Top pick
This flash drive delivers fast, reliable performance in a solid casing. With both USB-A and USB-C ports, it’s compatible with most modern phones and laptops.
Key specs
| CrystalDiskMark SEQ1M Q8T1 read, write average | 384.48 MB/s, 367.38 MB/s |
| CrystalDiskMark RND4k Q31T16 read, write average | 26.57 MB/s, 34.61 MB/s |
Amid the rapid rise in storage pricing, the Amazon Basics USB Flash Drive remains affordable yet still fast enough for day-to-day use. It works with both USB Type-A and Type-C devices, and in our tests it proved faster than other USB drives across the price spectrum.
Music-transfer test times
| Drive | Average read | Average write |
| Amazon Basics USB Flash Drive | 2 minutes 33 seconds | 5 minutes 0 seconds |
| SanDisk Extreme Pro Dual Drive | 1 minute 19 seconds | 2 minutes 5 seconds |
| PNY Duo Link V3 | 1 minute 18 seconds | 2 minutes 7 seconds |
| SanDisk Extreme Fit USB-C | 2 minutes 21 seconds | 10 minutes 4 seconds |
| PNY Elite-X Fit USB-C | 3 minutes 18 seconds | 41 minutes 2 seconds |
| Lexar JumpDrive Dual Drive D500 | 2 minutes 2 seconds | 4 minutes 39 seconds |
| Lexar JumpDrive Dual Drive D400 | 19 minutes 11 seconds | 47 minutes 55 seconds |
| Kingston DataTraveler microDuo 3C | 3 minutes 13 seconds | 41 minutes 11 seconds |
| Kingston DataTraveler DuoG2 | 7 minutes 41 seconds | 1 hour 33 minutes 7 seconds |
We transferred more than 6,000 MP3 files back and forth from a PC’s internal PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD to each flash drive. These tests replicate transferring a substantial library from a laptop to a flash drive for backup or use in a car.
It has both a USB-A and USB-C port, so it’s widely compatible. Some cars and most laptops have both Type-A and Type-C ports, while Android phones and iPhones both have USB-C ports. We were able to play MP3 music files directly from the Amazon Basics drive when we plugged it into an iPhone and into an SUV’s USB port.
It’s fast. The Amazon Basics drive took only about five minutes to transfer 6,000-plus music files, while the laggards in our test took up to an hour and a half to write the same 32 GB folder.
It’s relatively inexpensive. Though a year ago the Amazon Basics drive might have been considered pricey, in the current era of storage shortages, it’s one of the better deals available. We’ve recently seen it as low as $38, which makes it a steal, considering its performance.
It’s pocketable. The Amazon Basics drive is roughly the size of a lip balm tube. The pivoting metal gate protecting the USB connectors also has a loop through which you can slip a thin cord or zip tie, so you can add it to a key ring or hang it from a lanyard.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
It’s a bit slower than our upgrade pick. The Amazon Basics drive took a few seconds over five minutes to copy the 6,000-plus music files in our test folder, but the SanDisk Extreme Pro Dual Drive finished the task in half that time. Though both models are eons faster than cheap alternatives, we recommend spending extra for the SanDisk flash drive if you particularly need speed or prefer SanDisk’s limited lifetime warranty.
It’s available only from Amazon. As its brand name suggests, this drive is sold by Amazon and only Amazon. That could be a roadblock if you’re avoiding Amazon for any reason. Also, since it is an Amazon Basics product, it comes with only a one-year warranty; when you receive the drive, we recommend checking it within the 30-day return window to confirm that it’s working.
