Which one has better reading and writing speed – SanDisk Extreme Pro vs Samsung Evo Plus? The best microSD cards, then, allow you to easily expand the capacity of your device. However, it’s not just about packing a load of gigabytes into a small memory card. The best microSD cards should also offer high speeds that are essential when moving large files to and from the card – as well as recording video in Ultra HD (4K) resolutions, as your device will be writing a lot of data.
These days, there are so many devices that use these little memory cards, from phones and cameras, to laptops. Both the SanDisk Extreme and EVO Select are very fast microSD cards, but there’s a large disparity in the prices. Which one is faster – SanDisk Extreme Pro vs Samsung Evo Plus?
Compare SanDisk Extreme Pro vs Samsung Evo Plus
| Samsung EVO Plus | SanDisk Extreme Pro | |
| Storage size | 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB | 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 400GB |
| Read speed | 100Mbps | 160Mbps |
| Write speed | 90Mbps | 90Mbps |
| Speed class | Class 10, U3 | Class 10, U3, V30 |
| Environmental protections | Water resistant, heat resistant, mgnetic protection, x-ray protection | Water Resistant, heat resistant, magnetic protection, x-ray protection |
Reading speed – SanDisk Extreme Pro vs Samsung Evo Plus
Read speeds are important. They make sure the media you are viewing on your microSD card is smooth as well as speeding up the transfer process. In this regard, the SanDisk Extreme is king with a read speed of up to 160MBps compared to the EVO Selects 100MBps, but beware, read speed isn’t everything.
When looking at microSD cards that record in 4K, the more important number is the write speed and here the microSD cards are exactly the same. The write speed is how fast the media you are creating is saved to the card and a big number is important so you don’t lose data or get data corrupted. Both the SanDisk Extreme and the EVO Select by Samsung have the same 90MBps write speed and while the 160MBps read speed is better on the Extreme, it isn’t $27 better.
Better 4K content – SanDisk Extreme Pro vs Samsung Evo Plus
Both the EVO Select and the SanDisk Extreme are designed from the ground up to work excellent when recording video in 4K. This does mean that you should look at cheaper microSD cards than the Extreme if you don’t plan on doing any of that. At $55 it’s significantly more expensive than cards designed to record at 1080p or for taking still photographs.
Of course, the EVO Select is priced at $29, about the same as those other cards, and can still offer you 4K recording speeds so it’s worth picking it up in case you do decide to record 4K in the future.
SanDisk Extreme Pro vs Samsung Evo Plus speed test comparison
| Model No. | Speed class | UHS | TESTED WRITE / SEQ | TESTED READ / SEQ | TESTED READ / BUT | TESTED WRITE / RAN | RATED READ MB/S | RATED WRITE MB/S | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SanDisk | Extreme PRO (SDSQXPJ) | U3 | UHS-II | 117.0 | 269.8 | 249.4 | 7.4 | 275 | 100 |
| SanDisk | Extreme (SDSQXA1) | V30 | UHS-I | 88.8 | 94.6 | 94.1 | 82.7 | 160 | 90 |
| SanDisk | Extreme Pro (SDSQXCZ) | V30 | UHS-I | 88.8 | 93.6 | 92.4 | 80.4 | 170 | 90 |
| SanDisk | Extreme Pro (SDSQXCY) | V30 | UHS-I | 88.3 | 94.3 | 93.4 | 82.6 | 170 | 90 |
| SanDisk | Extreme Pro (SDSQXCG) | V30 | UHS-I | 88.3 | 93.9 | 90.6 | 72.7 | 100 | 90 |
| SanDisk | Extreme Plus (SDSQXBZ ) | V30 | UHS-I | 88.3 | 93.8 | 93.7 | 83.1 | 170 | 90 |
| Samsung | Pro Select (MB-MF) | U3 | UHS-I | 88.1 | 98.3 | 86.6 | 84.6 | 100 | 90 |
| SanDisk | Extreme Plus (SDSQXSG) | U3 | UHS-I | 87.8 | 86.0 | 83 | 80.8 | 95 | 90 |
| SanDisk | Extreme Pro (SDSDQXP) | U3 | UHS-I | 87.6 | 85.2 | 82.4 | 80.3 | 95 | 90 |
| SanDisk | Extreme PLUS (SDSQXBG) | U3 | UHS-I | 87.4 | 91.5 | 90.8 | 86.4 | 100 | 90 |
| Samsung | EVO Select (MB-ME) | U3 | UHS-I | 87.2 | 98.7 | 93.2 | 77.9 | 100 | 90 |
| Samsung | EVO (MB-MP) | U3 | UHS-I | 87.2 | 91.5 | 90.3 | 77.0 | 100 | |
| SanDisk | Extreme PLUS (SDSQXWG) | V30 | UHS-I | 87.2 | 91.0 | 90.3 | 85.3 | 95 | 90 |
| Samsung | Pro+ (MB-MD) | U3 | UHS-I | 85.0 | 92.7 | 91.7 | 84.4 | 100 | 90 |
