MicroSD cards are ubiquitous these days and they're used in many devices, chiefly phones. But you'll want to pick a different microSD card for your phone than a device with a camera such as a dashcam, drone, or action camera.

That's because some are optimised for recording high-resolution video, others for running apps and accessing the small-scale files ofttimes used on phones and tablets. Audio confusing? Don't worry. Here we'll explain how to choose the best microSD card for your device, what all the symbols on the card mean, and recommend the best ones to purchase.

If you're in a rush, bound to our peak microSD recommendations.

If you want to empathize what all those symbols hateful, jump to our explainer below .

How to choose a microSD bill of fare

The first choice is capacity. You'll want to check how large a carte your device volition accept. Some dash cams volition take upwards to 32GB just, because that's the limit of the SDHC standard - but most phones will support up to 256GB, cheers to the SDXC standard, with some supporting up to a massive 2TB.

The SD Express standard was appear in June 2018, that's currently only for full-size SD cards.

Do I need a specific bill of fare for a camera or a phone?

Short answer: yes. Longer answer: some cards are so proficient, they're capable of recording 4K video in your GoPro simply will also give great performance in your phone.

The newest standards are 'Five' and 'A', and y'all'll see a number after each which represents a minimum standard of performance.

Best microSD for video recording

Basically, if you lot're buying a microSD card to record video, y'all'll want to look for ane with a V10 logo or higher. The number after the 5 is the guaranteed write speed in megabytes per second (MB/s), although it may be college than this.

To record 4K video, you should aim for at least V30.TheSD Clan has recommendations for speeds you need for recording at different video resolutions:

Best microSD cards

If there's no 'Five' number, check the packaging or specifications to find out the write speed. Watch out considering the biggest number is unremarkably the read speed, not write.

Nosotros explain the V standard in more detail below.

All-time microSD for phones and tablets

On the other hand, you might be buying a card to expand your phone or tablet's storage. Here you need good performance for reading and writing pocket-size files.

That'due south why the other new rating organisation is 'App operation', denoted by an A, followed by a number.

It works in a similar way to the video grade, and you lot'll see an A1 or A2 logo on a carte.

A1 menu allows both storage every bit well as faster data usage. A step further, A2 operates offers even faster read/write speeds and  more avant-garde overall  performance to better suit the ever-advancing phones and tablets.

A2 is new er , but A1 cards should be fast plenty for running  nigh  apps and games.

Which microSD card should I buy?

Stick to the well-known brands which will offer a warranty on their cards. Reputable brands include: Samsung, SanDisk, Lexar, Kingston, Integral and Verbatim, among others.

There are enough of fakes and counterfeit microSD cards, so make sure you buy from a trusted seller. If you see a card on eBay that's a lot cheaper than you expect it to be, there'south probably a good reason!

We've shortlisted the best brands and models for you lot beneath.

Benchmark results - How the best microSD cards compare

Here's how all the cards we tested compared. While read and write speeds might be apparent, 4KB read and 4KB write speeds signal how quickly the carte du jour can retrieve small, blocks of data (i.e. 4KB of data) from random places. While that might sound like a strange thing to mensurate, that process is standard to how storage drives work. This makes information technology a useful indicator in benchmarks for understanding the card's overall performance.

Best microSD cards - Our reviews

1

PNY Pro Elite - Best overall

PNY Pro Elite microSDXC

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PNY'southward Pro Elite microSD card is a top all-rounder with a claimed 100MB/due south read speed and 90MB/s write speed.

It'south available in 32, 64, 128, 256, 512GB and 1TB capacities, simply specs vary slightly across those capacities. The 512GB card, for case, is rated A2 for app operation, while the others are A1. The higher chapters options also offer V class ratings.

Nonetheless, as we constitute in CrystalDiskMark, fifty-fifty the 128GB card we tested outperformed all other options including the A2-rated SanDisk Extreme PRO card for 4KB performance, managing 12.4MB/s for reading and v.3MB/southward for writing.

