Most microSD cards will work fine enough if you just want more space for a Nintendo Switch 2, GoPro, security cam or drone, but some can provide a little more value than others. That’s especially true in today’s market, where AI has thrown the cost of all storage products into a blender. If you’re not sure which card to buy, allow us to help: We’ve dug through the contenders and tested close to 20 models to figure out which ones are most worth your money. Here are our picks for the best microSD cards as of early 2026.
PSA: It’s a brutal time to buy storage
Like everything else in the world, the effects of the AI boom are hanging over the consumer storage market (and thus, this guide) like a storm cloud. Namely, pricing for NAND flash — the memory tech used inside microSD cards, SSDs and other storage gear — has skyrocketed over the last few months thanks to unprecedented demand from data centers, AI firms and everyone else involved in the rapid build-out of AI infrastructure.
There’s more to it, but in simple terms: AI is making things more expensive, and microSD cards are no exception. Most options we could find while researching this guide have at least doubled in price since the end of 2025, if not tripled or more — and that’s if they’re still in stock at all. No capacity option or specific manufacturer has been spared.
So it’s a horrible time to need one of these things, and it’s worth trying to hold out if at all possible until prices subside. The issue is we have no real idea when this supply and demand will get back in sync. Some tech execs have suggested we might not see any real relief until 2028. If you truly must buy a microSD card today, however, we’ve tried to take this ongoing inflation into account and provided a few recommendations below.
Best microSD cards for 2026
Jeff Dunn/Yahoo
Keeping today’s volatile market in mind, the Samsung Pro Plus is a safe pick for general use as of early 2026. Its sequential write speeds weren’t the absolute fastest in our tests, but the card wasn’t too far off the mark, so it should yield few complaints for most people looking to add storage to a drone, security camera or any other video-recording device. Sequential reads were closer to the top of the pack, so it’ll be quick if you want to play videos stored on the card or transfer files from the card to a PC.
Random read and write performance, meanwhile, was among the best we tested, making this an especially strong buy for playing video games off a handheld gaming device like the Steam Deck or the original Nintendo Switch. This also helps if you want to use a card as the main storage for a single-board computer like the Raspberry Pi (which unfortunately has also seen price hikes due to the ongoing memory shortage).
The Pro Plus is available in capacities up to 1TB, which is about as much as most people need, and it comes from a reputable manufacturer in Samsung. While its 10-year warranty doesn’t quite match the lifetime policies offered by some peers, it’s still plenty of time.
The main thing the Pro Plus has going on is that you can actually buy it (for now). Like every other card we’ve tested, it’s two to three times more expensive today than it was toward the end of 2025, so we can’t tell you it’s a great value right now. We also have to link to a special Sonic the Hedgehog-themed version of the device because the standard model (which performs identically) has fallen in and out of stock in recent months. Still, this is a higher-performing microSD card that’s available from major retailers and priced in line with its peers, if not a few bucks cheaper, at the time of writing. If you absolutely must buy a new microSD card today, it’s your best bet from the options we’ve tested, for better or worse.
- Quick transfer speeds overall
- Available up to 1TB
- Not as expensive as other similar models
- Not the absolute fastest for video recording
- 10-year warranty could be longer
Jeff Dunn/Yahoo
A true “budget” recommendation is tough to make right now. We searched high and low, yet every single card we could find from a trusted manufacturer — including ones we haven’t tested yet — has exploded in price over the last few months. Even a low-end option like the SanDisk Ultra, which is too slow for us to recommend anyway, is now comically inflated.
So when we recommend the Samsung Evo Select as an affordable option, understand that we are speaking in extremely relative terms. But we can only work with what’s in front of us, and while the Evo Select is nowhere near the value it was a few months ago, it’s still not as absurdly expensive as most other decent microSD cards on the market today.
Unsurprisingly, the trade-off with buying a budget card like this is that you have to deal with slower speeds. The Evo Select’s sequential write speeds are particularly middling compared to most of the other models we’ve tested; it’s not unworkable, but there are clearly superior options for any sort of high-res camera. One of our tests involves moving a 12GB folder of mixed files to and from a PC — whereas the Pro Plus wrote the folder from our desktop in a minute and 45 seconds on average, the Evo Select checked in at three minutes and 23 seconds. Random speeds were also a step behind the Pro Plus and other alternatives on that level.
That said, the Evo Select’s sequential read speeds were pretty robust, and the rest is still perfectly usable for basic storage expansion. Like the Pro Plus, it’s available in several size options and has a 10-year warranty. If you aren’t a stickler for raw performance and just want as little pain to your wallet as possible in these upside-down times, the Evo Select is fine.
