The Best USB Flash Storage for Creatives
By: Jacob Cass
Tags: Chargers, Tools

In our daily lives, we work on so many different types of projects and with all of those projects comes multitudes of data that we need to save. Thankfully, the days of floppy disks are long gone and now, most external storage is done using USB flash drives. While they can be small, they can also hold a mountain of data from photos to video and everything in between so when we set out to create our list of the Best USB flash storage for creatives, we wanted to make sure our choices were the best out there.

Before we reveal our choices however, there are some things you should consider before you decide to buy a USB flash storage device.

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So without further ado, let’s get started!

What to consider before buying a USB flash storage device

We know what you’re thinking. You can go just about anywhere and buy a USB flash storage device these days to save your work. While that’s pretty accurate, when you need to save important files and projects, just any drive won’t do. Here are the things you should consider before purchasing one.

Storage Capacity

When it comes to choosing the right storage capacity for your flash drive, it isn’t the size of the flash drive that is important but what you intend to use it for that matters. Flash drives come in a multitude of sizes from 1GB to 1 TB and beyond. If you’re using a flash drive to save documents and spreadsheets, then you may be able to have enough storage by using a 1GB flash drive. However, if you’re saving video, photos, illustrations to your flash drive, which can all be very large files, choosing a flash drive that’s a TB or more is probably the best option.

Transfer speed

The faster you can get something done, the better and this is no different when it comes to saving files to your USB flash drive. The speed at which your files are saved to your flash drive largely depends on which generation your flash drive connector uses. For example, the standard connector on many USB flash drives is 3.0. This comes with a decent amount of transfer speed at 5Gbps. The next step up from there is 3.1 or 3.1 Gen 2. These are becoming more and more common and can offer transfer speeds up to 10Gbps.

Security

USB drives can sure be convenient but that convenience can also come with some security risks. The small size can cause them to get lost easily. They can also be hard to track physically and many companies have banned the use of flash drives for this reason, and they can also be used to transfer malware from one computer to another.

While the size of a flash drive isn’t likely to change anytime soon, security programs such as software and hardware encryption can help prevent unauthorized access. Full disk encryption programs offer on-the-fly encryption of removable media to keep it protected. A built-in keypad is sometimes used as an option. In this case, uses need to enter a PIN to gain access to the drive. While having data security on your flash drive can increase the cost of the drive, it no comparison to what it may cost if it fell into the wrong hands.

The best USB flash storage for Designers & Creatives

The Best USB Flash Storage Compared

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Best Value

Fastest USB

Smallest USB

Best Rugged

Best for Apple

Title

WD 1TB My Passport Portable External Hard Drive, Black — WDBYVG0010BBK-WESN

Samsung T5 Portable SSD — 1TB — USB 3.1 External SSD (MU-PA1T0B/AM), Black

SanDisk 16GB Ultra Fit USB 3.1 Flash Drive — SDCZ430–016G-G46

LaCie Rugged Triple 1TB External Hard Drive Portable HDD — USB 3.0 FireWire 800 compatible for Mac…

SanDisk Ultra Flair 16GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive — SDCZ73–016G-G46

Patriot 256GB Supersonic Rage Elite USB 3.1 Type A, USB 3.0 Flash Drive with Transfer Speeds of Up…

Prime Status

-

Star Rating

Reviews

509 Reviews

4,106 Reviews

3,708 Reviews

21 Reviews

5,008 Reviews

1,296 Reviews

Interface

USB 3.0

USB 3.1 (Gen 2)

USB 3.0

USB 3.1

USB 3.0

USB 3.0

Type-A

Type-A

Type-C

Type-A

Type-C

Type-C

Type-A

Capacities:

1TB — 5TB

500GB — 2TB

16GB — 256GB

1TB — 5TB

16GB — 128GB

128GB — 1TB

Storage Type

Hard Disk

SSD

Flash

Hard Disk

Flash

Flash

Price

$53.00

$168.94

$6.29

$120.60

$6.29

$44.99

Buy Now

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

Best Value

Thumbnail

Title

WD 1TB My Passport Portable External Hard Drive, Black — WDBYVG0010BBK-WESN

Prime Status

Star Rating

Reviews

509 Reviews

Interface

USB 3.0

Type-A

Type-A

Capacities:

1TB — 5TB

Storage Type

Hard Disk

Price

$53.00

Buy Now

Buy on Amazon

Fastest USB

Thumbnail

Title

Samsung T5 Portable SSD — 1TB — USB 3.1 External SSD (MU-PA1T0B/AM), Black

Prime Status

Star Rating

Reviews

4,106 Reviews

Interface

USB 3.1 (Gen 2)