We saw adequately decent results for large files with 88.7MB/s read speeds and 81.7MB/s write speeds. The latter is more enough for recording 4K in consumer cameras.

And then, whether you need a microSD card for your telephone, an action camera or dash cam, the PNY Pro Elite is a great selection with impressive prices.

It may non be every bit fast equally the Samsung Extreme PRO (below), but at its price, PNY offers incredible value for coin, making it the best overall.

It's available from Currys PC World (with better prices) and Amazon. Us availability is limited with some options from Amazon The states and directly from PNY.

Storage sizes and prices: 32GB (£seven.99) | 64GB(£x.99) | 128GB (£24.99) | 256GB (£54.99) | 512GB (£113.39) | 1TB ($299.99)

2

SanDisk Extreme PRO - Best for speed

SanDisk Extreme PRO microSD

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The fastest microSD menu that SanDisk offers for consumer electronics, the Extreme PRO starts at 32GB and goes up to 1TB.

It's rated A2, which makes it faster for loading apps and dealing with the stuff necessary for phones and tablets. But with read speeds of up to 170MB/s and write speeds up to 90MB/s, it's also ideal for 4K video recording in your drone, action photographic camera or dash cam.

Unfortunately, most devices are limited to the UHS-I speed of 104MB/s and then unless you happen to have one that allows for faster transfer speeds yous won't come across that 170MB/south.

We just had a standard USB 3 microSD card reader available to test the Extreme Pro on our PC, and that'due south the situation most people will be in.

We saw a read speed of 94.6MB/due south and a more than-than-decent write speed of 85MB/s. It managed the fastest 4KB read speeds nosotros've seen of 9.9MB/s but write speeds of iii.3MB/s weren't great.

So, while the Farthermost PRO may technically exist ane of the fastest around, most people won't run into noticeably faster speeds than are bachelor from the Extreme Plus or even Ultra cards from SanDisk.

So the same communication applies equally for the Extreme Plus: buy if you tin can take advantage of the speeds, but if non you tin can save and go for an Ultra (or the Samsung Evo Plus).

Storage sizes and prices: 32GB (£12.99/$fourteen.99) | 64GB(£14.99/$21.99) | 128GB (£24.99/$39.99) | 256GB (£80.99/$72.99) | 400GB (£99.99/$129.99) | 512GB (£199.99/$179.99) | 1TB (£449.99/$399.99)

Prices include a lifetime express warranty. Pick it upwards from Western Digital or from Amazon.

3

Manfrotto Pro Rugged - Best for 4K video

Manfrotto Pro Rugged microSD

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Manfrotto is a brand all-time known for its tripods, just storage for your camera is now office of its range. In addition to CF (compact wink) and SD cards are its microSD offerings which come up in 64- and 128GB capacities.

Along with the other types of storage, the microSD cards also become the Rugged branding and the company says they're built to exist the toughest around, able to survive being submerged for 72 hours and temperatures ranging from -25C to 85C. We asked which company actually manufacturers the cards for Manfrotto, but were only told that"we source components and collaborate with extremely specialized partners for some production line ups".

There's a two-year warranty and so you're protected against whatever manufacturing defects.

Although labeled V30, which ways a minimum sequential write speed of 30MB/sec, the Pro Rugged actually reads and writes at 90MB/s and this was bourne out in our tests.

CrystalDiskMark reported a read speed simply shy of 95MB/southward and a read speed a little downwardly on the claim at 88.5MB/s. Both splendid results and made even better at this toll which is roughly one-half the RRP.

Though squarely aimed at drones, action cameras and gimbals, you lot could theoretically also use one of these in your phone or tablet, managing a 4KB read speed was 8.5MB/s and iii.75MB/s for writing.

Overall then, the Pro Rugged is much better value than a lot of its rivals and then long as you find information technology discounted on Manfrotto'due south site or elsewhere. The states visitors tin can head to Manfrotto Us.

Storage sizes and prices:64GB(£33.95/$31) | 128GB (£44.95/$39.99).

