The 14 Best USB Flash Drives (2025): Pen Drives, Thumb Drives, and Memory Sticks

Photo: Simon Hill

Other flash drives we like

We’ve tested several other USB flash drives and they didn’t make the cut. Here are some things that might be worthwhile for some people.

External Buffalo SSD-PUT (500GB) $45: Another SSD in a flash drive chassis, this drive reached 450MB/s in my tests and offers shock protection when dropped. There’s also a slide-in USB-A, and it comes with a USB-C adapter. It’s quite chunky for a flash drive, so you may find it blocks adjacent ports. You can also get 1TB and 2TB versions of this drive at affordable prices.

PNY Pro Elite V2 (256GB) for $25: This slide-in drive has a plastic cover to protect the USB-A plug, and has been our compact choice for a while. It performed well (read and write speeds ranged around 415MB/s and 425MB/s) in my tests, and it has a slot for a lanyard or keyring. I tested the 256GB drive, but there are 512GB and 1TB models.

SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive Go (128GB) for $16: This handy drive swivels to give you USB-C or USB-A, comes in a variety of sizes and some fun colors, but lower-capacity drives are slow (USB 3.1). You can get a 128GB drive and above in USB 3.2 Gen 1 for reads of up to 400MB/s and it is a solid alternative to the PNY Duo above.

PNY Elite-X (256GB) $22: This compact slide-in drive has a USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 socket and a loop on the end to fit a key ring. It worked well but proved unremarkable in my tests (about 200MB/s for reading, 130MB/s for writing).

Kingston IronKey Keypad 200 (16GB) for $103: If you need a secure drive, Kingston’s IronKey features FIPS 140-3 certification, 256-bit XTS-AES encryption, and special epoxy on its circuitry to make it impossible to remove components. On the downside, it’s expensive, the keyboard is clunky, and 10 wrong entries wipe the drive.

Samsung FIT Plus (256GB) for $26: It’s better looking than our top picks for small drives, with a metal chassis and performance to match (up to 400MB/s read for 128GB or 256GB drives). But the Samsung drive is also much larger and more expensive, although it has a handy keychain loop.

Avoid these flash drives

Photo: Simon Hill

Silicon Power DS72 Portable SSD (1TB): This is a reasonable price for a 1TB drive with USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB-A and USB-C connectors, and it consistently reached read and write speeds of 450MB/s in my tests (it can reach 1050MB/s and 850MB/s with the right gear). It gets very warm to the touch, but the reason I wouldn’t recommend this drive is because of the stupid plastic connector covers. You have to bend it back, and it gets in the way when you try to insert the drive.

Dual Verbatim (64GB): This small drive is inexpensive and has both USB-A and USB-C sockets, but I found that write speeds were variable (60MB/s for USB-C and 90MB/s for USB-A) and read speeds were around 150MB/s for both. There’s a cover for USB-A and a small strap you can attach, but this drive is almost too small, and it proved difficult to insert and remove. It also comes in 16 or 32GB options.

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