Buy Buying Guides The 9 Best USB Flash Drives to Buy in 2019 Transfers files and documents at the drop of a hat Share Pin Email Print Buying Guides Computers & Tablets Accessories & Peripherals Desktops Tablets Laptops Printers Smartphones Games & Consoles Gadgets TVs & Home Theater Cameras Audio by Patrick Hyde and David Beren Updated January 29, 2019 86 86 people found this article helpful Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products; you can learn more about our review process here. We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links. Save and transfer files or other documents quickly and easily with these best USB flash drives from SanDisk, Samsung, and more. The Rundown Best Overall: SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB Drive at Amazon, “Gives you blistering speeds three to four times faster than a standard USB 3.0 drive.”Best for Durability: Samsung 32GB Metal Flash Drive at Amazon, “Waterproof, shockproof, magnet-proof, and resistant to high temperatures.”Best Budget: Kingston Digital 16GB DataTraveler at Amazon, “With a five-year warranty, a great design, and a value price.”Best for Ultrabooks: Samsung 32GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Fit at Amazon, “Slim and compact, about the size of your thumbnail.”Best for Speed: Sandisk Extreme Go 3.1 64GB at Amazon, “Can transfer a 4K movie in less than 40 seconds.”Best for Apple Products: SanDisk iXpand 128GB at Amazon, “Designed for ease of use with iPhones and iPads.”Best for Macbooks: Silicon Power C80 64GB Flash Drive at B&H, “Features a dual interface with USB Type-C and USB Type-A 3.0 ports.”Best for Security: Kingston Data Traveler Vault at Amazon, “This USB 3.0 drive offers what the company is calling business-grade security with 256-bit AES hardware-based encryption.”Most Rugged: Corsair Flash Survivor Stealth 64-bit USB 3.0 Flash Drive at Amazon, “Constructed with aircraft-grade aluminum housing.” Our Top Picks Best Overall: SanDisk Extreme PRO 128 GB Drive 4.9 See on Amazon The SanDisk PRO gives you blistering speeds, offering 420 MB/s on the reading front and 380 MB/s on the writing end, which is 3–4x faster than what a standard USB 3.0 drive will offer. The sleek, aluminum casing is both super durable and very eye-catching, so you can bring it with you to your business meetings and look professional as well. The onboard AES, 128-bit file encryption gives you top-of-the-line security for your sensitive files. That USB 3.0 connection is also backward compatible with USB 2.0, so you won’t hit any snags with an older computer. SanDisk is so confident in the functionality of this little drive, that they’ve even backed it with a full lifetime warranty in case any issues befall it. Finally, there’s a file backup system you can download called RescuePRO that will let you recover lost files if needed. Best for Durability: Samsung 32GB Metal Flash Drive 4.3 See on Amazon Anyone who has accidentally left their flash drive in their pants pockets through a laundry cycle will appreciate the durability of this Samsung drive. Its durable metal casing is waterproof, shockproof, magnetproof, and resistant to high temperatures. The drive is housed inside the metal casing, so it won’t break off (and the keyring is made with the same quality casing, again helping your drive live longer). Samsung believes in this drive enough to provide a five-year warranty should anything happen. Durability isn’t its only perk, either. USB 3.0 and NAND technology gives this drive data transfer respectable read speeds of up to 130 MB/s and write speeds over 100 MB/s. It is also backwards compatible with USB 2.0, but expect a drop in transfer speeds. Best Budget: Kingston Digital 16GB DataTraveler 4 See on AmazonSee on Walmart You can get USB 3.0 speed in a compact and durable metal USB drive from Kingston for under $10. It sports a capless design with a sturdy keyring, perfect for travel or as a part of your everyday carry. The design can even be customized to add your logo or company name. Read speeds top 100 Mb/s, while write speeds are on the slow end. With a five-year warranty, a great design, and a value price, this small drive makes a perfect addition to your keyring. Best for Ultrabooks: Samsung 32GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Fit 4.4 See on Amazon With their paper-slim profiles, Ultrabooks and tablets are barely thick enough for a USB port. That's why some of the bulkier drives on this list are not ideal for those devices. Meanwhile, Samsung’s Fit drives are slim and compact, about the size of your thumb nail. This unobtrusive storage is constructed with a metal casing that is resistant to the elements and NAND flash technology. With USB 3.0 tech you can expect fast read speeds, while the price is easy to stomach. Just make sure to attach it to a lanyard, so you don't lose it. Best for Speed: Sandisk Extreme Go 3.1 64GB See on Amazon Offering blazing fast performance in a compact package, the Sandisk Extreme Go definitively takes the crown as the best USB flash drive. With read/write speeds of 420 MB/s and 380 MB/s respectively, the data transfer performance of the Extreme Go is so strong it can outperform that of a computer-based solid state drive. Buoyed by its rocket-like speeds, the Extreme Go lives up to its name by transferring a 4K movie in less than 40 seconds — that's nearly 35 times the speed of a USB 2.0 drive and thanks to USB 3.1 hardware. Beyond its fast operation, the Sandisk looks as good as it performs with a sleek and slim package that's 2.79 x 0.84 x 0.45 inches in size and weighs only 4.8 ounces. The retractable connector makes it easy to store when not in use and it is backward compatible with any USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 port. Tucked inside its diminutive profile is a choice of 