4

Samsung Evo Plus - Best speed for mobile

Samsung Evo Plus

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Samsung is ane of the biggest brands, and so you're likely to sway towards buying a Samsung-branded microSD card, peculiarly if you have a Samsung phone. The Evo Plus is the entry-level range, with the Pro Plus and Pro Endurance being more than expensive.

We tested the 128GB card, but it'southward likewise bachelor in higher capacities (listed beneath).

The packaging boasts of "Write Speed up to ninety MB/due south" and we saw a sequential write speed 84.3 MB/s so it'south not far off the claim. Read speeds weren't quite upwards to the 100 MB/s claim only at 88.three MB/due south, you won't exist disappointed given the price of the Evo Plus.

For telephone and tablet utilize, you're more than interested in 4KB performance, and hither the Evo shines, even though it's not A1 or A2 rated: it scored 10.5 MB/south when reading and 4.seven MB/south when writing.

The score outdoes the A2-rated SanDisk Extreme Pro, making it a strong overall selection for mobile if you can't get your hands on the PNY option in a higher place – and peculiarly if you lot're sticking information technology in a phone that's capable of recording 4K video.

We've listed the RRPs beneath, but you can find the Evo Plus for much cheaper (at almost half-off) from Amazon or Novatech, the official resellers. Samsung no longer sells these cards directly. On Amazon, y'all'll notice the 128GB option reduced to £24.99/$20.

Storage sizes and prices: 32GB (£13.54/$10) | 64GB(£25.99/$xiv.85) | 128GB (£46.54/$22.49) | 256GB (North/A - marketplace sellers only) | 512GB (£89.99)

5

SanDisk Extreme Plus - Best value for 4K video & mobile

SanDisk Extreme Plus microSD

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The Extreme Plus is a step downward from the Extreme PRO range of microSD cards, but it certainly doesn't disappoint. It claims up to 95MB/s read speeds and 90MB/due south write. It's rated both A1 and V30, making it suitable for high-resolution video and for mobile.

The Extreme Plus managed over 87MB/s and 85MB/due south for reading and writing speeds in CrystalDiskMark outdoing even the PNY Pro Elite. In fact, it went even faster in short queue depth test, with 92MB/s for reads and almost 88MB/due south for writes.

That makes it perfect for recording video in 4K drones and action cameras, or outburst photography in a DSLR. It'due south also a fine performer for phones and tablets thanks to strong 4KB performance of nine.3MB/s when reading and 4MB/s when writing these tiny files.

It's only held back past its high cost per GB. If you need speeds this loftier, you'll find better value elsewhere.

Storage sizes and prices: 32GB (£14.99/US$43.99) | 64GB(£16.46) | 128GB (£29.99/$79.99) | 256GB (£91.61)

Available on Amazon.

6

Kioxia Exceria Loftier Endurance - Best for security cameras

Kioxia Exceria High Endurance MicroSD (128GB)

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If you're unfamiliar with the brand name Kioxia, you might exist more familiar with Toshiba, which was Kioxia's parent company until 2018.

The Exceria High Endurance microSDXC promised read speeds up to 100Mb/s and write speeds up to 65Mb/s on the box. While the cards didn't reach those absolute maximums in our benchmarks, it came pretty darn close.

Read speeds reached 94.79Mb/s, making information technology faster than the SanDisk Extreme Pro's, while write speeds capped at 64.17Mb/due south. Athough that's slower than the Extreme Pro, information technology's almost twice as fast every bit the SanDisk Ultra.

4KB test clocked at 5.71Mb/s and 2.07Mb/s for read and write, respectively. While these aren't the most impressive figures, it shouldn't be an issue if you mainly intend to use the card for video storage.

In fact, despite the A1 rating and Android compatibility, the Exceria High Endurance is best for surveillance cameras and nuance cams.

The card offers a whole range of protective features that merits its High Endurance namesake. For starters, you tin can expect stupor resistance up to 5 meters, and temperature tolerances between -25 degrees Celcius to 85 degrees Celcius. Information technology's as well IPX7-rated waterproof and resistant to static shocks. Kioxia offers a 3-twelvemonth warranty should you run into any bug.

