Best for Most

bazaarvoice

amazon.com

walmart

TechGearLab

A multitude of devices, like security cameras, dash cams, or storage depleted phones and tablets, can benefit from an inexpensive and reliable microSD card. The Samsung 32GB EVO Select MicroSDHC fills that need almost perfectly. Our tests measured its write speed at 35 mb/s, which is fast enough for basic data transfer and capturing 1080P HD video. We found it was even fast enough for capturing 4K video. And it does all this at a relatively rock bottom price. Like most reliable manufacturers, Samsung certifies the card as shock, temperature, water, and X-ray proof. 
The only time we felt limited by the EVO Select's speed in our testing was during the burst shooting of high-quality RAW images. It could only keep the shutter chugging along for about three seconds before getting bogged down. The faster cards we tested were able to double and sometimes even triple that figure. We think the Samsung 32GB EVO Select microSDHC is a great option for those on a budget &mdash; as long as you're not shooting lots of RAW images. 

Unless you're using a fancy camera drone or dabbling in advanced photography techniques, chances are you can get away with a less than agile card. If that's the case, we think the Samsung 32GB EVO Select MicroSDHC offers a great value. Though its maximum measured write speed of 35 mb/s is only mediocre, it is more than fast enough for most tasks. In fact, in our tests, it was easily able to record 4K video and even shoot bursts of RAW images for a short period, so you shouldn't have any issues using it in a phone or security camera. All of this comes at a relatively good value, particularly if you're shopping for some of the higher-capacity options. 
Across the board, the EVO Select posted below-average speeds in our tests. In a functional sense, this mostly showed up in our RAW image burst tests, where the EVO Select could only shoot for a few seconds before getting bogged down. Its specs are also such that the software of speed-sensitive things like drones may not be compatible. Despite these drawbacks, the EVO Select still provides a good bang for the buck. 

Upgrade Pick

expert-review

The Best microSD Cards

Budget Pick

dpreview.com

Wirecutter

The latest generation of the SanDisk Extreme has a slower write speed than our top pick, which translates to slightly slower in-camera performance, but it’s still plenty fast enough for you to shoot 4K video, and it has the same warranty.

The SanDisk Extreme Go 64GB displayed an excellent balance of cost and efficiency and proved to be one of the quickest drives during our testing. It completes numerous tasks rapidly, including moving a single large file or a big folder containing a large number of small files. For example, a 5 GB folder filled with thousands of modest files wrote to the drive in just 7 minutes, proving to double the other models' typical speed. Large media files moved even faster, taking only 31 seconds to write a 5GB HD movie. Topping off this stellar performance is the price tag — the Extreme Go 64GB sells for well under the price of many premium drives on the market. The plastic construction feels relatively sturdy, and a smooth sliding mechanism retracts the connector when it's not in use. It's not super tiny, but the body is still thin enough that it won't be in the way of any other ports while in use &mdash; we had no problem plugging in a large cable for headphones in the next port over beside the drive. 
The price is on par with the performance, but if you aren't using it regularly, the cost might be more than you're willing to cough up. Also, the drive is a bit large &mdash; to the extent that it might bulk up the feel of your keychain. Even though its plastic fabrication seems stronger than others, we are not confident that it would stand up to the everyday abuse that a keychain is often subjected to. That said, if you need to transfer several gigabytes of data all at once, we think you would be pleased with the Extreme Go 64GB.

If you want a fast card but don't want to pay top dollar, the SanDisk 64GB Extreme MicroSD is a good option. Its measured write speed of 67 mb/s allowed it to easily record 4K video in our tests, and it withstood a full 5 seconds in our tortuous RAW image burst shooting test. It is also likely to be fast enough for use in most consumer camera drones, though we recommend checking the specs first.  
The SanDisk Extreme is cheaper than the faster cards on the market, but not by much. If you're concerned about speed, you'll likely want to spend a few extra dollars to get the best. However, if you want to save a few bucks and get the cheapest card that meets the minimum speed specs of the device you're using, the SanDisk Extreme might be a perfect compromise. 

