The very best microSD playing cards for the Nintendo Change 2

If you wish to develop the storage of your Nintendo Switch 2, you’ll want a microSD Categorical card. That is not the identical because the extra conventional microSD cards you will have purchased for the unique Change or different gaming handhelds; Categorical playing cards are newer, quicker and considerably costlier on common. However they’re your only choice, and given how a lot house certain Change 2 games chew up, you’ll most likely don’t have any alternative however to get one finally. Which to purchase, although? If you happen to’re in search of the most effective microSD card for the Change 2 right now, we’ve damaged down what you need to know earlier than taking the plunge.

The very best microSD playing cards for the Change 2 (aren’t all that necessary)

The Change 2 is the primary mainstream machine to require microSD Categorical for storage growth, so there aren’t many choices available for purchase simply but. Of the handful of appropriate fashions launched to this point, we’ve now examined seven: the SanDisk microSD Express Card (aka the “SanDisk GamePlay microSD Express Card” at Walmart), the Lexar Play Pro, the Samsung microSD Card for Nintendo Switch 2, the Samsung P9 Express, the PNY microSD Express Card, the GameStop Express microSD Card for Nintendo Switch 2 and the Onn microSD Express Card. The primary 5 are made by real storage producers, whereas the GameStop and Onn playing cards seem like rebadged variations of different fashions. We used the 256GB model of each card apart from Lexar Play Professional, which was 1TB.

After timing these microSD Categorical playing cards throughout a spread of Change 2 video games, our recommendation is easy: Get whichever one is in inventory for the bottom worth within the capability you need. They aren’t identically quick, particularly if you wish to transfer a sport to the cardboard from the console’s inner storage (or vice versa). However the variations in load occasions and general efficiency inside precise video games are powerful to note until you’ve gotten a stopwatch useful.

All 5 playing cards loaded up the digital model of Mario Kart World, as an illustration, between 18 and 20 seconds. Every loaded the primary Grand Prix race in about 6.5 seconds. Attending to the beginning display of Cyberpunk 2077 took about 38 or 39 seconds in every case. Loading a save in a very asset-heavy space (Jig-Jig Street) then took between 26 and 29 seconds, relying on the cardboard. (The one exception was with the Onn card, which averaged nearer to 31 seconds with that individual process, although that’s additionally the most affordable alternative.)

With Fast Fusion, a smaller native Change 2 sport, the preliminary load at all times took six to seven seconds, whereas every card loaded the primary championship race in roughly 4 seconds. It was the same scenario with the Change 2 improve for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (utilizing a Change 1 cartridge): Every card took simply over six seconds to get to the beginning display, between 19 and 20 seconds to load a save simply earlier than the ultimate boss, about 16 seconds to quick journey between Kakariko Village and Korok Forest, and so forth. We noticed no important points with in-game masses when enjoying every sport, both.

All of this implies that the Change 2 has a comparatively particular goal for these playing cards to hit, and that there is probably not a lot room for one mannequin to leap too far out in entrance of the others. We’ll additionally word that the console’s built-in storage was constantly quicker than any exterior possibility: The hole wasn’t at all times huge, however no card actually outpaced it in any of our assessments. Loading that demanding space in Cyberpunk, for instance, took about 22.5 seconds on common. So if you need absolutely the quickest load occasions, don’t put your sport on a card in any respect.

If you happen to want the psychological consolation of understanding you technically have the most effective card obtainable, get the SanDisk microSD Express Card. It had no outliers throughout our many sport loading assessments, and it was constantly proper close to the highest when it got here to shifting video games to and from system storage, which suggests it gives sturdy sequential learn and write efficiency. Benchmark testing on PC with instruments like CrystalDiskMark backed this up, as famous in our broader microSD card buying guide.

Placing Mario Kart (a 21.9GB file) on that card took 4 minutes and 39 seconds on common, which was solely second to the Lexar Play Professional by six seconds. It was the quickest to jot down Quick Fusion (3.5GB), taking a median of 27 seconds throughout three runs. Solely PNY’s card was quicker to maneuver video games again to the console’s storage, however that one was far slower at writing video games to the cardboard — getting Mario Kart on there took seven minutes and 11 seconds on common. Simply word that the 128GB model of SanDisk’s card has slower sequential writes than the bigger variations, together with a lot slower sustained write speeds (100 MB/s vs 210-220 MB/s). So transferring a sport to that individual mannequin will take for much longer. The Onn card was additionally slower to maneuver video games again to system storage, taking about 50 seconds greater than the SanDisk with Mario Kart and almost three minutes longer with Cyberpunk.

