In 2018, the best USB flash drives will carry huge amounts of data, from gigabytes of storage space to even terabytes! Black Friday deals: see all the best offers right now!
You may think you can pick up any old flash drive to store your files. Well, there's a bit more to the choice than you may realize.
In addition to available capacity, data read and write speeds are among the most important qualities a flash drive offers. Other key features to consider when shopping around for a new flash drive are available encryption levels, as well as a body that's waterproof and shockproof.
Just make sure you buy a USB 3.0 flash drive, because USB 2.0 models are sluggish and outdated. And, if you're transferring large files (like 4K video) or a large photo or music library, we recommend getting at least 64 GB of storage. For those who are just moving over Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and a few files at a time, 32 GB should suffice. We don't recommend getting any with less than 32 GB of space.
It's also worth noting that some newer USB-C-equipped laptops don't have older legacy ports, so most of these picks require the purchase of a separate adapter if your computer lacks USB-A ports. But if you don't want to fuss with another dongle, we've made sure to include a best USB-C flash drive pick, too, which also works with Android devices.