Finding the best USB-C thumb drives shouldn't take up your whole afternoon — the less time you spend searching for one, the more time you have to enjoy it. With a USB-C thumb drive, you're getting support for the latest USB 3.2 communication protocols, and it is much faster than older USB drives. Some high-end models can reach transfer speeds of up to 20Gbps. It’s a solid choice if you work with files in Ultra-HD 4K.
You can use a USB-C flash drive in a cheap Android smartphone or a more expensive Samsung Galaxy S25 model. You don't have to use those OTG adapters anymore; you can only insert them to access your files with the help of a file explorer app. Here are the best USB-C flash drives to start transferring those files.
With that in mind, here are the best USB-C thumb drives to get your hands on.
These are the best USB-C thumb drives
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Best slide-to-save
With this USB-C flash drive, you can choose between USB-C and USB-A. It's affordable and compact and uses a clever locking slide mechanism. It uses USB 3.1 for transfer speeds up to 150 MB/s, so you can quickly transfer your info from your devices that still use older USB-A ports to your modernized USB-C Android phone in a flash. You can choose from storage options such as 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB of space.
Best supersized capacities
You can get the PNY Elite Type-C with a 64GB capacity or 512GB, allowing you to store up to half a terabyte of movies, music, photos, or backup files compactly. Unfortunately, there's no USB-A port, which makes for a smaller package. It's not as good a deal as the SanDisk Ultra, but there's a 512GB option.
Best rugged and reliable
Samsung's reliable Duo Plus USB-C drive has been dethroned by its Type-C Waterproof Flash Drive. It has USB 3.2 Gen 1 with transfer speeds of up to 400 MB/s for 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB models and 300 MB/s for 64GB variants. It's also robust and resistant to shocks, water, magnets, X-rays, and heat. It only has a Type-C port, but that's okay in this day and age.
Best adapter included
With the Vansuny option, you can enjoy a 32GB USB-C flash drive with a 360-degree rotation to USB 3.0 and Type-C connections. The Vansuny USB-C flash drive is available in 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB sizes. It is also waterproof, shockproof, X-ray-proof, and magnet-proof. It's also listed as Amazon's choice.
Best bundled adapter
This SSK 128GB USB-C Flash Drive is keychain-sized and has read speeds of 200 MB/s. It also has dual connectors for phone, USB, and external storage for file transfer. The tiny SSK 128GB USB-C Flash Drive has capacities ranging from 64 to 256GB, is lightweight, and shockproof.
Best name-brand compact
This dual-drive USB-C flash drive is an excellent option if you already have a USB-C computer like a MacBook or Chromebook. The SSK Type-C Flash Drive is available in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. The USB 3.2 Gen 2 drive is water-resistant and has a USB-C Clamshell and USB-A cover. The price will give you transfer speeds of 500 MB/s.
Best shiny silicon alternative
Silicon Power has been a good alternative to PNY and SanDisk SD cards for years, and its flash drives have proven quite dependable. The wide keyring cover makes holding this USB-C drive easier to carry around. This dual-tip Mobile C80 thumb drive claims to be shockproof, dustproof, and waterproof. It's available in 16-128GB options. Twist the USB 3.2 Gen 1 drive to use USB-C or USB-A on either end.
Best compact and slim
The tiny 16GB-128GB Verbatim Store ‘n’ Go Dual OTG USB 3.2 is easy to stow in your gear bag or desk and won't take up much space. Verbatim included a handy lanyard to keep the cap tethered to the drive. Plus, you get both USB-A and Type-C connectors for added flexibility. A USB 3.0 host device is needed for optimum performance.
Double the ports, double the fun
You may notice that most drives on this list are multi-port flash drives, with a USB-C port on one end and a USB-A port on the opposite end, like some USB-C cables. This makes the flash drive an extra-easy way for users to offload photos and files from any Android phone to their computer, even an older computer without USB-C ports. Thanks to this setup, you can quickly recover files from older devices.
If you want a Type-C-only flash drive, you can get smaller or higher capacity drives, such as a 256GB model with Samsung. The Samsung option is tempting since you can save various movies for offline viewing when Wi-Fi is lacking.
The SSK External USB-C option is a great way to connect your Chromebook and MacBook without sacrificing style in the process. You can choose between 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB models, so you always have enough storage for your movies and other files.
A note about read, write, and transfer speeds
When looking at flash drives, you'll see many USB standards thrown around and bold claims about speed. Like microSD cards, most flash drives are advertised for a transfer speed, which you should always transfer to read speed, not write speed. This is because practically all external storage devices have a lower write speed than read speed, sometimes much slower. However, unlike microSD cards, USB drives don't use speed classes like V30 or U3 to reveal performance.
When shopping for a flash drive, higher write speeds are essential if you regularly copy over large data files. But if you're mainly transferring smaller files or only reading files already saved on the drive, you should be okay with any USB 3.0 or USB 3.1 drive. Ensure that the USB-C port you're plugging into matches the USB version of your thumb drive. For your reference, the maximum possible data transfer speed for USB 2.0 is 480 Mbps, USB 3.0 is 5 Gbps, and USB 3.1 is 10 Gbps.