Virtually talking, although, velocity variations aren’t as necessary on this case as having plenty of house to carry video games at a worth you’ll be able to stay with. To make issues simple, we’ve listed each Categorical card we’ve seen at retailers on the time of writing under. Bear in mind: You need microSD Categorical, not “Excessive,” just like the branding SanDisk makes use of for some conventional microSD cards. A microSD Categorical card can have an enormous “EX” brand printed on it.

128GB

• SanDisk microSD Express Card ($64 MSRP)

• PNY microSD Express Card ($48 MSRP)

256GB

512GB

1TB

• Lexar Play Pro ($220 MSRP)

• GameStop Express microSD Card for Nintendo Switch 2 ($190 MSRP)

As you’ll be able to see, whereas the SanDisk card is quick, it’s additionally the costliest of an already-pricey bunch. Is it price an additional $10-20 to shave a pair seconds off sure masses in sure video games, or a pair minutes when shifting a sport to exterior storage? Most likely not for most individuals.

However inventory for all of those playing cards has been a bit patchy because the Change 2 landed, significantly for the Walmart Onn mannequin, which has usually been the most affordable alternative. Extra lately, the GameStop-branded playing cards appear to have offered out too. If just one card is definitely obtainable by the point you learn this — and you should have it right now — it’s secure to only get it. You received’t lose or achieve all that a lot relating to real-world efficiency.

We’ve advisable holding off on shopping for a microSD Categorical card for so long as potential in earlier updates to this information, and in the end every mannequin above ought to nonetheless come down in worth over time. We noticed a number of Express card discounts throughout Black Friday and Cyber Monday, as an illustration.

However between President Trump’s tariff hikes and the continued AI-driven shortages for reminiscence and high-capacity storage, you’d be justified if you happen to needed to seize the most important card you’ll be able to fairly afford sooner slightly than later. This stuff are nonetheless expensive in comparison with conventional microSD playing cards: The Samsung Pro Plus, for instance, prices $17 for 128GB, $27 for 256GB, $50 for 512GB and $95 for 1TB as of this writing. And ideally, we’ll see extra high-capacity choices down the highway: Nintendo says the Change 2 technically supports playing cards as much as 2TB, however up to now solely a pair even go as much as 1TB. You must nonetheless attempt to use all 256GB baked into the Change 2 first, even when it means having to delete a sport or two. However if you happen to completely want more room straight away, the playing cards above must be high quality right now.

What are microSD Categorical playing cards?

Most microSD playing cards are based mostly on an ordinary known as Extremely Excessive Velocity (UHS), of which there are three variations: UHS-I, UHS-II and UHS-III. The overwhelming majority of playing cards you will have purchased previously make the most of UHS-I. These have one row of pins within the again and a theoretical most information switch velocity of 104 megabytes per second (MB/s). (Although many playing cards are in a position to surpass that restrict with proprietary tech and card readers.) The unique Change has a UHS-I microSD slot, as do most different gaming handhelds like Valve’s Steam Deck.

UHS-II playing cards add a second row of pins and might attain as much as 312 MB/s. These are pricier and far much less frequent than playing cards based mostly on UHS-I, however they’re supported by some cameras and higher-power handhelds just like the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X. UHS-III, in the meantime, is twice as quick as UHS-II in idea (624 MB/s), however no microSD playing cards have truly used it.

UHS-I playing cards have held on over time as a result of they’re low-cost, extensively supported and quick sufficient for the issues most individuals want them to do: file 4K video, stash photographs and so forth. However with the Change 2, Nintendo needs more. The brand new console is dramatically extra highly effective, which permits it to run demanding games which will have initially been constructed for stronger {hardware} just like the PlayStation 5, Xbox Sequence X or gaming PCs. The machine also uses UFS 3.1 storage internally, which is far speedier than the eMMC storage utilized by the unique Change. (A customized file decompression engine helps enhance load occasions as effectively.) So if the Change 2 goes to just accept microSD playing cards, it wants ones that received’t convey a critical drop-off in efficiency and might maintain up with fashionable video games.