| Samsung | Pro (MB-MG) | U1 | UHS-I | 80.3 | 90.5 | 80.3 | 70 | 90 | 80 |
| SanDisk | Extreme (SDSQXAF) | U3 | UHS-I | 71.7 | 92.3 | 91.8 | 69.2 | ||
| Samsung | EVO Plus (MB-MC | U3 | UHS-I | 70.8 | 91.7 | 90.6 | 64.7 | 100 | 60 |
| SanDisk | Extreme (SDSQXNEA) | U3 | UHS-I | 70.6 | 91.2 | 90.8 | 69 | 90 | 40 |
| SanDisk | Extreme (SDSQXA2) | V30 | UHS-I | 67.3 | 94.9 | 94.2 | 63.8 | 160 | 60 |
| SanDisk | Extreme (SDSQXVFA) | V30 | UHS-I | 64.9 | 90.0 | 90.4 | 63.4 | 90 | 60 |
| SanDisk | Ultra Plus (SDSQUSC) | C10 | UHS-I | 50.3 | 92.2 | 88.7 | 12.9 | 80 | – |
| Samsung | Pro Endurance (MB-MJ) | U1 | UHS-I | 35.2 | 95.1 | 94.2 | 36.4 | 100 | 30 |
| SanDisk | Ultra (SDSQUAR) | C10 | UHS-I | 33.4 | 92.8 | 91.9 | 28.1 | ||
| Samsung | EVO+ (MB-MC) | U1 | UHS-I | 26.5 | 77.6 | 77.3 | 39.1 | 80 | – |
| SanDisk | Ultra (SDSDQUAN) | C10 | UHS-I | 23.6 | 91.3 | 90.2 | 27.1 | 90 | – |
| Samsung | MB-MG | U1 | UHS-I | 20.9 | 75.1 | 74.7 | 20.8 | 70 | 20 |
Which one should you get?
1. Samsung Evo Plus microSD card
The best all-round microSD card
Capacity: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB | Interface: microSD
The best SD card you can buy is technically a microSD card, albeit one that can be used full-size when married to the proper hardware. Despite not being the most resilient SD card on the market, the Samsung Evo Plus’ 100 megabyte per second (MB/s) read and 90MB/s write speeds are impressive nonetheless. Not only that, but there is a wide variety of sizes to choose from too, so whether you need 32GB of storage or 128GB, rest assured you’re in good hands.
2. Samsung Pro+ microSD card
The best microSD card for video
Capacity: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB | Interface: microSDRobust
If you do a lot of filming, especially in 4K, then you’re going to want a reliable microSD card that can write large amounts of data fast, which is exactly what the Samsung Pro+ can do. It features a U3 rating and read/write speeds of 95MB/sec and 90MB/sec. The kind of speeds the Samsung Pro+ microSD card can handle will be largely wasted for day-to-day tasks, such as being installed in a smartphone, but for 4K video, this is a fantastic buy.
3. SanDisk Extreme Plus microSD card
A flagship microSD card
Capacity: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB | Interface: microSD
SanDisk claims this microSD card can read up to 95MB/s and write 90MB/s, and in tests it came pretty close to those speeds. This makes it a very fast card, and with smaller files it’s even faster, which means this is a great card for action cams, drones or burst photography. Again, it’s a bit on the pricey side, but if you don’t mind spending a bit above the odds, you’ll get a great microSD card for your needs.
5. Samsung Evo Select microSD card
Another great all-round microSD card
Capacity: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB | Interface: microSD
As you can probably tell from the number of entrants it has in our best microSD list, Samsung is excellent at producing fast, efficient and dependable microSD cards. The Samsung Evo Select is another great all-rounder that can happily sit in a digital camera, drone, phone or Nintendo Switch games console. While it doesn’t necessarily excel in any one task, it is a strong performer that does the job well. Currently Samsung Evo Select microSD cards are only available from Amazon. While that makes hunting for a bargain a bit more tricky, it at least means you can buy with confidence from a reputable seller.
6. SanDisk Ultra microSD
A large capacity microSD card
Capacity: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 200GB, 256GB, 400GB | Interface: microSD
The SanDisk Ultra microSD is a brilliant microSD card for people who are looking for large capacities, with the latest version offering up to 400GB of storage space. That should give you plenty of room for storing high resolution images and video files. Write speeds are good, but they are not the fastest we’ve seen. If you shoot in 4K, that might be an issue, but for many people the slightly slower speeds are worth it for the amount of storage space you get.
