Though some offer slightly more value than others, the majority of microSD cards are quick enough to increase storage capacity and facilitate basic file transfers. Regardless of whether you’re using a gaming handheld, dash cam, drone, or Android tablet, we’ve searched the market and put over a dozen of the best options through a series of benchmark tests. Our top picks are listed below, along with some general shopping tips to consider before you buy one.
QUICK LIST
Last update on 2025-03-18 / Affiliate links/images from Amazon.
Top 3 Best MicroSD Cards in 2025
1.Lexar Professional Silver Plus
- 205MB/s max read speed expedites transfers and reduces wait times
- 150MB/s max write speed ensures stutter-free videos
- Rated V30, it supports up to 4K 60FPS video recording to capture smooth, high-quality video
Last update on 2025-03-18 / Affiliate links/images from Amazon.
Most people can get by with a good UHS-I card, and the Lexar Professional Silver Plus is the most affordable of the cards we tested. Throughout our benchmark tests, it continuously produced sequential reads and writes that were faster than any other UHS-I model when paired with Lexar’s USB card reader. Although its stated read and write speeds of up to 205 MB/s and 150 MB/s, respectively, are already fairly high, we discovered that the latter could reach up to 180–190 MB/s in synthetic benchmarks such as CrystalDiskMark, ATTO, and AJA.
On average, our 12GB test folder wrote to the card in 76 seconds, which was about 30 seconds faster than our two previous top choices, the Samsung Pro Plus and Samsung Pro Ultimate. In reading that test file back to our PC, it essentially tied the Pro Ultimate to the top of all the UHS-I cards we’ve tried. (If you’re keeping score at home, that one averaged roughly 67 seconds.) Although the Silver Plus was still very competitive, it was outperformed by Samsung cards and a few others in a few arbitrary performance metrics. In any case, it has all the necessary ratings (U3, V30, A2) and is fast enough to work with 4K videos and transfer files between devices without experiencing significant lag.
The card itself is waterproof with an IPX7 rating, and Lexar backs it with a lifetime warranty. They range in size from 128GB to a roomy 1TB. Although the optional reader is a little big, it conveniently has both USB-A and USB-C ports, so you shouldn’t need any dongles to connect it to a PC or phone. You can purchase it separately or in a bundle.
The Silver Plus’s price is what makes it so expensive. A 128GB model cost at the time of our most recent update, while the 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB models cost roughly respectively. Even though the Silver Plus is the more capable card overall, they either undercut or match competitors like the Pro Plus, Pro Ultimate, or SanDisk Extreme. Those aren’t the lowest prices we’ve ever seen, and the calculations will change slightly if you need to account for a card reader. In conclusion, it is quick, strong, and reasonably priced. That’s the formula for a simple suggestion.
Pros
- Cheaper than many slower alternatives
Cons
- Needs USB reader to reach maximum speeds
2.Samsung Pro Plus
- YOUR NEW GO-TO CARD: Capture seamless 4K videos¹ on your compatible phone or drone with this micro SD memory card. Expanded storage gives you freedom to play more high performance, intensive games on your tablet or gaming device as well as extra memory for your GoPro.
- TAKE YOUR BURST SHOT: Stunningly fast U3, Class10 rated read/write speeds up to 160/120MB/s, let you shoot more photos faster and 4K videos¹ look sharp with UHS-I Interface.
- ADD SPACE, KEEP IT ALL: Huge capacities of 128GB, 256GB and 512GB give you plenty of storage space for hi-res photos, must-have apps, and all the media you want. Get extra drone memory that will allow you to record high-quality footage on your DJI drone, store it, and transfer it between devices.
Last update on 2025-03-18 / Affiliate links/images from Amazon.
However, storage costs are subject to change, so if you see the Samsung Pro Plus, our previous “best for most” choice, available for a few dollars less than the Silver Plus in the capacity you desire, it’s still worth taking into consideration. Although its sequential read and write performance was generally slower than Lexar’s card, it was still comparable to or superior to all of the other UHS-I cards we tested. It is ideally suited for a portable game console or any other setup where it would be required to access small bits of data dispersed throughout a device because random reads and writes were typically ranked second only to the more expensive Samsung Pro Ultimate. In our long-term testing, it has also held up flawlessly.
However, if you do decide to purchase one, be sure to get the most recent model with 180MB/s read speeds. According to our most recent update, some online retailers continue to use an older-generation model with slower sequential reads and random performance.
Pros
- Readily available at trusted retailers
- Quick sequential and random speeds
Cons
- Slower than our top pick, especially with sequential write performance
3.Samsung Evo Select
- ALL THE SPACE YOU NEED: Store tons of media on your phone, load games or download more apps on your tablet at top-notch speed, making transfers seamless and reliable
- FAST AND SMOOTH: With superfast U3, class 10 rated transfer speeds of up to 130MB/s¹,²and UHS-I Interface³ big apps load and run smoothly, while 4K video remains sharp with A2, V30, and USH-I Interface
- EXPAND AND STORE BIG: Find your perfect fit from 64GB, 128GB, 256GB and 512GB; Select the best capacity for all your memories. Speed class: U3
Last update on 2025-03-18 / Affiliate links/images from Amazon.
In terms of sequential write speeds, the Samsung Evo Select lags far behind our top choices (just under 70 MB/s on CrystalDiskMark). Therefore, we do not advise using it with any kind of camera. Nevertheless, its sequential and random read speeds were still reasonable in our benchmarks, and it is entirely usable for basic storage expansion.
Most significantly, it’s typically affordable: in the past, we’ve observed that the 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB models are the lowest priced. If all you want is a huge amount of space at a reasonable price from a reliable brand, the last two capacities might be especially good deals. Nevertheless, if the price of the Samsung Pro Plus or Lexar Professional Silver Plus is comparable, you should still get them instead.
Like the Pro Plus, the Evo Select in its final generation might still be available at some stores. The slower sequential read speeds of that one, which were advertised at 130 MB/s rather than 160 MB/s, were mostly accurate in our testing. The goal of this pick is to choose a card that performs well enough for the least amount of money, so if price is your top concern and you see the old model available for incredibly low prices, feel free to purchase that instead.
Pros
- Acceptable performance if price is chief concern
- Often discounted
Cons
- 10-year warranty isn’t the longest
- Slower than other top picks, particularly in sequential write and random performance benchmarks
How we test microSD cards
Nearly 20 microSD cards have undergone a battery of tests to confirm their random and sequential performance. In addition to a few “real-world” tests, these comprised benchmarks such as CrystalDiskMark, BlackMagic Disk Speed Test, ATTO Disk Benchmark, and AJA System Test. We timed the process each time as we copied and pasted a tiny folder of pictures, about 1.15 GB in size, to and from each card. We then repeated the process with a larger folder, 12.2 GB, that contained several file types and subfolders.
When necessary, we tested each card on both macOS Sonoma and Windows 11 using a Kingston USB 3.2 UHS-II reader. However, since we believe that most interested buyers will ultimately use a proprietary reader, we primarily tested with cards that could be bundled with (or specifically advertised to use) one. An Alienware gaming PC with an Intel Core i9-10900F, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD was used for Windows testing. We used a 2021 16-inch MacBook Pro running macOS, which had a 512GB SSD, 16GB of RAM, and an Apple M1 Pro chip. We tested the corresponding card on the MacBook using CalDigit’s TS4 dock if a reader was unable to connect via USB-C.