The Loftier Endurance is available to buy from Amazon.

Storage sizes and prices: 32GB (£17.44/$xix.99) | 64GB (£23.53/$26.99) | 128GB (£37.49/$42.99) | 256GB (£54.99/$76.99)

seven

SanDisk Ultra - All-time value for storage

SanDisk Ultra microSD

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If y'all don't fancy going for SanDisk'due south top tier cards, its Ultra range also offers solid functioning for much lower prices per GB - forth with the option of stepping up to a capacious 1TB!

In our CrystalDiskMark testing it managed sequential read speeds of 89MB/southward - just a little shy of the 95MB/south SanDisk claims - though write speeds were a more small 27MB/due south. That's fine for recording full HD video, simply falls a piffling brusque of what you'd crave for quality 4K video recording.

If you want to use the card in a phone or tablet (or a Nintendo Switch, for that matter) you lot'll probably be more than concerned with the 4KB speeds, and this is where the SanDisk Ultra is more impressive, managing to read at 9.4MB/southward and write at 2.4MB/due south. That's not the very best out in that location, but it's improve than nearly and very solid performance for a card this cost.

Storage sizes and prices: 16GB (£8) | 32GB (£7.23/$ix.99) | 64GB(£ten.99/$14.29) | 128GB (£19.99/$24.99) | 200GB (£35.99/$34.99) |256GB (£48.99/$47.99) | 400GB (£76.99/$69.99) | 512GB (£94.99/$77.99) | 1TB (£217.99/$229.99)

Bachelor on Amazon.

8

Integral - Best for cheap everday storage

Integral microSD

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Integral was the first company to offering 512GB of storage (£58.99), though now like options are available from other brands in this nautical chart.

Integral's bill of fare isn't simply for phone or tablet users, though. It's platonic if you accept a Nintendo Switch and want to install a whole library of games.

Similarly, if yous want a huge bill of fare for recording Hard disk drive video on an action camera or drone, it'll handle that task with ease as well. It'due south particularly skillful for a dwelling house security camera that records continuously to microSD.

What information technology tin can't practice is handle 4K recording. The model we reviewed was rated V10, the everyman of the new video recording standards – but the same bill of fare now is marked C10, which is a not-video standard.

In our tests, nosotros plant it managed a sustained write speed of 19.3MB/due south. That's plenty for Total HD 1920x1080 resolution though.

Read speeds are much quicker at 83.6MB/due south – a whisker short of the 85MB/south claim.

For use in phones and tablets, you should be more than concerned well-nigh a carte du jour'south 4KB file performance. Here, the Integral scored 7.3MB/southward for reading and 1.7MB/s for writing. It much lower than SanDisk, Samsung's and PNY's scores, so there are meliorate options if you're more focused on mobile utilize, just for day-to-day storage, Integral offers swell value for money.

Storage sizes and prices: 32GB (£vii.fourteen) | 64GB(£11.99) | 128GB (£18.99).

Available on Amazon.

SD, SDHC, SDXC – what does information technology all mean?

Best MicroSD cards SDHC vs SDXC

If you're shopping for a MicroSD card, y'all've probably come beyond a number of confusing symbols on the label. Allow's break them downwards.

In a nutshell, each of those denominations suggests chapters, with SD pregnant Secure Digital.

SD, but on its ain, is the oldest and supports up to 2GB of storage. These are now pretty much obsolete. Instead, you're more likely to see:

  • SDHC which means SD High Capacity and supports upward to 32GB of storage; or
  • SDXC, which means SD Extended Capacity, and supports up to 2TB of information.

There'due south also a rarer SDUC, or SD Ultra Capacity, that was introduced in 2018 that supports up to 128TB simply it'southward unlikely yous'll detect SDUC microSD cards on retailers like Amazon.

What is UHS-I, UHS-Ii, and UHS-3?

Forth with HC or XC, you'll often meet UHS markings in Roman numerals on SD cards and microSD cards. There are three UHS specifications you might see: UHS-I, UHS-Two, and UHS-III – though you lot'll quite often only see the shorthand Roman numeral noted on the card.

