Game News Video Games Reviews & News
Related Articles
One of the downsides for the Switch is its low internal memory, and that’s where the best Nintendo Switch SD cards come in. Thanks to bigger and badder games landing on the eShop every day, boosting your storage is becoming more important than ever. Even the newer Nintendo Switch OLED (with its 64GB of memory) will eventually get filled up. As such, grabbing a Nintendo Switch memory card is a good idea for all owners of the console… no matter which version they have.
The best Nintendo Switch SD cards can expand your system all the way up to 2TB. Of course, very few Ninty fans need that much space. In fact, many can get by on 128GB if splitting between downloads and game carts, potentially upgrading to 200GB or 256GB further down the line. While this is one of the best Nintendo Switch accessories to pick up on day one, you don’t need to future proof yourself too much thanks to those relatively low prices.
The average first party Nintendo Switch game sits at around 6.7GB (though there are outliers on either side of that figure), so it’s fairly easy to work out which size you need based on your current or future library. Indie games are tend to be far smaller, so there’s wiggle room here as well.
The best Nintendo Switch SD cards
(opens in new tab)
1. SanDisk Ultra 128GB MicroSD
The best Nintendo Switch SD card
Specifications
Storage: 128GBFormat: MicroSDHC, MicroSDXCTransfer speeds: up to 120MB/sHolds: Roughly 18 first party titles*
Reasons to buy
+The perfect middle-ground+Not too expensive+Should last a while
Reasons to avoid
-Doesn’t often get discounted
Sandisk is one of the biggest and best names in MicroSD cards, and this is the best value model you can buy. For about $20 / £20 you get 128GB of storage, a reliable MicroSD card with decent file transfer speeds, and you even get an adaptor should you want to use this in an SD-based device like a digital camera. That makes it hugely versatile. Nintendo partnered with SanDisk for the official SD card for Switch, so it’s a make Ninty trusts too. And yes, we have tested this MicroSD card and it 100% works with your Switch.
2. SanDisk Ultra 200GB MicroSD
Best value Nintendo Switch SD card
Specifications
Storage: 200GBFormat: MicroSDHC, MicroSDXCTransfer speeds: up to 120MB/sHolds: Roughly 28 first party Nintendo titles*
Reasons to buy
+Loads of space+Probably won’t need to upgrade+Excellent value
Reasons to avoid
-Probably overkill
Hitting the ‘Goldilocks window’ for Nintendo Switch SD cards (being more than big enough for most game storage needs, but remaining at a price that’s entirely fair), the 200GB SDXC will evaporate all your storage worries for a long time. For the price of roughly one AAA Nintendo Switch game, you’ll get a home for dozens and dozens more – you could fit Super Mario Odyssey (opens in new tab) on this thing 33 times. If you’re not on a particularly tight budget, and want a robust Nintendo Switch memory card that still won’t cost the Earth, this is the one to go for. It’s worth noting that the cost of SD cards continues to fall, so you can pick this one up much cheaper today than it was 6 months ago, so it’s worth stretching your budget a little.
3. SanDisk Ultra 64GB MicroSD
Best small-capacity Nintendo Switch SD card
Specifications
Storage: 64GBFormat: MicroSDHC, MicroSDXCTransfer speeds: up to 120MB/sHolds: Roughly 8 first party Nintendo titles*
Reasons to buy
+Cheap+Doubles your storage+A decent starter card
Reasons to avoid
-Doesn’t have loads of space
Want a solid amount of Switch storage while still remaining in the ‘impulse purchase’ price bracket? You’ll want to check out this 64GB Nintendo Switch SD card. It’ll take a respectable amount of games before filling up, adding double the Switch’s onboard 32GB capacity for a total of triple what you get straight out of the box. That likely won’t last forever, without intermittent deleting install management, but at the same time, it won’t cost you must at all to get started and you’ll still get all the current best Nintendo Switch games (opens in new tab) on there. You’ll get between 7-15 games on this SD card, depending on what games they are. The biggies take up 5GB-15GB, whereas some indies only take up 500MB or less.
If you’ve just picked up a Nintendo Switch Online membership, you may be hoping to substitute a larger SD card with that cloud storage. However, it’s worth noting that your save data will still also remain on your system, so it’s often worth upgrading your size.