Type-A

Type-C

Capacities:

500GB — 2TB

Storage Type

SSD

Price

$168.94

Buy Now

Buy on Amazon

Smallest USB

Thumbnail

Title

SanDisk 16GB Ultra Fit USB 3.1 Flash Drive — SDCZ430–016G-G46

Prime Status

Star Rating

Reviews

3,708 Reviews

Interface

USB 3.0

Type-A

Type-A

Capacities:

16GB — 256GB

Storage Type

Flash

Price

$6.29

Buy Now

Buy on Amazon

Best Rugged

Thumbnail

Title

LaCie Rugged Triple 1TB External Hard Drive Portable HDD — USB 3.0 FireWire 800 compatible for Mac…

Prime Status

-

Star Rating

Reviews

21 Reviews

Interface

USB 3.1

Type-A

Type-C

Capacities:

1TB — 5TB

Storage Type

Hard Disk

Price

$120.60

Buy Now

Buy on Amazon

Best for Apple

Thumbnail

Title

SanDisk Ultra Flair 16GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive — SDCZ73–016G-G46

Prime Status

Star Rating

Reviews

5,008 Reviews

Interface

USB 3.0

Type-A

Type-C

Capacities:

16GB — 128GB

Storage Type

Flash

Price

$6.29

Buy Now

Buy on Amazon

Thumbnail

Title

Patriot 256GB Supersonic Rage Elite USB 3.1 Type A, USB 3.0 Flash Drive with Transfer Speeds of Up…

Prime Status

Star Rating

Reviews

1,296 Reviews

Interface

USB 3.0

Type-A

Type-A

Capacities:

128GB — 1TB

Storage Type

Flash

Price

$44.99

Buy Now

Buy on Amazon

A small flash drive with great performance

Interface: USB 3.0 | Connector: Type-A | Capacities: 128GB — 1TB | Storage Type: Flash

A great little flash drive, the Rage Elite from Patriot comes in a wide range of capacities which is great for all kinds of data, especially if you’re working with photo or video files which can be quite large. Losing the cap on top of the connector is no longer a problem as the connector retracts with a simple push. If you suffer from slower internet speeds its likely that access to cloud storage is limited as well so having lightning-fast transfer speeds can make running large programs such as Adobe Creative Suite or backing up a ton of files a breeze. The Rage Elite’s internal design pushes the flash storage to its mint with speeds of up to 300MB/sec which outpaces many hard disks.

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Latest Price on Amazon:

1,296 Reviews

Patriot 256GB Supersonic Rage Elite USB 3.1 Type A, USB 3.0 Flash Drive with Transfer Speeds of Up…

256GB USB 3.1/USB 3.0 Flash Drive up to 400MB/s read: up to 200MB/s write

Durable slide to connect design to protect the Drive.

Rubber coated housing protects from drops, spills, and daily abuse.

Backwards compatible with USB 3.0, USB 2.0, USB 1.1

Compatible with legacy and current versions of Windows, Linux 2.4 and later, Mac OS9, OSX, and later

$44.99

Buy on Amazon

The best choice for Apple laptops

Interface: USB 3.0 | Connector: Type-C | Capacities: 16GB — 128GB | Storage Type: Flash

Did you buy a new MacBook or MacBook Pro recently and had to give up a lot of your old USB storage because the new Macs don’t use Type-A ports? Well, we have some good news. The Type-C ports on the MacBook have a flash drive of their own. With the Ultra USB-C from SanDisk, you can plug in your flash drive without the need for a dongle, dock, or converter. With a capacity range of 16GB to 128GB, the Ultra USB-C boasts quite an impressive reading and writing speeds of up to 150 MB/sec, A Type-C USB flash drive at an affordable price? It sounds like a good idea.

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Latest Price on Amazon:

Sale

5,008 Reviews

SanDisk Ultra Flair 16GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive — SDCZ73–016G-G46

High Speed USB 3.0 performance

Transfer to drive faster up to 15X faster than standard USB 2.0 drives

Sleek, durable metal casing

Easy-to-use password protection for your private files

5-year limited warranty

$6.29

Buy on Amazon

The best flash drive for keeping your data safe

Interface: USB 3.0 | Connector: Type-A | Capacities: 4GB — 128GB | Storage Type: Flash

Depending on the type of work you do, your project and portfolio can quite literally be your livelihood. If this is true, why would you not want a flash drive that offers to protect your data from many different factors like the IronKey D300SM from Kingston is one of the most secure flash drives you can get, the drive comes with a waterproof design but that’s only the beginning of the security features. The drive is also password protected with 256-bit encryption which complies with FIPS standards that many corporate environments demand and all of the decryption is done on the drive itself. While the speeds can vary with the largest, 128GB having the fastest write speeds of 250MB/sec. Regardless of the transfer speeds, the security offered by the IronKey D300SM makes it worth it every time.

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Latest Price on Amazon:

Kingston IronKey 8GB D300SM USB 3.1 Flash Drive — 8 GB — USB 3.1–256-bit AES — TAA Compliant

Storage Capacity: 8 GB

Encryption Standard: 256-bit AES

Host interface: USB 3. 1

Height: 0. 5"

Width: 0. 9"

$81.75

Buy on Amazon

The fastest USB storage you can buy

Interface: USB 3.1 (Gen 2) | Connector: Type-C | Capacities: 500GB — 2TB | Storage Type: SSD

While it’s not technically a flash drive, the Samsung Portable T5 is an external solid-state drive and uses the same technology that your computer uses for fast storage. It ends up being faster than any other kind of USB storage and makes the most out of the high bandwidth that USB 3.1 provides to deliver transfer speeds of up to 550 MB/sec. Because of this high-performance, it’s also much more than a standard flash drive. The speed this device can provide isn’t meant for only backing up your files, it can be a way to work on large files directly from the T5 itself. So while it’s not a standard flash drive, if your work means big files, you can’t go wrong.

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Latest Price on Amazon:

Sale

4,106 Reviews

Samsung T5 Portable SSD — 1TB — USB 3.1 External SSD (MU-PA1T0B/AM), Black

Superfast Read Write speeds of up to 540 MB/s

Top to bottom metal design that fits in the palm of your hand

Optional password protection and AES 256-bit hardware encryption

Includes USB Type C to C and USB Type C to A cables

3 year warranty user can set password when it is necessary. Requires Windows 7, Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks), Android 4.4 (KitKat), or higher; Older versions of the Windows, Mac and Android operating…

$168.94

Buy on Amazon

The USB hard disk that’s the best value for the money

Interface: USB 3.0 | Connector: Type-A | Capacities: 1TB — 5TB | Storage Type: Hard Disk

If you do any type of video work, you know how large some of those files can get. While the technology behind har disk drives may be ancient compared to current USB flash storage technology, you can’t argue the value that the MyPassport offers n terms of the capacity you get for the price. While the larger, 3.5-inch models have the largest capacities, they require an external power supply. The 2.5-inch model is carried easily, powered by USB and with up to 5TB available, it offers massive storage you can fit in your pocket. With transfer speeds around 100MB/sec, it will take some time to fill it. The MyPassport is an inexpensive option for those looking for a way to do a massive backup of their data over USB rather than the fastest transfers, this is the drive for you.

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Latest Price on Amazon:

Sale

509 Reviews

WD 1TB My Passport Portable External Hard Drive, Black — WDBYVG0010BBK-WESN

Automatic backup — Easy to use

Password protection + 256-bit AES hardware encryption

Western Digital Discovery software for Western Digital backup, password protection and drive management

Superspeed USB port; USB 2.0 compatible

3-Year manufacturer’s limited warranty

$53.00

Buy on Amazon

The tiniest USB flash drive out there

Interface: USB 3.0 | Connector: Type-A | Capacities: 16GB — 256GB | Storage Type: Flash

USB flash drives can come in all shapes and sizes these days. There are even flash drives shaped like your favorite science fiction characters. While these can be a great novelty item, they aren’t the best option if you’re in the middle of a board meeting. The Ultra Fit USB 3.1 Flash Drive from SanDisk combines great storage capacity along with a minimalistic design. About the size of a thumbnail, the drive all but disappears when it’s plugged in. It’s small enough where if it weren’t for the small lip at the end, making it easy to remove, it would disappear. Just because its small in stature, doesn’t mean that the transfer speeds are lacking anything. With transfer speeds up to 130MB/sec, it truly is a tiny dynamo.

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Latest Price on Amazon:

Sale

3,708 Reviews

SanDisk 16GB Ultra Fit USB 3.1 Flash Drive — SDCZ430–016G-G46

A compact, plug-and-stay, high-speed USB 3.1 flash drive that’s ideal for adding more storage to laptops, game consoles, in-car audio and more

Simple, fast way to add up to 256GB of storage to your device

Write faster than standard USB 2.0 drives

Move a full-length movie faster than standard USB 2.0 drives

Read speeds up to 130MB/s1

$6.29

Buy on Amazon

A great drive if you work in the great outdoors

Interface: USB 3.1 | Connector: Type-C | Capacities: 1TB — 5TB | Storage Type: Hard Disk

While we have been featuring many different options for storing your data using flash storage, all of the transfer speed in the world won’t help you if you drop your flash drive in a puddle or if you get caught in the rain. This is why the Rugged USB-C hard drive from LaCie is such a good option. With its orange rubber case, the drive can survive an accidental drop whereas other drives or other flash devices may not be so lucky. According to the manufacturer, the drive can withstand a 1-ton car, is water- and dust-resistant, and survive a drop from three feet. If you do a lot of work in the wild, maybe as a photographer, having a durable drive that you can save your work without worrying about any damage it might take let you put all of your focus on your work.

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Latest Price on Amazon:

Sale

21 Reviews

LaCie Rugged Triple 1TB External Hard Drive Portable HDD — USB 3.0 FireWire 800 compatible for Mac…

Perfect for storing up to 1TB of content, Rugged Triple external hard drive is the easy way to connect to FireWire 800 and USB 3.0 computers

For those who have a need for speed, this portable hard drive features dual FireWire ports for daisy chaining and a USB 3.0 port for speed transfers of up to 110MB/s

Trek confidently with a portable external hard drive that offers all-terrain durability of drop, dust, and water resistance

Take advantage of a complimentary one-month membership to the Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps Plan for access to awesome photo and video editing apps

Enjoy long-term peace of mind with the included two-year limited warranty

$120.60

Buy on Amazon

A solid and affordable flash drive

Interface: USB 3.0 | Connector: Type-A | Capacities: 16GB — 256GB | Storage Type: Flash

Cheaply priced flash drives have the problem of being seen as not worth the time of an affordable amount of money because of perceived limitations that the drive may have. This is not the case with the DataTraveler 100 from Kingston. With its solid build and very affordable price, it can be a great option for saving documents or even as a backup for your work. Read/write speeds of 150Mbps and 70Mbps easily makes this drive worth every penny.

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Latest Price on Amazon:

1,632 Reviews

Kingston 16GB 100 G3 USB 3.0 DataTraveler (DT100G3/16GB)

Compliant — with USB 3.0 specifications

USB 3.1 Gen 1 (USB 3.0)¹ — DT100 G3 delivers USB 3.0 speeds, Backwards compatible — Can be used with USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports.

Stylish — black-on-black, sliding cap design

Ideal USB 3.0 starter storage device

Guaranteed — five-year warranty, free technical support

$5.75

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The most affordable flash drive available

Interface: USB 3.0 | Connector: Type-A | Capacities: 16GB — 64GB | Storage Type: Flash

Offering you plenty of storage, the CZ80 flash drive from SanDisk is one of the best flash drives on our list. Not only is the price so affordable that you could buy them in bulk, the performance that it provides is anything but cheap. With fast transfer speeds, the CZ80 is one speedy little flash drive. The connector slides in and out of the stick when it’s not being used which can be great to protect it when it’s not in use and can also minimize the risk of it getting damaged.Overall, this USB flash drive outperforms many others on our lit.

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Latest Price on Amazon:

179 Reviews

SanDisk SDCZ48–032G-U46 Ultra 32 GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Up to 80MB/s [Older Version]

Access hi-res photos, HD videos or other large files up to 4 times faster than USB 2.0 drives

Fast performance speeds (up to 80 MB/sec)

USB 3.0 enabled (USB 2.0 compatible)

Keep private files private with SanDisk SecureAccess software

Backed by 5 year limited warranty

$10.39

Buy on Amazon

A great flash drives for students

Interface: USB 3.0 | Connector: Type-A | Capacities: 32GB — 256GB | Storage Type: Flash

While it may not have the fastest speeds on our list, the Turbo from PNY, one of the biggest names in flash drives is a great option for students looking for a drive with large capacities and an affordable price. With a capped design to help protect the connector and read/write speeds of 80 and 20Mbps respectively, it can be a great option for any student in need of a way to save their data.

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Latest Price on Amazon:

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11,510 Reviews

PNY Turbo 256GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive — P-FD256GTBOP-GE

Transfer speeds approximately 10 times faster than standard PNY USB 2.0 Flash Drives

Store and transfer large files faster than ever with USB 3.0 technology

Allows for quick and easy transfer of all content

The 256GB Turbo USB 3.0 Flash Drive can hold approximately 47,349 songs

Sliding collar, capless design with integrated loop makes it easy to attach to key chains, backpacks and etc

$32.99

Buy on Amazon

The best USB flash storage for creatives

When you’re in the market for a new USB flash storage device, it can be very easy to pick the first one that you see. With our list of the best USB flash storage for creatives, we hope that we have presented you with some options to consider the next time you go shopping.

Do you have a flash storage option you just have to tell others about? Let us know in the comments below!!