Best Compact Hard Drive

Our Picks

If performance is above all else, Lexar JumpDrive S47 and Samsung FIT Plus are the ones to go for as they come out on top in comparison to other mini USB drives in our tests. The S47, however, has an edge over the FIT Plus when it comes to write performance whereas the FIT Plus is faster in sequential read. But if you're looking for a massive 512GB, then only the Samsung and PNY offer it. For the budget conscious, either drive's cost per gigabyte is also reasonably low considering its zippy performance. Perhaps our only complaint is the FIT Plus's size being noticeably larger than the JumpDrive S47. The Lexar is is backed by a 3-year warranty whereas the Samsung is protected by a 5-year warranty.

Feature Comparison

Mini USB Drives on Amazon

Benchmark Analysis

Our large file (10GB MP4) transfer tests have proved that the Samsung's FIT Plus was an undisputed leader in sequential read and that the Lexar's second generation mini drive – JumpDrive S47 – was the best in write performance. Our other test, which involved copying back and forth 5GB JPEGs (most of them being between 4 and 8MB), revealed similar results showing Lexar and Samsung outperforming others.

It's also worth noting that Samsung's performance ratings vary between different capacities. The 32GB and 64GB model can reach up to 200MB/s whereas the 128GB and 256GB version can do 300MB/s. Lexar claims its drive can hit 250MB/s which is pretty close to what our S47 achieved in this benchmark. Lastly, we noticed the Sandisk exhibited performance inconsistencies during write operations. Our Ultra Fit would actually drop to below 10MB/s before slowly returning to above 30MB/s. The same thing didn't happen with the other drives we've tested.

Note these two tests focused primarily on sequential performance, because we felt most people would rely on a mini drive primarily as intermediary or secondary storage for media data. These mini drives, without a decent flash controller, are inherently incapable of handling applications that require fast random access. For this reason, we didn't bother with additional testing.

Design & Build

The featured low-profile USB drives are all similarly small, but as soon as they are put next to each other, the Lexar JumpDrive S47's diminutive size compares favorably to others – even if only by a fraction. When inserted, the Lexar only protrudes just 5mm from the edge of a laptop as shown in the picture below. This makes the drive easily a no-brainer choice for an add-on drive for semi-permanent storage on your laptop. The second best performer – Samsung FIT Plus – in comparison is noticeably larger, probably in favor of heat dissipation. All but Lexar have a keyring loop hole, if you need one.

In terms of durability, Sandisk took a step backward with its squishy plastic connector with latest version of Ultra Fit 3.1. This is a concern that is already echoed by a number of user reviews on Amazon. Having said that, if you intend to leave the drive plugged at all times, this shouldn't be that big of a problem. We would have to say the other drives with their metal USB connectors protecting the flash components could likely survive if being stepped on.

Who Would Need Such a Small Drive?

Buyers who want a drive that only protrudes as little as possible from a USB port should consider one. Thumb drives in general stick out quite conspicuously so they could easily get bent when being bumped repeatedly. This could easily result in data loss and maybe even worse, a broken USB port.

By design, compact drives can always stay inserted to a USB-enabled car stereo or to a notebook as a semi-permanent storage for media. They can also free up precious space on the laptop's speedy SSD for mission critical tasks. For this reason, a mini USB drive can actually prove to be quite practical to some of us who might need an effortless storage expansion option.

Mini USB Drives on Amazon

Funny enough a few years later the only one that's competitive currently is the Sandisk. Spec wise it's about 3rd. Price wise it's the cheapest one available by a very wide margin. The Sandisk clocks in about half the price of the others if you can even still find the others. Despite inconsistent reports of overheating issues it is tied for the longest warranty at 5 years. Unless you NEED that PNY performance (with just a 1 year warranty) I would recommend Sandisk.

Another one worth looking at, though is priced higher than the Sandisk, is the Mushkin enhanced atom. Seems to fall in line both spec and price wise with everything else on the list.=

Here in Canada, the Samsung is only $10 more. A price I'm willing to pay to avoid potential damage to my USB port from the Sandisk drive overheating. Pubg online no download.

I'm in Canada too. In my price hunting I found the SanDisk at 48$ and the Samsung is 74$. I understand you could have found a better price for the Samsung. I averaged prices when I claimed half the price. PNY I couldn't find for under 100$ always looking for the 128GB and ignoring the rest.

I'd also like to address the overheating. I don't think it's happening anymore or is extremely rare. Looking at ratings the SanDisk has a higher rating on Amazon than the Samsung does, and you can bet everyone who had their computer melted rated it a 1*. So while the reports are things that exist I don't think it's a real risk. At this point the Sandisk one has been out for 3.5ish years, there have been many revisions of it, it was likely an earlier revision that had the problem and even then it was likely rare.

Both Samsung and Sandisk are rated for 5 years so for my purposes I would say Samsung is my second choice.

the tests on my macbook are completely different, I get write speed of 90 MB with sandisk and 80 with Lexar

Nice guide, useful information 🙂

All of these have slow write speeds, despite USB 3.0 having been around for eons. #justshootme #willmooreslaweverapplytousb3pointohwritecontrollers

Can you add in the Strontium Nitro USB 128gb drive? Also could you please show a comparison of all the random IO speeds? I personally want to purchase the mini USB with the faster random read/write speeds. Raspberry Pi project….

Little tardy to the party but also check out the mushkin enhanced atom.