4. Toshiba 128GB Exceria
Most reliable Nintendo Switch SD card
Specifications
Storage: 128GBFormat: Micro SDXCTransfer speeds: Max 98MB/s read, Max 65MB/s writeHolds: Roughly 18 first party Nintendo titles*
Reasons to buy
+Hardy+Can operate in high or low temperatures+Five-year warranty
Reasons to avoid
-Pricey
If you’re worried about causing damage to your Nintendo Switch SD card (if you regularly take it out or travel through security x-rays, for example), then you should invest in the Toshiba 128GB Exceria card. It’s not much more than most other SDs, but you get a card that’s shock-proof, waterproof, X-ray proof, and can operate in lower or higher temperatures (Toshiba claims -25C to 85C, but we didn’t test the card to such extremes).
It has decent speeds too, offering read speeds of 98MB/s and 65MB/s write speeds – ideal if you’re loading from this card. And if you’re planning to use the SD card for other purposes, the Toshiba is great with 4K video, and full HD recording for cameras. You also get a five year warranty on this one, so Toshiba is pretty confident about how long it’ll last.
5. Silicon Power 1TB Superior SD card
The best massive capacity Nintendo Switch SD card
Specifications
Storage: 1TBFormat: Micro SDXCTransfer speeds: Max 100MB/s read, Max 80MB/s writeHolds: Roughly 148 first party Nintendo titles*
Reasons to buy
+Incredible capacity for an SD card+Decent speeds+Five-year warranty+Brilliant value
Reasons to avoid
-Almost too big-US only
If you’re ever thinking about being completely, utterly, and totally future-proofed in terms of your Switch’s capacity then the Silicon Power 1TB Superior SD card is for you. Yes, the 1TB capacity will mean it is a larger investment by default to begin with but the sheer value here is ridiculous, and you’ll literally never have to worry about storage space again. Pop this in and even the most storage conscious of future-proof worried among us will have their minds eased.
The Superior 1TB SD card also comes with an adapter so you’re good to go with any kind of mobile device or laptop should you need to shift gears, and there’s a five-year warranty so you can have peace of mind. Simple, massive stuff.
Note: The stock of this Nintendo Switch memory card is fluctuating wildly at retailers right now but it is usually out there, seen in the wild. You may have to bookmark this page and refollow the links after giving it a chance to come back into stock. It’ll be absolutely worth it – good luck!
6. Official Nintendo Switch SanDisk 64GB MicroSD
Best official Nintendo Switch SD card
Specifications
Storage: 64GBFormat: MicroSDHC, MicroSDXCTransfer speeds: up to 120MB/sHolds: Roughly 8 first party Nintendo titles*
Reasons to buy
+Awesome Zelda design+Doubles your storage space+Nintendo-approved
Reasons to avoid
-More expensive than non-branded card
If you’d like something a little more official, this Legend of Zelda SD card by SanDisk (featuring the Triforce symbol and a crisp white color scheme) may be up your street. While it looks great with that Triforce symbol sitting pretty on the front, you are paying a premium for the official Nintendo stamp here. SanDisk Ultra 64GB is usually a little cheaper than this more aesthetically pleasing design.
7. Official Nintendo Switch SanDisk 128GB MicroSD
Biggest official Nintendo Switch SD card
Specifications
Storage: 128GBFormat: MicroSDHC, MicroSDXCTransfer speeds: up to 120MB/sHolds: Roughly 18 first party Nintendo titles*
Reasons to buy
+Cool Mario theme+Loads of space+Official merchandise
Reasons to avoid
-Overpriced
This is more expensive than the officially licensed Hyrulian SD card shown above, but it’s also potentially more worthwhile. At just a few dollars more, you can get a card that’s double the size. Similarly, though, you are paying extra for that design, with the standard SanDisk Ultra 128GB card coming in cheaper most of the time.
*Based on an average of 6.7GB per title, allowing for unusable storage space on the card itself
How big are Nintendo Switch games?
It’s easiest to find the right Nintendo Switch memory card when you know what you’re going to be piling into it. You’ll find the install sizes for the latest and greatest Nintendo Switch games just below. It’s also worth noting that these are some of the largest titles on the eShop; smaller indie games can be as little as MBs in size.
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – 6.7GB
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – 13.4GB
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons – 6.2GB
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – 13.6GB
- Super Mario Odyssey – 5.7GB
- Metroid Dread – 4.1GB
- Luigi’s Mansion 3 – 6.3GB
- Pokemon Legends: Arceus – 6.2GB
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury – 2.9GB
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land – 6.2GB
- Mario Party Superstars – 2.7GB
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening – 5.8GB
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword – 7.5GB
We can see, then, that the average size for a first party Nintendo title is around 6.7GB.
If you’re after even more accessories, you’ll find all the best Nintendo Switch chargers available now, as well as the best Nintendo Switch headsets. We’re also rounding up the all the best Nintendo Switch controllers and the latest Nintendo Switch game deals as well.