Therefore, SD Categorical. This customary has technically been around since 2018 however largely went nowhere till the Change 2 got here alongside. It additionally makes use of a second row of pins, nevertheless it lets microSD playing cards make the most of the PCI Categorical (PCIe)/NVMe interface, which is identical underlying tech utilized by modern SSDs. In consequence, it will possibly produce significantly quicker learn and write speeds, with a present theoretical maximum of 985 MB/s.

As famous above, real-world efficiency received’t be fairly that quick. Even when it was, the most effective microSD Categorical playing cards would nonetheless be a lot slower than the NVMe SSDs used by the PS5 and Xbox. (Sony recommends SSDs with sequential learn speeds of a minimum of 5,500 MB/s.) And so they’ll fall effectively under their peak speeds beneath sustained masses: SanDisk, as an illustration, says sustained write speeds for its 128GB Categorical card can drop as little as 100 MB/s.

However they’re nonetheless a marked enchancment over outdated UHS-I playing cards, and in idea, they need to be faster than some older SATA-based SSDs when it comes loading sport ranges, asset streaming, retrieving saves or copying video games to exterior storage. Whereas SanDisk’s microSD Categorical card can produce sequential learn speeds round 900 MB/s, Lexar’s Professional Silver Plus — the highest UHS-I decide in our common microSD card information — topped out simply over 200 MB/s, and that’s with a proprietary reader. (On the primary Change, it’d be nearer to 100 MB/s.) Sequential writes and random speeds have been three to 4 occasions higher as effectively, and generally much more relying on the benchmark we used.

It stays to be seen how effectively these Categorical playing cards will maintain up with years of use, and there’s no solution to know precisely when their sky-high costs will drop. Non-Change 2 gadgets that assist microSD Categorical are nonetheless exceedingly uncommon, and the usual itself isn’t backwards appropriate with UHS-II, so that you’ll be restricted to UHS-I speeds if you wish to use your card with one other machine (until you purchase a pricey external reader). Nonetheless, whereas the elevated prices and restricted choice are annoying, the tech itself is worthy of a next-gen Change.

How we take a look at microSD Categorical playing cards

We put our microSD Categorical playing cards via a collection of assessments meant to simulate how individuals would use every card on the Change 2 in the true world. We primarily labored with 4 video games: a mid-sized title in Mario Kart World, a small one in Quick Fusion, a comparatively massive one in Cyberpunk 2077 and a hybrid in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which ran off a Change 1 cartridge however used a roughly 10GB Change 2 improve pack that was downloaded and put in digitally.

We first timed how lengthy it took to maneuver every sport from the system’s inner storage to the cardboard in query, and vice versa. We then timed how lengthy it took to load every sport when put in to a given card. After that, we measured how rapidly the playing cards might load sure in-game eventualities: the primary Grand Prix race in Mario Kart; the primary championship race in Quick Fusion; quick touring between the Jig-Jig Road, Embers and Downtown Central areas in Cyberpunk and quick touring between the Kakariko Village, Korok Forest and the Hyrule Fortress City Ruins areas in Zelda. (We selected these locations within the latter two video games as a result of they’re extra taxing than different areas.) With Cyberpunk and Zelda, we additionally timed how lengthy it took to load up completely different save recordsdata in these places.

With every take a look at, we accomplished three to 5 runs to account for any irregularities and marked down the typical time taken between them. We did every take a look at in airplane mode, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off, to reduce any efficiency drain that might come up from background downloads. Between every take a look at, we additionally spent a minimum of an hour enjoying the video games off every card to make sure there have been no important drop-offs in comparison with the console’s built-in storage.

Latest updates

December 2025: We’ve examined Samsung’s P9 Categorical card, although our common purchasing recommendation for this market stays the identical.

November 2025: We’ve examined the 256GB model of Walmart’s Onn microSD Categorical card and edited our information accordingly. It’s typically slower than a lot of the different choices we’ve tried, particularly when shifting video games to and from system storage, and in artificial benchmark assessments on a PC. However the efficiency drop-off isn’t significantly noticeable in precise Change 2 video games, so if you happen to see it in inventory and simply need to pay as little as potential, it’s a good purchase.

September 2025: We’ve taken one other cross via this information to verify our recommendation remains to be correct. We’ve additionally famous a brand new 512GB model of PNY’s microSD Categorical card and confirmed {that a} “SanDisk GamePlay” Categorical card offered at Walmart has the identical efficiency as the usual SanDisk mannequin we advocate above, simply with a distinct title.