USB flash drives (also known as pen drives, memory sticks or thumb drives) are, like MicroSD cards, cherished companions in our digital lives. They store pictures, documents, videos, music and have evolved from slow storage devices with small capacities to multi-terabyte powerhouses capable of transferring Gigabytes of data per second.
I have researched the best value-for-money flash drives and have arranged them in descending order of price. My top pick is the Buffalo External SSD. Yes, it is an SSD but so small that it fits in the body of a pen drive. It is extremely fast as well (quicker than any hard drive), surprisingly affordable with a whopping 2TB capacity.
As for microSD cards, I don’t recommend buying flash drives with a capacity below 128GB, as the price difference with smaller capacities (32GB, 64GB) is insignificant. The only exception being for niche products like secure drives, rugged memory sticks or small models.
I’ve added the cheapest models for 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB and 4TB and have only considered trusted brands such as Teamgroup, Sabrent, Move Speed, Kingston, Buffalo, Sandisk and a few others.
I have picked the best USB flash drives (when it comes to sheer value for money) for this Black Friday. I’ve also selected the largest (in capacity), fastest and smallest memory sticks to cover all bases.
I’ve added the Sabrent Rocket Nano as it is barely bigger than your average USB flash drive but doesn’t have a built-in connector. I also threw in the Picolabs Picodrive, a minuscule USB 4.0 drive that’s ridiculously small and absurdly fast.
Remember to back up your precious pen drives to avoid any headache if they are damaged, stolen or lost (or chewed by your dog). I strongly recommend getting a cloud backup or cloud storage solution. Data recovery plans from Amazon (via a third party like After Solutions) can be purchased for as little as $2 per year, providing you with extra peace of mind.
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Désiré Athow
I was a fresh young lad when I purchased my first USB flash drive over 20 years ago. It was an anonymous 8MB grey pen drive (remember these?) and I have since owned dozens of them over the years.
