The number after USB indicates the version of USB that is used by a particular device. Older generations have lower numbers as well as slower transfer speeds. If you don’t need the fastest USB drive around, you can save a bit by opting for a USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 drive but it will take longer to transfer files onto and off of the device. You can tell if a USB flash drive supports USB 3.0 or higher if its connector is colored blue. Most USB-C drives support USB 3.0 by default. When buying a USB flash drive, you’ll want to focus on storage first. If you have a large number of files, videos, or songs you want to carry around with you, getting a USB drive with at least 64GB is critical. Most USB flash drives go up to 256GB and a few now have 1TB versions.

For those who don't want to spend a lot of cash, Kingston has one of the best USB flash drives regarding value. What’s more, a few USB flash drives now have clever dual-interface designs, allowing you to plug the same device into your Mac or PC (via a USB Type-A connector) and an iOS or Android device (using a Lightning or micro-USB/USB Type-C connector). This can be handy for transferring files between mobile and desktop/laptop platforms. The Patriot Viper Fang is a USB 3.1 drive (compatible with USB 3.0 and 2.0) from one of the most established memory players on the market. However, the manufacturer is a relative newcomer to this segment.As mentioned earlier in this guide, there are a number of different USB types and protocols that you need to be aware of before buying a USB drive. This is the cheapest USB 3.0 drive on the market per GB. It comes with a two-year warranty as well as a capless/retractable cap design. If you are looking in the premium territory of the best USB flash drives, then the Samsung T3 is worth taking a look at. Not only does it offer absurdly high read speeds of up to 450Mbps thanks to Samsung's own 3D V-NAND technology, but it also comes with a three-year warranty and has a USB Type C connector. Note that the capacities are likely to be lower than stated when they are formatted and mounted on an operating system. The best flash drives: How we test

We've compared these flash drives on various points, from their storage capacity and connectivity options to their read and write speeds and encryption features. We also assessed their portability, overall performance, and pricing, among other things. Disappointing review, didn't really focus on the durable all metal and worst of all, didn't show benchmarks. To the point, mainly I was looking for something with good performance, good meaning better than average (!!) while most of those are worse than average (!!) without spending as much as a Sandisk Extreme Pro costs.While the 1TB model will allow you to bring all of your most important files with you, Kingston also offers both a 256GB and a 512GB version. The USB-C port does limit compatibility with older devices but this USB flash drive will pair well with most modern Android smartphones.