'no reason not to' is a double negative and means exactly the opposite of what you intended. 😛

no reason not to basically means a reason to, no?

i think not.
'I have no reason not to buy…Kingston' does not mean 'I have reason to buy Kingston'.

I posted above, but yes, it is a literally device that implies you are compelled to buy a 128gb over other options.

You can read this reply I posted above for a further break down.

It may be a vapid and overused expression, but it definitely does not mean the opposite of what the other intended.

Think about it.

The other is suggesting you buy a 128gb. Because of the reasons they outline, they cannot find a reason why you SHOULD NOT buy a 128gb. So they are saying, you have NO reason NOT to buy one, therefore you should buy one.

Some people is saying you ‘have (a) reason not to buy a 128gb'

The author is saying you have NO ‘reason not to buy a 128gb'. Therefore you should buy one.

It may be a vapid and overused expression, but it definitely does not mean the opposite of what the other intended.
Think about it.
The other is suggesting you buy a 128gb. Because of the reasons they outline, they cannot find a reason why you SHOULD NOT buy a 128gb. So they are saying, you have NO reason NOT to buy one, therefore you should buy one.
Some people is saying you ‘have (a) reason not to buy a 128gb'
The author is saying you have NO ‘reason not to buy a 128gb'. Wattagio 1 3 1. Therefore you should buy one.

I think this website is getting paid by SanDisk, everything is mentioned but not the heating problem, do you guys know heating of USB drive will use more battery power i. e. 30% to 40%. So it becomes a problem with phones.

Dragon fire slot machine. good point. it know from personal experience

Good reviews. I'm glad I went with the Sandisk Ultra Fit since it was also the cheapest small USB drive (128gb for $55) I could find in my local electronics store in Singapore. So far it works pretty fast, and it fits in well with my Surface Pro 4 when it's inside the thick STM Dux case so it does not stick out much.

Hello, could you fit 2 sandisks ultra one next to the other in that macbook pro?

I believe two Ultra Fits will barely fit on MacBook Pro 15″ 2010. But I am certain two Lexar S45s will fit without a problem.

Best Compact External Hard Drive

Hey Everything USB, can you please do a fresh review for 2016 of mini USB 3.0 drives? Also include the Samsung USB 3.0 FIT Drive and any other new entrants.

Very good question, I wonder what's the best USB flash drive between SAMSUNG fit 128, LEXAR S45 128, or the SANDISK (that seems to be quickly very hot for a lot of users) I'm searching for a divice that'll stay always plugged on my laptop to increrase my storage and complete my SSD 256 Gb)

If you plan on using the Lexar S45 for secondary storage, keep in mind that the overly bright activity light can be an annoyance.

I'm adding Lexar S45 64GB to the comparison but I have problem acquiring Samsung FIT.

The Sandisk Ultra Fit is always being rated highest in these comparison articles.

All they are doing is test it long enough to benchmark.

The SanDisk in a USB 3.0 port is ultra hot within 5 mins of transferring files and the longer it goes on the hotter it gets. There are cases of it frying the port. I have a pair of 64GB Ultra fit drives because they are more stable than the 128GB size. I have found out from experience they heat up like I read everywhere online on USB 3.0, but are fine in USB 2.0 ports besides the fact they are slower in these.

Many laptops have boot problems with these left in the ports too. How to create new movie in imovie. My HP 8560w has 3TB of SDD storage and I wanted to use my 2 USB3 Ultrafit drives in it for a dumping ground for files to be processed on one of my other laptops wi9th Sneakernet.

First for those asking why such a short USB stick – I am a teacher using a school computer for over a year and half and I need something that I can take everywhere on campus and to home. I keep everything for my class and extra curriculum activities on my drive. This allows me great flexibility with data and convenience to be completely mobile. If I have a regular USB drive sticking out it would get destroyed in a short period of time and that is real experience. Second to the best unit I have found has been the Sandisk Cruzer Fit USB 64 GB. It has preformed flawlessly and allows for everything I need to be mobile. I highly recommend.

Hi, forgive my bad english. Interesting test, but what about random 4k read/write? I need a fast USB drive to enhance storage capacity of a lenovo Yoga 300 (just 32gb, only 1 free! How they can sell that unusable thing?)) I tried a Kingston Hyper X, it's very fast in sequential read/write, but very slow in random 4k, and even too large for a plug in and forget drive. The Sandisk Ultra Fit has perfect size, but it's slower in sequential performace compared to the HyperX, so I think it's even worse in random 4k. 🙁

I'm curious about this too. Large sequential transfers are easy, how is it at high IO tests and 4K random read/write?

What makes one drive faster than the other? The all have the same USB 3.0 interface. Do they use different memory? The controller? What??

Yes, controller and NAND. USB 3 is just the interface. If they had a 1TB/s interface they'd still only read and write at ~130, the bottleneck is elsewhere.

I have one of the Sandisk drives and I got a similar sized Leef drive. The Leef drive has an LCD activity light which illuminates the entire drive vice the small light on the Sandisk. I haven't benchmarked them but they seem to be about the same speed.

Lol, this is exactly the flash drive that I owed. It is different brand though. Alpha USB, I am talking about the large one on a picture. It lasted for over 5 years until it fell under my car wheel 🙂 I never understood why someone would want to buy such a tiny USB Drives as these examples. They are so inconvenient and easy to lose. This is the model I have, it is not large and not small, I think such size is perfect and there is no need to make smaller.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/292c86f4f64adaf16c4141922ab561a0a7c129e3d4bd6234b315dd5492aaa35b.jpg

Because you can leave them plugged in for extra storage.