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May 09, 2023

Best Nintendo Switch Micro SD Cards

The best SD card deals and discounts for your Switch If you're lucky enough to

The best SD card deals and discounts for your Switch

If you're lucky enough to own a Nintendo Switch, Switch Lite or Switch OLED and tend to download games from the Nintendo eShop, you'll soon be running out of storage space. A lack of storage is one of the Switch's few weaknesses, and the fact that there are so many amazing digital-only games on Nintendo's store means the issue's only getting worse.

The answer? Expand your Switch's memory by getting a great deal on a Micro SD card to store more games. Fortunately, there are plenty of cheap memory upgrade options for Switch in 2023 including mighty 1TB Micro SD cards that will erase your storage woes for good (the Switch supports cards up to 2TB in size, although they don't actually exist just yet) and fancy cards featuring Nintendo artwork that would make great gifts.

Below, we've rounded up all of the best Micro SD card deals you can get right now at the cheapest prices.

Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.

Our US recommendations are largely taken up by SanDisk products, as these cards often offer far greater value for money than their direct competitors. They're also known for their fantastic quality and reliability – a win-win! Some Samsung cards are also priced very nicely right now. Here are the best deals on Micro SD cards for Switch in the US:

Our UK recommendations are pretty similar with the same manufacturers popping up with good prices. With plenty of options across the board, there's something to suit every budget:

These 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 400GB and 512GB officially licensed Nintendo Switch micro SD cards from SanDisk aren't the best value price-wise, but they sure do look pretty and will no doubt appeal to Nintendo collectors or those looking to gift an SD card to someone special.

Availability can be patchy, so if you find that these aren't available right now, we'd recommend picking up one of the better deals above rather than waiting to see if these fancier options return. Saying that, we wouldn't blame you for being tempted by that lovely yellow Starman card...

Other game-related options also exist, such as these Fortnite and Apex Legends cards:

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Our micro SD card FAQ below should answer any questions you might have, but feel free to ask us anything in the comments section and we'll do our best to answer. The most frequently asked questions will then get added here.

The Switch supports any UHS-I Micro SD, Micro SDHC, or Micro SDXC cards. If you have no idea what any of that means, don't worry, it's pretty difficult to stumble across a card that isn't supported by the Switch.

Given how little the speed differs between the different cards that the Switch does support, we recommend just ignoring that aspect entirely and just grabbing the cheapest you can find. It really doesn't make much difference.

Besides, cartridges are almost always slower than Micro SD cards, so no matter which you go for, you're going to get improved loading speeds.

If you're wondering how to go about putting a Micro SD card into your Nintendo Switch or Switch Lite, the handy photos above should help.

To access the Micro SD card slot on your Nintendo Switch, simply pop out the kickstand on the back of the Switch. Inserting a Micro SD card can be a bit fiddly, so you'll want to do it with the logo facing up. Push the card into the slot until it makes a reassuring clicking sound. To remove it, push again until it clicks and it should then pull away easily.

The Switch Lite may not have the kickstand, but you'll find the cover in the same place on the back of the console on the bottom left. Pick open the tab and gently push your Micro SD in until you hear a click just as you would on the regular Nintendo Switch.

And on Switch OLED the slot is hidden behind the larger kickstand on the left. It's re-orientated horizontally, but other than that it's probably the simplest of the three Switch consoles to insert or remove the Micro SD card.

At the moment, speed isn't really worth considering when you purchase a micro SD card for your Nintendo Switch. The reason for this is that the Switch only supports UHS-1 cards, which max out at 104MB/s in terms of speed. The UHS-2 types are three times faster, with a 312MB/s speed but that's irrelevant as the Switch doesn't currently support them.

While it's true that the speed between even the UHS-1 cards does vary, the differences just aren't noticeable enough to worry about. That's why we've focused purely on the best value for money, as there is a considerably larger difference between the prices of two micro SD cards than there is the speed.

It's going to be a while until 2TB cards are available and, more importantly, affordable. Right now you typically have the choice of 1TB, 512GB, 400GB, 256GB, 200GB, and 128GB (or lower, although we wouldn't recommend going any smaller than 64GB, and that will fill up fast).

SanDisk has a Micro SD card with a capacity of 1TB, which is a fantastic option for Switch owners who plan to download a lot of games, but it's naturally a little more on the pricey side. If you have that sort of cash to spend, this is currently the ultimate option for your Switch.

On the other end of the scale you can pick up a very cheap 128GB Micro SD card, but chances are you'll fill it up very soon with downloads, so we recommend you think long-term and consider the ~200-256GB range.

An alternative approach would be to buy multiple cards and swap them depending on which games you want to play - slightly more effort, but potentially very affordable. Just be sure to keep them in a safe place.

Ideally, you want the fastest micro SD card for improved loading times; generally, a good micro SD card will slightly outperform Nintendo's physical game cards, which is a bonus for downloaders.

You can usually get a "read speed" rating on the SD Card you're looking at buying. You should also notice that micro SDXC is the newer, faster type versus the older micro SDHC.

Brands also offer "premium" versions of their products; one example is the SanDisk "Ultra" range, which is typically populated by their fastest cards.

We'd recommend going for one of the premium offerings if you can, but it shouldn't make a huge difference for the average user, especially as Switch is currently unable to take advantage of the fastest speeds. All options listed in our guide above are more than suitable for your needs.

Given the Nintendo Switch's limited 32GB of internal storage – of which only 25.9GB is actually usable – you're going to be forced to install the vast majority of your downloaded games directly onto the micro SD.

However, we have learned that games installed directly onto the internal storage saw improved load times over cartridges and micro SDs, with the most extreme cases improving load times on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild by five seconds.

The differences between Switch cartridges and micro SD were too small to really fuss over – a mere second or two here and there – but it does seem like installing on the console's own internal storage offers a significant improvement. As such, we'd recommend installing your most played game(s) on your internal storage, and the rest onto the micro SD.

To move a Nintendo Switch game from your Micro SD card to the console's internet storage, or vice versa, you'll need to select System Settings from your console's menu.

In System Settings, choose 'Data Management', and then 'Move Data Between System / microSD Card'.

Choose which direction you want your chosen game to move (either from the SD card to console or vice versa) and select the relevant option. Them simply select your game, hit 'Move Data', confirm your selection, and that's it!

Whichever Micro SD card you pick, you're going to be increasing the potential of your beloved Nintendo Switch. If you plan on taking your Switch out with you on your travels, having a large capacity will be a great idea as you won't need to carry loads of pesky carts around with you.

Looking for more? Check out our other Switch buying guides: