Best 32GB USB Flash Drive 2026: 8 Ranked, Read vs Write

The listing title says 130 MB/s. The specification table says 100 MB/s read and 80 MB/s write. Crucially, the write figure is the highest published anywhere in this group, more than double the next best at 40 MB/s. That, rather than the title, is why this 32GB USB flash drive leads the list.

A full-length movie in under 40 seconds is the claim in the bullets, and 80 MB/s write is roughly the speed that would take. In practice, small files copy far slower than large ones, because a flash drive spends its time opening and closing files instead of streaming one long one. The drive is USB 3.0 and backward compatible with USB 2.0, and it ships with SanDisk SecureAccess for password protection and encryption.

Who should not buy it: anyone moving only documents and photos. At £14.79 it is the most expensive drive here, roughly twice the £6.79 ENUODA and £7.99 SIMMAX. Those two are USB 2.0, with published write speeds of 10 MB/s and 18 MB/s. The Ultra earns its price only if you regularly move files of a gigabyte or more.

The read figure is 150 MB/s, joint-highest in this list. Worth noting what is missing: there is no write speed anywhere in the specification. You can compare its reading against the SanDisk Ultra Flair's 150 MB/s, but you cannot compare its writing against the Ultra's 80 MB/s, because the number is not given.

That said, the dual USB-C and USB-A connectors are why it sits this high. Most 32GB thumb drive options here are USB-A only, which means an adapter for a modern phone. In practice the aluminium alloy body and 10 g weight suit a laptop bag, and it carries a five-year limited warranty — two years more than the Lexar and four more than the SIMMAX.

The catch is the rating split. 7% of its ratings are one-star and another 1% are two-star, against 2% one-star for the SanDisk Ultra, on a sample of 1,777 rather than 210,354. If you need a proven write speed before ordering a 32GB USB flash drive, this listing will not give you one.

This is the clearest case of the gap this article is about. The bullets promise up to 150 MB/s and a full-length movie in under 30 seconds. The specification table then lists a write speed of 4 MB/s. At that speed a 4 GB film takes roughly 17 minutes to write, not 30 seconds. Even so, the 150 MB/s read figure is real, and for reading files off the drive nothing here is faster.

In practice the Flair is a reading drive. Moving a film onto a TV, pulling documents off a laptop, backing up photos one way — it handles those quickly. Bulk writing is where 4 MB/s shows. It carries 194,842 ratings at 4.6 stars and the same SecureAccess encryption as the SanDisk Ultra.

Who should not buy it: anyone who regularly copies large files onto the drive. If your job is dumping a 20 GB folder onto a 32GB USB flash drive, this is the wrong choice, and the cheaper Acer UT300 has the same 150 MB/s read without a published 4 MB/s write figure.

Read is 130 MB/s, and it appears only in the specification — no speed claim in the title. That is the opposite of the SanDisk Ultra, which puts 130 MB/s in the title and then lists 100 MB/s in the table. Meanwhile the write speed here is '10x faster than standard USB 2.0 drives'. Ten times what is not stated, so the number cannot be checked.

In practice this is the drive for hardware encryption at a lower price. It includes 256-bit AES encryption, a retractable connector with no cap to lose, and USB 3.1 Gen 1 — the same 5 Gbps as USB 3.0 — with backward compatibility to USB 3.0 and USB 2.0. At £10.35 it undercuts both SanDisk drives.

As a result, the choice comes down to warranty and certainty. If you need a stated MB/s write speed before you buy, this is not the drive; the SanDisk Ultra gives you 80 MB/s. If you want a three-year warranty instead of one, the Lexar has it, though the Acer offers five.

Nothing in this listing is hidden. Read is 20 MB/s, write is 10 MB/s, and the interface is USB 2.0 — the numbers agree with each other and with the connector. At £6.79 it is the cheapest 32GB USB stick here and the only one under £7, which is why it outranks three faster-sounding drives further down this page.

The swivel design rotates the metal cover 360 degrees, so there is no cap to lose, and there is a keyring hole for a lanyard or a set of keys. It works with Windows 11 back to 2000, Linux and Mac OS, plus laptops, desktops, smart TVs and car audio systems. In practice, that breadth is the point: this is a 32GB memory stick for a car stereo and a TV, not for moving video between machines.

By contrast with the USB 3.0 drives above it, 10 MB/s write means roughly 100 seconds for a 1 GB file. However, the honest trade is a £3.56 saving against the Lexar. If you regularly move files larger than a few hundred megabytes, spend the extra. Worth noting too that 8% of its ratings are one-star, the second-highest share in this list.

Two things stand out. Read and write are both listed at 18 MB/s, the only identical pair in this list. And the bullets admit the usable capacity: 29.10 GB to 29.8 GB out of a nominal 32 GB, which means you know before buying that roughly 2 GB goes to formatting and overhead. That is more candour than most 32GB memory stick listings offer.

It is a USB 2.0 drive with a 360-degree metal clip rotating around an ABS plastic body, and no cap. Plug and play across Windows 7 to 2000, Linux and Mac OS. In practice this is a documents-and-photos stick for a desk drawer, not a drive for video work.

That said, £7.99 is £1.20 more than the ENUODA for a slower read speed — 18 MB/s against 20 MB/s — and the same USB 2.0 interface. Either way, both write more slowly than any USB 3.0 drive here. If the stated usable capacity is not worth £1.20 to you, buy the cheaper drive.

In theory, USB 2.0 caps out at 480 Mbps, which is 60 MB/s. The specification for this drive lists 70 MB/s read. The listing does not explain the gap, and the interface field says USB 2.0. That single contradiction is the most useful thing to know about this drive before you buy it.

Meanwhile the write speed is 40 MB/s, the second-highest published figure in this list after the SanDisk Ultra's 80 MB/s — on a drive rated USB 2.0, where the ENUODA manages 10 MB/s. It also carries 286,613 ratings at 4.6 stars, more than any other drive here, plus SecureAccess encryption and support for tablets and smartphones with a Lightning adapter.

Even so, £13.39 is close to the £14.79 SanDisk Ultra, which is USB 3.0 and publishes 80 MB/s write. If you are buying a 32GB USB flash drive for a USB 3.0 port, the Ultra is the better buy for £1.40 more. Buy the Cruzer Blade if you want the compact body, or if your devices are USB 2.0 anyway.