Best microSD Express cards for Nintendo Switch 2: get more room for your games
Expand your Nintendo Switch 2 storage with these microSD Express cards
👏 You can expand your Nintendo Switch 2 storage with a microSD Express card
💨 MicroSD Express is faster than a standard microSD card
👉 The new format will likely be used for the Nintendo Switch 2
👍 It should allow for faster load times in games
With the Nintendo Switch 2 now revealed in all its glory, you'll want to get your upgrades in order, including the best microSD Express cards for Nintendo Switch 2.
MicroSD Express cards mark a departure from the original Switch that used standard microSD cards, with the newer Express format being able to offer much brisker speeds. For reference, a standard microSD card tops out at around 200MB/s, based on current players in the market, while microSD Express cards can go closer to 1000MB/s theoretically.
This is because they can harness the powers of PCIe and NVMe interfaces, in the same way as a more 'standard' SSD can to make everything from accessing files to loading games much quicker with speeds that are several times faster.
As much as microSD Express is still in its infancy, there are manufacturers such as SanDisk and Samsung supporting the standard with current and future releases. As the Switch 2 matures over the course of its lifecycle, it also makes sense that more cards will come to the market, too - when we spot them, you'll find them here if they're any good.
The Nintendo Switch 2 has 256GB of storage – eight times more than the 32GB of the original Switch. However, space will fill up fast, especially as the Switch can support 4K resolution, which could lead to bigger game sizes. You’ll want to expand your Nintendo Switch 2 storage, then.
Here are our top picks for the best microSD Express cards we can find for your new and shiny Nintendo Switch 2.
Best 128GB and 256GB microSD Express Card: SanDisk microSD Express Card
At the moment, the best 128GB and 256GB microSD Express Cards are SanDisk's own models, which the brand says are up to 4.4 times faster than their nippiest microSD UHS-1-class cards.
They're rated for speeds up to 880MB/s for reads and up to 480MB/s writes, giving you zippy reads and writes. That should translate into brisk access to games stored on the card, as well as faster load speeds, so you can get back into the action as fast as possible.
SanDisk is offering this card officially in 128GB and 256GB models at the moment, although we have seen it on pre-order at some US retailers (e.g B&H Photo Video) in a larger 512GB flavour.
128GB SanDisk microSD Express - $49.99
256GB SanDisk microSD Express - $59.99
512GB SanDisk microSD Express - $99.99
Best 512GB microSD Express Card: Adata Premier Extreme microSD Express Card
Until SanDisk's card launches, there is another big-capacity option available for purchase – the 512GB Adata Premier Express model.
It is a touch slower than the rated read speeds of the SanDisk, with rates of up to 800MB/s reads, although comes with faster writes at up to 700MB/s. This gives you some zippy performance to take advantage of.
The bigger advantage of this card over the SanDisk options is simply capacity. 512GB is a lot more in modern gaming than 256GB, and especially 128GB. With it, you'll be able to fit more games on there, which you'll need to do as some titles demand a large amount of space.
Future microSD Express Card releases to keep an eye on
As much as these are the cards you can go out and purchase today, it's worth noting that we are expected to see more cards drop in the future:
Samsung's range of microSD Express cards: Samsung announced back in February 2024 that they were looking into microSD Express cards with speeds of up to 800MB/s, with a 256GB model expected by the end of the year. Unfortunately, they haven't broken cover just yet, but here's hoping it's soon!
Lexar Play Pro 1TB microSD Express: If a 512GB card isn't enough and you need more space, Lexar China announced they were releasing a 1TB version of the Lexar Play Pro card (per Famiboards), which was described as a 'must have' for the Switch 2 in their advertising.
Lexar Play Pro 1TB microSD Express - $199.99
Lexar Play Pro 256GB microSD Express - $59.99
Lexar Play Pro 512GB microSD Express - $99.99
How do we know Nintendo Switch 2 uses microSD Express cards?
We first heard the Switch 2 was potentially going to be using the newer microSD Express format back in January 2025 according to a GameStop employee who leaked a reported stock list showing 256GB and 512GB models.
At the time, we speculated these cards would likely be licensed for use in the Switch 2 by Nintendo themselves, in a similar way to current microSD cards made by SanDisk. The microSD Express formate was confirmed by Nintendo during the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct.
As SanDisk is one of the frontrunners for the microSD Express format, we expected some official Nintendo tie-in cards once the Switch 2 releases and Nintendo also confirmed.
Up next: Nintendo Switch 2 launch games: confirmed, rumored and what we expect
Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.
