The 10 best cheap micro SD cards of 2018

With the rise of mobile telephony and portable devices in general, memory cards have become an indispensable complement. Smartphones, tablets, cameras, e-books and more, require of a good micro SD card to expand, its –often- reduced storage capacity.

In today's post we will take the opportunity to recommend 10 cheap micro SD cards that are good value for money. And by the way, we will take the opportunity to talk a little about the different types of micro SD memories that are on the market and their characteristics.

Micro SD card types and features

Although they are all commonly known as micro SD cards, the truth is that there are 4 different types.

• Micro SD (Secure Digital) cards: They are the first generation cards. Developed by SanDisk, they were the first memories to adopt the 15 x 11 x 1 millimeter format. They have a maximum capacity of 32GB.
• Micro SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) cards: These are the second generation cards. Thanks to an improved data bus, they offer significantly higher transfer speeds. Its maximum capacity is 32GB.
• Micro SDXC (Secure Digital Extended Capacity) cards: They have an exFAT file system, and their maximum speed can reach up to 312MB / s. They offer capacities of up to 2TB.
• Micro SDUC cards: The most modern and powerful cards on the market. They use the exFAT system, and have capacities between 2TB and 128TB.

It is important to know this distinction of card types, but the truth is that with this information we do not have enough. To get an idea of the transfer speed of a micro SD We have to look at 2 key factors: the class and the type of bus.

Class

The class of a certain card is the one that indicates the minimum data transfer speed of that model. In this way, we know that there are types of 4 different classes.

• Class 2: Minimum speed of 2MB / s.
• Class 4: Minimum speed of 4MB / s.
• Class 6: Minimum speed of 6MB / s.
• Class 10: Minimum speed of 10MB / s.

These are the minimum speeds that the manufacturer commits to, but they are always usually slightly higher.

And then there are the micro SDXC that we have commented previously, which go beyond this scheme, being able to reach speeds of up to 312MB / s.

Bus

The type of bus, like the class, is a determining characteristic when evaluating the quality and transfer speed of a micro SD.

• Standard bus: Its transfer speed reaches up to 12.5MB / s. It is the type of bus used in class 2, 4 and 6 cards.
• High speed bus: Used in class 10 cards and speeds up to 25MB / s.
• Ultra High Speed ​​Bus (UHS): These are the buses with the fastest interface, and there are several types.
  • UHS-I: There are two types of UHS-I buses. On the one hand, we have the UHS-I class 1 (U1) that reaches speeds of 50MB / s. And then we have the UHS-I class 3 (U3) that goes up to 104MB / s.
  • UHS-II: Reaches transfer speeds up to 312MB / s.
  • UHS-III: Data transfer speeds up to 624MB / s.
• SD-Express: This is the most powerful type of bus of all, reaching up to 985MB / s.

Top 10 cheap and value-for-money micro SD cards

In the following list of recommendations we are going to review several micro SD memories of 16, 32, 64, 128 and 256GB. For each level of ability we will review the best quality-price micro SD from the best known brands (Samsung, SanDisk, Kingston), as well as other proposals for those looking something cheaper above all.

Note: Obviously, the quality and durability of the latter tend to be lower as a general rule –although we can always be lucky and be pleasantly surprised-.

Kingston SDC10G2 (16GB)

Class 10, UHS-I microSD (Secure Digital) card with an average transfer speed of 45MB / s (read) and 10MB / s (write). It is waterproof (IPX7 certified) and withstands temperatures between -25 ° C and 85 ° C.

Approximate price *: € 8.00 (see in Amazon)

MIXZA (16GB)

Although MIXZA is not very well known in the rest of the world, it is one of the brands that sweeps the Asian market the most thanks to almost ridiculous prices and a surprisingly positive evaluation by users.

This is a Micro SDHC with a 20MB / s read speed and 10MB / s write speed.

Approximate price *: € 4.35 (see in GearBest)

Kingston MBLY10G2 (32GB)

Kingston is one of the quality brands with the best value for money. This pack includes, in addition to the microSD, an SD adapter and a practical USB reader.

This is a Class 10 SDHC card with 10MB / s transfer speeds.

Approximate price *: € 13.23 (see in Amazon)

Alfawise (32GB)

Alfawise, in addition to manufacturing Android TV Box, has recently decided to launch microSD memories at a very good price. This 32GB is a Class 10 UHS-I SDHC with a 10MB / s minimum write speed and 60MB / s read speed. One of the cheapest microSDs today.

Approximate price *: € 3.55 (see in GearBest)

SanDisk Ultra (64GB)

This is the # 1 best-selling micro SD on Amazon, and no wonder. Good price, good transfer speed and large capacity. A class 10, UHS-I (U1) micro SDXC memory card with a 100MB / s read speed. It also includes the new A1 cataloging (better application performance).

Approximate price *: € 14.15 (see in Amazon)

Samsung EVO Plus (64GB)

A card very similar in quality and workmanship to the SanDisk Ultra. This is a class 10 microSDXC, UHS-I (U3), with a 100MB / s read speed and 60MB / s write speed.

It resists temperatures between -25º and 85º, waterproof, resistant to X-rays and magnetism. Like most memory, it includes an SD adapter.

Approximate price *: € 14.06 (see in Amazon)

MIXZA TOHAOLL (64GB)

Class 10 UHS-I (U1) microSDXC memory with a read speed of about 60MB / s and write speed of 15-20MB / s. Resistant to water, extreme temperatures, magnetism and X-rays. It is cheaper than the SanDisk and Samsung models, but it is also a little slower.

Approximate price *: € 10.65 (see in GearBest)

Samsung EVO Plus (128GB)

If we are willing to raise our budget a bit, we can take a look at this Samsung micro SDXC with a capacity of 128GB of storage. Perfect for 4K and FullHD recordings on cameras and drones. It has a 100MB / s read speed and 90MB / s write speed.

Approximate price *: € 27.42 (see in Amazon)

SanDisk Ultra (128GB)

Like the 64GB model, the 128GB SanDisk Ultra strikes a perfect balance between the high quality of the product and its sale price. Class 10, A1, UHS-I (U1) micro SDXC memory with a read speed up to 100MB / s.

Approximate price *: 26.26 (see in Amazon)

Kingston SDCS (256GB)

In the 256GB range, in addition to the usual microSD from Samsung and SanDisk, we have the Kingston SDCS. A class 10 UHS-I microSDXC, with read speeds of up to 80MB / s. Resistant to water, high temperatures and other inclement weather.

Approximate price *: € 53.80 (see in Amazon)

Note: The approximate price is the price available at the time of writing this post in the corresponding online stores, such as Amazon or GearBest.