- More affordable than most microSD cards
- Acceptable performance for casual storage expansion
- Available up to 1TB
- Slower than other top picks, especially in sequential write and random speeds
- 10-year warranty could be longer
Jeff Dunn/Yahoo
Read our full guide to the best microSD cards for the Nintendo Switch 2.
The microSD cards we’ve mentioned so far are based on a standard called UHS-I. This has long been the most common bus interface for microSD cards, and it’s been fast enough for recording videos, running apps and doing most other things people want their cards to do. The hugely popular Nintendo Switch 2, however, requires cards that use a newer and more powerful standard called a microSD Express. Whereas a UHS-I card has a theoretical max speed of 104 megabytes per second (MB/s), microSD Express pushes that all the way up to 985 MB/s.
If you just want a simple recommendation here, look to the Lexar Play Pro. It was consistently quick across our Switch 2-specific tests — which included loading resource-intensive areas in Cyberpunk 2077 and moving games on and off the cards — and it’s priced in line with the rest of the market. Lower-cost models like Walmart’s Onn Express card or Samsung’s P9 Express are perfectly viable, though the Play Pro offers a 1TB option and comes with a lifetime warranty (versus one year for Onn and three years for Samsung). It’s also readily available at multiple stores as of this writing.
With that said, the performance gap between every microSD Express card we’ve tested within actual Switch 2 games is largely minimal. The only times when you may see a genuine difference are during especially asset-heavy loads in demanding games, or, more noticeably, when you transfer games between the card and the system’s storage.
This means the “best” microSD Express card is often the one that’s cheapest in the size you want and comes from a trusted manufacturer. (Express cards traditionally cost more than UHS-I models, but now that we live in Wacky AI World, that’s not always the case.) If you see another microSD Express card on sale for less than the Play Pro, you won’t lose much by getting that one instead. Just remember that the Switch 2 is the only major device that actually supports microSD Express, so you don’t have to worry about how this card performs anywhere else.
- Fast transfer speeds for Switch 2
- Available up to 1TB
- Lifetime limited warranty
- There are cheaper microSD Express cards
- Speed difference between microSD Express cards when playing Switch 2 games is often insignifcant
Other microSD cards worth noting
The Samsung Pro Ultimate microSD card inside its included USB reader, which allows it to reach higher speeds on other devices. (Jeff Dunn/Yahoo)
The Lexar Professional Silver Plus is the fastest UHS-I card I’ve tested when it comes to sequential read and write speeds, with strong random performance on top of that. It was regularly available for less than the Pro Plus in each capacity too, but recent price hikes have killed it. The 256GB model costs almost $30 more than Samsung’s card today, for example, while the 1TB model costs an absurd $110 extra. It’s just not worth it right now.
The Samsung Pro Ultimate has slightly faster sequential read speeds than the Pro Plus, but it usually costs more and doesn’t offer a 1TB option. Stock has also been spotty as of late.
The SanDisk GamePlay, SanDisk Pokémon, SanDisk Extreme Pro and PNY Elite-X all fall short of our top picks either in terms of price, performance or general availability.
The SanDisk Extreme mostly performs on par with the Samsung Pro Plus, though its random speeds were a bit slower in certain benchmark tests, plus it’s more expensive in most sizes as of this writing. SanDisk released an updated model shortly before we published this guide on top of that — we aim to test that card for a future update.
Along those lines, we also plan to look at PNY’s Pro Elite Prime and the most recent Kingston Canvas Go Plus for our next update, as both advertise faster sequential speeds than the Samsung Pro Plus for around the same price.
Other microSD Express cards worth noting
The Nintendo Switch 2 only supports a new type of microSD cards called microSD Express. (Jeff Dunn/Yahoo)
The PNY microSD Express Flash Memory Card finished near the top in the vast majority of our Switch 2 benchmark tests, but it was the slowest card we tested at moving large games to the card itself. That suggests its sustained sequential write speeds aren’t the best. Still, it’s worth grabbing if you see it on sale for less than the Play Pro.
The SanDisk microSD Express Card is also plenty fast but way too expensive right now.
As noted above, the Onn microSD Express Card and Samsung P9 Express are solid picks for a Switch 2 if price is your main concern, though they aren’t quite on par with the Lexar Play Pro in terms of capacity options and raw performance.
The GameStop Express microSD Card is another “budget” option that often sells for less than the Play Pro and is available in 1TB. But the Onn card is often even cheaper — and both are rebadged versions of other cards — so there isn’t much reason to get this one unless you want the cheapest 1TB model possible (provided that’s true when you buy).
