4 best SD cards of 2026
UHS-II cards
We were impressed with the fast 270 MB/s write speed and 308 MB/s read speed of Angelbird’s AV PRO SD V90 UHS-II (128 GB), but they’re probably more than the average person needs from an SD card. For its price, you might as well step up to a CFexpress card for faster read speeds.
Another very efficient (but expensive) card, Nextorage’s NX-F2Pro V90 UHS-II (128 GB) had a write speed of 257 MB/s and a read speed of 303 MB/s. However, it costs $130 at this writing, $85 more than our pick.
While read and write speeds from OWC’s Atlas Pro V60 UHS-II (128 GB) were comparable to the Nextorage found in Other memory cards to consider, it usually costs a few dollars more and has a shorter, three-year warranty.
OWC’s Atlas Ultra V90 UHS- II (128 GB) comes at a good price for a fast card, but it’s twice as expensive as our pick and you probably don’t need its extra speed. It clocked a write speed of 257 MB/s and a read speed of 303 MB/s and has a three-year warranty.
The ProGrade Digital SDXC UHS-II V60 250R (128 GB) had similar write and read speeds to both the OWC and Nextorage V60 cards, but had higher prices and a shorter, three-year warranty.
We liked the ProGrade Digital SDXC UHS-II V90 300R (128 GB) for its 284 MB/s write speed, 308 MB/s read speed, and the company’s impressive, eco-friendly cardboard packaging. However, the love ended when we look at its price.
UHS-I cards
Angelbird’s AV Pro SD V30 UHS-I (128 GB) had a write speed of 87 MB/s and a read speed of 98 MB/s in our test, and its regular price is a few dollars more than the budget pick. However, it only has a three-year warranty, and it didn’t offer the same bump in performance as OWC and SanDisk readers.
We measured a write speed of 87 MB/s and a read speed of 97 MB/s from SanDisk’s Extreme Pro UHS-I V30 (128 GB), making it almost identical to what we saw with their Extreme card. However, it costs $5 more.
CFexpress Type A cards
The ProGrade Digital Gold Type A 2.0 (240 GB) had a write speed of 648 MB/s and a read speed of 844 Mb/s in our tests and carries a VPG200 rating. That’s fast enough for the average Sony shooter’s needs right now. But given its VPG400 rating, the Nextorage A1 Pro we recommend makes more sense for the money, and if you want a VPG200 card with higher capacity, the Nextorage A1 SE is a better option.
We weren’t impressed with the 469 MB/s write speed of the expensive Sony Tough G (80 GB), and the 160 GB version of that card is more expensive.
CFexpress Type B cards
Angelbird’s SE series cards had write speeds of 227 MB/s in our tests—much slower than the 1,299 MB/s we saw in our picks—so we don’t think they’re really that reasonable.
Angelbird’s SX (160 GB) has a write speed of 948 MB/s and a read speed of 1,154 MB/s, making it slower than our pick. It’s a little cheaper, but without any VPG rating and nothing else to support its continuous performance of video recording speed, our choice gives us more peace of mind.
Nestorage’s B2SE card (128 GB) had a write speed of 843 MB/s and a read speed of 1,217 MB/s in our tests, compared to our choice’s 1,299 MB/s and 1,644 MB/s. We think the B2 Pro’s better performance, larger size, and approval from Nikon mean it makes sense if you want to go with this product.
Similarly, the 1,570 MB/s write speed and 1,644 MB/s read speed of Nestorage’s B2SE (512 GB) are just shy of the B2 Pro’s performance, although it might make sense as a higher-budget B-type option if you’re not too worried about low-resolution video recording.
Both OWC’s Atlas Pro and Atlas Ultra Type B cards have slow write speeds compared to other cards we tested.
ProGrade Digital’s Cobalt (165 GB) performed about as well as our pick, but costs about $50 more for a smaller capacity card at the time of this writing. It also has a three-year warranty, compared to SanDisk’s lifetime warranty.
This article was edited by Ben Keough and Erica Ogg.
