USB flash drives are ideal for keeping a safe copy of your most important files, or simply for moving files from one machine to another. What’s more, most new TVs have the ability to play media from a USB flash drive.

Not only are they getting smaller and smaller – as you’ll see from some of our picks below – but you can get a lot of storage for an incredibly small price tag. Like SD cards, USB flash drives have become a bit of a commodity, and you can pick them up for well under £10, and with ample storage, too. We’ve compiled a list of some of the best USB flash drives on the market at the moment, offering a combination or storage capacity, performance and affordability.

Samsung BAR Plus
The latest iteration of Samsung’s BAR USB flash drive comes with a modern design, a choice of colours, and more storage – up to 256GB. The design of this USB flash drive is incredibly sturdy, and it is much more resilient than some of the cheaper USB sticks that use plastic. But the Samsung BAR Plus doesn’t just have aesthetics and storage capacity going for it, as it’s an incredibly fast USB flash drive, too. Claimed speeds by Samsung are 200MB/sec read for the 32-64GB models, and 300MB/sec read for the 128-256GB models. While write speeds aren’t specified, we’ve found these to be incredibly fast, too. The 32GB model costs only £9.69, while the 64GB model will set you back £13.98, the 128GB model £22.16, and the 256GB model just £43.29.



SanDisk Extreme Go
This USB flash drive is marketed with creatives in mind. In terms of read speeds, it’s not up there with the likes of the Samsung BAR Plus, but it hits a maximum sequential write speed in excess of 120MB/sec. This will make a huge difference when dealing with large file types, such as high-resolution images or 4K video. The plastic casing leaves much to be desired; in fact, it almost feels like you could crush it in between your fingers. But for such a fast drive, £16 for the 64GB model and £30 for the 128GB model is great value for money. This USB flash drive is also loaded with SanDisk’s SecureAccess file encryption software, which is optional.



Samsung Fit Plus
If you’re after a compact USB flash drive, then this is the one for you. While it’s not the smallest USB flash drive we’ve seen, it’s still pretty tiny – just 23.6x18.8x7.3mm, and weighing just 3.1g. With read/write speeds of 300MB/sec and 50MB/sec respectively, it’s a pretty powerful drive, too. This is a great mini USB flash drives for laptops, and can discretely fit into your machine’s USB slot and be barely noticeable; it also features a hole if you wish to attach it to a keychain or a fob. It’s decently priced, too, with the 32GB model costing £11, the 64GB model £16, the 128GB model £22, and the 256GB model just £50.



SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive USB Type-C
Many modern, thinner laptops have done away with the traditional and more commonly-known USB Type-A connector, in favour of the more streamlined Type-C. This USB flash drive has both. The sliding connector on the top of the USB stick allows the user to choose which connector they wish to use. Performance is good, but no approaching some of the other drives on this list; sequential read speed is 150MB/sec, while write speeds are unspecified, but generally come in at around 50MB/sec. The 32GB model will set you back £12, the 64GB model £18, the 128GB model £23, with the 256GB model coming in at £47.