If you want a fast card but don't want to pay top dollar, the SanDisk 64GB Extreme MicroSD is a good option. Its measured write speed of 67 mb/s allowed it to record 4K video in our tests easily, and it withstood a full 5 seconds in our tortuous RAW image burst shooting test. It is also likely to be fast enough for use in most consumer camera drones, though we recommend checking the specs first.  
The SanDisk Extreme is cheaper than the faster UHS-I cards on the market, but not by much. If you're concerned about speed, you'll likely want to spend a few extra dollars to get the best. However, if you want to save a few bucks and get the cheapest card that meets the minimum speed specs of the device you're using, the SanDisk Extreme might be a perfect compromise. 

pcmag.com

target

This microSD card is fast, consistent, and reasonably priced. It’s good for phones, tablets, game consoles, and more.

The 128 GB Switch card will give you plenty of room for screenshots and games once you fill up the Switch’s 32 GB of storage.

If you’ve invested in an expensive photography drone, you should invest in a reliable microSD card with ample space to store photos and video.

If you want a lot of storage, which is especially useful for game emulators and media servers, the 64 GB SanDisk MicroSDXC card for Nintendo Switch will provide plenty of room.

The budget version of our microSD card pick will provide plenty of room for Recalbox and all your retro games.

MicroSD cards are a cheap and effective way to instantly upgrade the internal storage of your phone or tablet &#40;unfortunately, most Apple devices don't offer such an option&#41;. If that's your main goal, the SanDisk 128GB MicroSDXC for Nintendo Switch is a near-perfect solution. Not only does it provide a lot of storage at a relatively reasonable price, but it is also fast enough that you probably won't notice you're accessing your files from an 'external' storage device. In our tests, the maximum write speed of 70 mb/s allowed us to quickly offload photos and videos from our phones to free up space, and the solid read speeds let us view those same photos and videos without any lag or delays. 
The lack of a standard SD card converter is the main drawback of this card. We think the need to purchase a converter separately in order to use a full-sized SD card reader is a bit of a pain. However, if you're sure you'll only be using the card in your phone or tablet, the lack of an extra piece of plastic could be a pleasant surprise. For phone or tablet storage expansion, you can't do much better than the SanDisk 128GB MicroSDXC for Nintendo Switch.

If you're constantly testing the speed limits of your cards by taking many RAW images in rapid succession or recording lots of 4K video, it may make sense to upgrade to an ultra high-speed class 2 &#40;UHS-II&#41; option. The Sony Tough High Performance SDXC UHS-II reached a blazing write speed of 250 mb/s in our tests, significantly faster than the other UHS-II cards we tested and quicker than even the best UHS-I cards. To top it all off, the card is built more ruggedly than most others on the market. Sony claims it is 18 times more bend-resistant than standard cards. It is also one of the few that sports an independently certified IP68 dust and waterproof rating. With that, they claim you could submerge it in a meter of water or bury it in the sand without compromising its effectiveness. Sony even offers free file rescue software to help recover accidentally deleted photos from the card to its customers. 
All of this performance and speed come at a correspondingly high price, with this being one of the priciest cards we've tested. You'll need UHS-II compatible devices to fully take advantage of its high speeds; however, the card will work in any SD card device. This might mean buying a compliant card reader and/or buying a camera whose price is well into the quadruple digits. That said, if you're in search of the fastest card possible and already have UHS-II compatible equipment, the Sony Tough High Performance SDXC UHS-II is sure to please. 

This microSD card is fast, consistent, and reasonably priced, and good for phones, tablets, game consoles, and more. It’s found at the expected online retailers like Amazon or Newegg and major chain stores like Best Buy, but Kingston also lists Kroger grocery stores and FedEx Office Centers as official retailers.

If our main picks are out of stock, or if this card is significantly less expensive, consider this Lexar a worthy pick—it should still be fast enough for an action camera, a game system, or a tablet. Lexar lists Office Depot, Staples, and Micro Center among its official retail partners for in-store purchases, in addition to online shops like Amazon, BH Photo, and Newegg.

MicroSD Card Comparison