Samsung’s officially licensed Switch 2 microSD Express Card is totally solid if you find it on sale, but it’s only available in a 256GB capacity, which may not be enough in the long term.
How I test microSD cards
I’ve put roughly 20 microSD cards through a variety of tests to gauge their sequential and random performance. These include synthetic benchmarks like CrystalDiskMark, BlackMagic Disk Speed Test, ATTO Disk Benchmark and AJA System Test, plus a few “real-world” scenarios I set up myself.
I copied and pasted a small 1.15GB file of photos between each card and my test PC, then did the same with a larger 12GB folder of mixed files and subfolders, timing the process each time. With each test, I marked down the average time of three separate runs to weed out any outlier results. I also used each card with Valve’s Steam Deck, making sure there were no major drop-offs in performance and timing how long it took each card to launch a selection of games and load save files within them.
My testing spanned across a Windows gaming PC from Alienware and a 2021 MacBook Pro with an M1 Pro chip. I used a Kingston card reader to test UHS-I cards when applicable; however, if a card is available with or specifically advertised to use a proprietary reader, I used that instead, since that’s more likely to be the one most people would buy. If a reader couldn’t connect directly over USB-C, I hooked it up via CalDigit’s TS4 dock.
For microSD Express cards, I ran a different set of tests specific to the Nintendo Switch 2, since that’s the only major device that supports the standard today. You can head over to our dedicated Switch 2 microSD card guide for a rundown of how I went about that.
This chart from the SD Association shows its official speed classes and certifications for microSD cards. (Jeff Dunn/Yahoo)
What to look for when shopping for a microSD card
Capacity
256GB or 512GB is a good sweet spot between price and space. A 1TB card is more suitable if you need something for a game console or want to stash mountains of 4K videos, though it won’t come cheap. Some UHS-I cards go up to 1.5TB or 2TB, but those might be overkill for most given the recent spate of price hikes. Note that some lower-capacity cards are slower than their more spacious counterparts.
Sequential read and write speed
Sequential read and write speeds matter when you want to access (read) or save (write) large continuous streams of data instead of several smaller files. Fast sequential writes are important for capturing high-res video, taking burst photos or copying files from a device to the card. Fast sequential reads are key for using a card as a media library, playing back stored movies or moving files from the card to a PC.
Sustained sequential performance is also important: This refers to how well a card holds up over time with particularly large files and long tasks.
Most manufacturers advertise a microSD card’s maximum sequential read speed on its packaging because it’s typically the largest number. Just know that there’s much more that goes into how the device performs in the real world.
Random read and write speed
Random read and write speeds matter when you need a microSD card to access or save smaller bits of data in various locations. This is most important if you use the card to play games on a portable game console, hold apps on a mobile device or run the operating system for a mini computer like the Raspberry Pi. All of these do lots of tinier reads and writes while in use.
Speed ratings
Just about every microSD card comes with an array of numbers, letters and symbols printed on its front. Most of these refer to the card’s speed class and performance ratings, as dictated by the SD Association. We won’t get too deep in the weeds here, since these ratings aren’t always relevant to real-world use and mainly serve as minimum guarantees. But to keep it easy, you should generally look for a card rated V30 or higher, U3 and A2. You can still get a decent card without one of these certifications, but in general cards with them will be fast enough to record 4K video or run apps and games.
Device support
In order for a microSD card to reach its maximum speed, the device you use with that card needs to support the appropriate standard. For example, if you put a microSD Express card in a device that only supports UHS-I, you’ll be limited to UHS-I speeds. Put simply: A microSD card is only as fast as the slowest link in your chain. You may also see some UHS-I cards advertise faster speeds than the official maximum of 104 MB/s — this is done through proprietary extensions and card readers, which you can then pop into a PC (or any other device with a faster port) to achieve better performance.
Warranty
Most microSD cards are designed to be durable and protected from the elements, but none of them will last forever. Many manufacturers offer lifetime or 10-year warranties, which should be enough if and when worse comes to worst.
Avoiding fakes
It’s always best to buy a microSD card that’s made by a known manufacturer (Samsung, Lexar, SanDisk, Kingston, etc.) and available from a trusted retailer. If you buy from Amazon, make sure the shipper and seller is Amazon itself. (Though some users have received counterfeit cards when doing that in the past, so exercise caution.) When you receive a card, check its packaging for any oddities. You can also use benchmark tests like CrystalDiskMark or the BlackMagic Disk Speed Test to verify performance, or software like H2testw and Fake Flash Test to ensure legitimacy.