This refers to the UHS or "Ultra Loftier Speed" motorcoach speed (a charabanc is a office on the card, or any computer, that communicates information between components). Then UHS bus speed essentially indicates the maximum data transfer, or read and write rates.

UHS bus speeds emerged as a response to growing demands for faster speeds, particularly with high-resolution video and large RAW format photography.

Best microSD card UHS class

The higher the number the higher the transfer speed:

  • UHS-I allows transfer rates up to 104Mb/south
  • UHS-Ii allows transfer rates upward to 312Mb/due south
  • UHS-III  allows transfer speeds of 624Mb/southward

UHS-I cards are the most common of the iii, while UHS-3 microSD cards is the least mutual and may not even be supported by your device.

It'due south always worth checking what standards your telephone or photographic camera supports before you splash your greenbacks on a new microSD.

What are Speed Classes?

C2, C4, C6 and C10 Speed Class

You might also see the number 2, four, half dozen or 10 inside a circle (which is actually the alphabetic character C!). The number refers to sustained writing speed in MB/s.  A microSD carte marked Class 10 so means a minimum sustained writing speed of 10MB/due south. Continue in mind, information technology'south merely the minimum, and typically the cards can write faster than what's on the label.

Sustained speed matters when it comes to video recording, which requires writing data in a steady stream. The slower the sustained writing speed, the more than probable you are to drop frames and lose data.

C Classes are pretty much on their way out, though you might still encounter C10 ratings.

MicroSD symbols

UHS Speed Class

A pace upwardly from the standard Speed Class, and more common today, is the UHS Speed Form rating, which handles faster sustained writing speeds.

Information technology's worth noting: "UHS Speed Form" is dissimilar from the "UHS Bus Speed Class". One refers to the minimum sustained writing speeds, while the other indicates the maximum transfer rate.

Cards marked with a UHS speed course rating employ the UHS bus for data transfer (while C Form cards without the UHS marks wouldn't), so you're likely to see both UHS speed course and UHS bus speed symbols on most microSD cards these days.

How do you lot tell the ii apart?

Well, unlike the UHS-1, UHS-Ii and UHS-III ratings, which are marked in Roman numerals, the UHS speed class is marked with a U with a number inside it. Quite ofttimes, you'll see a U1 or U3 rating.

A faster write speed too means you spend less time waiting between capturing videos and photos.

  • U1 allows writing at a sustained speed of 10Mb/south
  • U2 allows writing at a sustained speed of 20Mb/ s
  • U3 allows writing at a sustained speed of 30Mb/s

Video Form speed

It would be too like shooting fish in a barrel if the distinctions concluded there, but there's also a newer Video Course or 5 Class – which promises even faster sustained writing speeds for video recording.

W ith the ever - growing appetite for 4K and 8K video , 5 classes let continuous writing rates at 10 Mb/southward , xxx Mb/s , lx Mb/s and 90 Mb/s. You'll come across this noted with a Five beside the corresponding write speed.

MicroSD Video Class

Is Class x and U1 the same thing?

This is debated, but what'due south certain is both allow a writing speed of 10MB/due south. You might see microSD cards sporting both the U one and C10 symbols. Similarly, you might meet both the V30 and U3 symbols (every bit in the image above) – once more both indicate a 30Mb/s writing speed.

All this confirms is you can expect a sustained writing speed of 30Mb/s and the carte du jour is suitable for video recording.

How we test microSD cards

We employ CrystalDiskMark half dozen to test the read and write speeds of each carte du jour. This tests both the sequential speeds (reading and writing large blocks of data) and pocket-sized-file operation, using 4KB reads and writes.

Tests are carried out on our Intel Core i7-based test rig over USB iii.0. We use the full-size SD adapters which come with cards and a Lexar Professional USB three.0 Dual-Slot Reader. If a bill of fare comes with its own USB 3.0 adapter, as with Lexar's ain menu, nosotros apply that instead.