 283 products listed on Aug 3, 2026 and Oct 31, 2026, 67 cost more, 153 cost less and 63 were unchanged. Bought together, they cost 6.4% less on Oct 31, 2026.
This comparison uses the same products at both dates. It does not attribute every dollar of a shop price to a manufacturer's costs.
CPU retail price history
From Aug 3, 2026 to Oct 31, 2026, the daily median ranged from $115.10 to $149.30 per part. The latest observed median is $115.18. It is 0% of the way from the lowest to the highest daily median in this window.
| Comparison | Cost more | Cost less | Unchanged | Same products together | Median change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 daysOct 22, 2026 to Oct 31, 2026 · 315 products | 58 | 131 | 126 | -1.1% | 0.0% |
| 32 daysSep 29, 2026 to Oct 31, 2026 · 272 products | 55 | 132 | 85 | -8.5% | 0.0% |
| Since the record beganAug 3, 2026 to Oct 31, 2026 · 283 products | 67 | 153 | 63 | -6.4% | -0.5% |
| Last 12 months | Not available: the retail record is shorter than a year. | ||||
What the manufacturers have said
AMD · Aug 5, 2026
AMD reported a 6% year-on-year decrease in average client-processor selling price for the quarter ending June 27, 2026. That includes its product mix and is not a 6% fall in every desktop CPU.
Manufacturer statements describe their own business and outlook. Retail promotions, stock and the exact model can move differently.
What would show CPU prices easing?
A fall among the same products across several collection dates would show an actual retail change. More listed products at lower prices would broaden that evidence. A factory outlook alone does not give a date when a particular listing gets cheaper.
Use the retail chart to compare the dates, and the current price list to compare the exact part and its alternatives.
Why we give no date
We wrote a buy-or-wait rule and tested it on 1,252 past decisions across 11 factory price indexes, each using only the index months up to its own date, as BLS publishes them today (later revisions included). At three months, 29 of its 48 calls to wait were followed by a higher index: wrong 60.4% of the time. A date from a rule like that would mislead you, so this page gives the evidence instead.
Factory index: separate context
Category price index, not the price of a part
Semiconductor and related device manufacturing (PPI)
28.801Factory index level, September 2026
January 2017September 2026
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, public domain, PCU334413334413, latest month September 2026, checked 17 October 2026.
The BLS series is semiconductor and related device manufacturing (PPI), not the retail price of a processor. Its match to this category is good. Monthly manufacturing-index table.