64GB or 128GB of storage capacity and it comes complete with data storage recovery in the event of an accidental file deletion. Best for Apple Products: SanDisk iXpand 128GB See on AmazonSee on Best Buy Apple smart products don’t come with USB ports, so you will need a backwards compatible drive that can also plug into lightning devices. This thumbdrive from SanDisk is designed for ease of use with iPhones and iPads, thanks to a curbed plastic connector that fits behind the back of the screen. It has high-speed USB 3.0 transfer speeds and can hold over 7,200 photos or 8,000 songs. It has automatic photo backup and contact transfer to help free up space on your devices without having to deal with the slow upload speeds. Best for Macbooks: Silicon Power C80 64GB Flash Drive Courtesy of B&H See on Bhphotovideo.com Macbooks require a USB Type-C device, which is where this swivel dual flash drive from Silicon Power comes in handy. It features a dual interface with USB Type-C and USB Type-A 3.0 ports on opposite ends of a compact device. The 360-degree swivel cap protects whichever connector is not in use and attaches easily to keychains. The C80 doesn’t require any special drivers or software to work; just plug it into the port and it is ready to go. But it has an optional file management app, which is a free and simple automatic file categorization that puts your work in the appropriate folders. Expect fast read and write speeds and 64 GB of storage to hold all your photos and files. Best for Security: Kingston Data Traveler Vault See on Amazon High-security flash drives aren’t exactly a new concept. For as long as companies have been transferring confidential info via USB drives, there’s been a concern of keeping that info confidential. While you might be swayed by flashy gimmicks like fingerprint sensors and password keypads, these end up being too expensive and not overly powerful (with a few exceptions of course). But that’s why our security pick goes to the Kingston Data Traveler Vault. This USB 3.0 drive offers what the company is calling business-grade security with 256-bit AES hardware-based encryption. You can also choose a stepped up “managed” version that offers a more complete set of management tools using SafeConsole as support. Finally, there’s an anti-virus version that loads in ESET antivirus software out of the box to avoid trojan horses and other hacker tracking programs. All of the models are TAA-compliant, so this drive won’t be in breach of government regulations, and that USB 3.0 means that you’ll have nearly the fastest transfer speeds possible. You can pick it up in sizes ranging from 4GB to 64GB. Most Rugged: Corsair Flash Survivor Stealth 64-bit USB 3.0 Flash Drive See on Amazon If you are taking your data to the extreme ends of the Earth and need to go a step above and beyond to keep it safe, the rugged Corsair Flash Survivor Stealth 64-bit is the drive for you. Constructed with aircraft-grade aluminum housing and outfitted with a molded shock damping collar, this drive is meant to survive anything you can throw at it. It can even be submerged in up to 200 meters of water because of the EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber) waterproof seal. With speeds at around 85 MB/s, this isn’t the fastest drive around, but its ruggedness is unparalleled. Tested by Test Results: SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB Drive (Best Overall) 4.9 See on Amazon What We Like Extremely fast Comes with a lifetime warranty Large amount of storage What We Don’t Like Somewhat pricey One thing that stands out with this USB flash drive is speed: “I have used many other flash drives, but they were never as fast as this one when transferring files,” one tester said. Her job involves a lot of large video and photo files that she had to transfer between devices often. Our reviewers thought this flash drive may even be a solid investment to totally eliminate the need for an external hard drive, depending on how much space you need. It conveniently holds 128GB in an area the size of your finger. Test Results: Samsung 32GB Metal Flash Drive (Best for Durability) 4.3 See on Amazon What We Like Built to last Looks sleek What We Don’t Like Could have more storage capacity Not as fast as some options Our Lifewire reviewers wished this USB flash drive could hold more files, but what it lacks in capacity, it makes up in design and durability. “This is the first flash drive I've seen that appears to have the durability appropriate to a keychain,” one tester said. Reviewers could tell that the drive had a thick metal casing that made it stand apart from its cheap plastic competitors. Test Results: Kingston Digital 16GB DataTraveler (Best Budget) 4 See on AmazonSee on Walmart What We Like Simple Small and portable What We Don’t Like Small Capacity The Kingston Digital 16GB DataTraveler drive is simple, which is a quality some of our testers look for in a USB flash drive. It comes without a cap — one less thing to lose — and sports a sturdy loop, so you can keep it on your keyring. While write speeds are supposedly on the slower end of the spectrum (read speeds are 100 Mp/s), our reviewers didn’t notice a significant delay when saving files. Test Results: Samsung 32GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Fit (Best for Ultrabooks) 4.4 See on Amazon What We Like Very small Fast What We Don’t Like Easy to lose This drive’s small size won over our testers: “Its small profile allows it to stay plugged into a computer even when transporting it in a bag or case, which is not something most flash drives can claim,” one person said. Lifewire reviewers agree that the drive’s tiny footprint makes it much more likely to get lost, but they say its fast read speeds and convenient portability easily make up for that. Continue Reading