• Read: 800MB/s
• Write: 400MB/s

Samsung’s officially licensed model has a Mario red color scheme and M logo. Unsurprisingly, it’s by far the most popular microSD Express Card for Switch 2. Samsung and SanDisk are widely considered the top brands for microSD cards. Since SanDisk’s Nintendo-licensed card isn’t available yet, Samsung is the only “official” option.

At $60, the Samsung microSD Express is far more reasonably priced than the pricey Nintendo-themed SanDisk cards for original Switch.

We’ve included read/write speeds for each card on this list. Read speeds range between 800-900MB/s, but it’s highly unlikely you’d ever notice a difference between Samsung’s 800MB/s read speed and Lexar’s 900MB/s speed.

The Nintendo-licensed Samsung card has the slowest write speed on this list. At face value, this sounds bad, but really it signifies what’s important and what isn’t. If the officially licensed card writes 400MB/s, that likely means the Switch 2 doesn’t benefit from higher speeds.

• Read: 800MB/s
• Write: 330MB/s

Samsung’s P9 microSD Express Card is available in 256GB and 512GB capacities as of November 4. The 512GB model normally retails for $100, which is less than many competitors. The 256GB edition is normally $5 less than Samsung’s officially licensed card for Switch 2. The P9 matches the official card’s 800MB/s read speed, but the max write speed is 330MB/s, making it a bit slower than the Mario-themed card.

• Read: 900MB/s
• Write: 600MB/s

The Lexar Play Pro is the most popular and best-performing 1TB card on the market. It regularly sells for $200-$220. Unlike most cards in this roundup, the Play Pro was available before the Switch 2 console launch. If you want to add 1TB to your Switch 2, the Lexar Play Pro is the go-to option.

• Read: 800MB/s
• Write: 600MB/s

The Walmart-owned tech brand Onn is known for its budget prices, and that remains true with its microSD Express Cards. It was especially true the first few months after the Switch 2’s launch, as Walmart sold the 256GB card for $35.77 and the 512GB model for $65.77.

The prices increased about a month ago, but $46.77 is still the lowest in the 256GB category. Even with a $19 price hike to $84.77, the 512GB Onn card is often cheaper than the competition.

Anecdotally, I’ve been using the 512GB model since launch day and haven’t experienced any issues.

Walmart says the cards are “water, shock, temperature, and magnet proof.” Your purchase includes a one-year limited warranty.

• Read: 880MB/s
• Write: 650MB/s
• Sustained Write: 220MB/s

In addition to offering microSD Express Cards from its own tech brand, Walmart was the only retailer selling the SanDisk Gameplay microSD Express. If you snagged one of these 512GB cards from Walmart while they were being sold for $78, you nabbed quite the deal.

The SanDisk Gameplay is identical to SanDisk’s regular microSD Express from a technical and performance perspective. They were anything but identical when it came to price. The SanDisk Gameplay’s original $78 price was $42 lower than the SanDisk 512GB microSD Express.

But just like it did with its Onn-branded cards, Walmart raised the price to $98 a few months after launch. After being sold out for over a month, Walmart restocked the SanDisk GamePlay in early November.

• 128GB
  • Read: 880MB/s
  • Write: 480MB/s
  • Sustained Write: 100MB/s
• 256GB
  • Read: 880MB/s
  • Write: 650MB/s
  • Sustained Write: 210MB/s
• 512GB
  • Read: 880MB/s
  • Write: 650MB/s
  • Sustained Write: 220MB/s

SanDisk’s microSD Express Card is available in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB models. All three capacities offer 880MB/s read speed, but, as shown above, write and sustained write speeds are markedly different when moving from 128GB to 256GB. The 512GB edition is benchmarked for slightly faster sustained write speeds.

The price difference between the SanDisk GamePlay and the regular model that’s sold everywhere may no longer be as dramatic going forward. The 512GB SanDisk Express may have received a permanent price drop. After selling for $120 for months, Amazon’s store page now says the list price is $105. SanDisk is still selling the 512GB for $120 on Walmart’s online storefront.

The 256GB category is crowded with good choices to strongly recommend paying full price for it–especially when the officially licensed Samsung card exists. The 128GB model retails for $60, and there’s no reason to pay more for less storage.

SanDisk will be releasing a Nintendo-licensed microSD Express Card with a Mario red color scheme and logo, but a release date still hasn’t been revealed. We do know that the licensed edition is the same card with a different look–just like the SanDisk Gameplay situation.

• Read: 800MB/s
• Write: 500MB/s

TeamGroup is a well-regarded budget manufacturer of microSD cards. The Apex is TeamGroup’s first card with Express tech. TeamGroup’s prices are often noticeably lower than competitors, but that’s not the case with the Apex with the exception of the 1TB model when it’s on sale.

• Read: 890MB/s
• Write: 550MB/s

Popular budget tech brand PNY has 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB microSD Express Cards.

• Read: 880MB/s
• Write: 650MB/s

Available exclusively at Best Buy, the NEXT microSD Express only has a few customer reviews so far, but the specs are impressive, and the company’s other budget-friendly gaming accessories are typically pretty good.

It’d be easy to compare NEXT to the Walmart-owned Onn brand, but while the company does maintain an exclusive retail partnership with Best Buy, NEXT is independently owned.

NEXT microSD Express is rated at 880MB/s read speed and 650MB/s write. The product description notes that the card is “water, shock, temperature, and magnet proof.”

The 256GB and 512GB cards have the same retail prices as the Samsung P9. The read/write speeds are faster than the P9, but as mentioned, it’s unlikely you’d notice a difference if the card is being used with the Switch 2.

The $190 MSRP for the 1TB model matches the price of the GameStop-branded edition (highlighted below). If you’re spending that much on a storage upgrade, it makes more sense to pay a bit more for a card from an established brand like Lexar.

• Read: 880MB/s
• Write: 700MB/s

Silicon Power has been a popular budget brand for microSD cards for Switch for years, and now it has joined the Switch 2 storage market with 512GB and 1TB microSD Express Cards. Unfortunately, Silicon Power has repeatedly altered the list price for these cards. During Cyber Week, the price of the 1TB ranged from $220 to $290. A 30% coupon deal dropped the price to $154 for a day or two, but at the time of writing the coupon deal is 20% and the list price is $290. This shifted from the best 1TB microSD Express deal we’ve seen to overpriced in a flash.

• Read: 800MB/s
• Write: 700MB/s

GameStop sells branded microSD Express Cards, too. It’s unknown which manufacturer makes the card, but customer reviews are positive.

Similar to the NEXT brand at Best Buy, it doesn’t make much sense to get the 256GB or 512GB model when you can get one from a known brand for the same price or less.

As mentioned above, GameStop’s 1TB card is tied for the lowest MSRP we’ve seen. Still, if you’re going to spend this much cash on a microSD Express, snagging the Lexar Play Pro 1TB seems like the better move–unless you get a great deal on the GameStop edition.