Best Prime Day USB flash drive deals: Cheap storage on the go

Every year, we look forward to July because it brings Amazon’s annual Prime Day with it—and that means deep, delicious discounts for all kinds of tech. This year, the big event runs July 8-11, and we’re seeing some killer Prime Day flash drive deals. Everyone needs a great USB flash drive, and Prime Day is an excellent time to grab one for cheap.

Why listen to my recommendations? I’ve been a journalist for 19 years, with 13 of those years focused on consumer technology. I love sifting through deals and spend every day hunting down the very best sales on the very best tech. With Prime Day, I’m exercising those muscles to help you find the best USB thumb drives worth your money. These hand-curated recommendations take price, reviews, and brand reputation into consideration. While you’re here, you should also check our Prime Day live blog for the best deals starting with 9AM ET on July 8.

Best early Prime Day deals on 64GB to 256GB flash drives

Samsung Fit Plus, 128GB, USB 3.1 — $15 (35% off, was $23)
SanDisk Ultra, 128GB, USB 3.0 — $12 (23% off, was $15.49)
Samsung Type-C, 128GB, USB 3.2 — $18 (22% off, was $23)
Lexar JumpDrive Dual, 128GB, USB 3.2 — $15.29 (30% off, was $22)
PNY Turbo Attache 3, 256GB, USB 3.0 — $15 (25% off, was $20)
Samsung Bar Plus, 256GB, USB 3.1 — $22 (45% off, was $40)
Kingston DataTraveler Kyson, 256GB, USB 3.2 — $25.28 (15% off, was $30)
PNY Elite-X Fit, 256GB, USB 3.1 — $23 (12% off, was $26)
Kingston Ironkey Locker+ 50, 32GB, USB 3.2, Encrypted — $28 (30% off, was $42)
Kindston Ironkey Keypad 200, 128GB, USB-C, USB 3.2, Encrypted — $150 (29% off, was $210)

The best deal of the lot is for the Samsung Bar Plus, where you can get 256GB of storage space for just $22. This is a super-fast flash drive that can reach up to 400 MB/s transfer speeds, comes with a rugged metal casing, and is even waterproof and shockproof. If you want a more affordable option, the Amazon Basics for $11 is a decent cheapie.

Best early Prime Day deals on 512GB to 2TB flash drives

SanDisk Ultra Flair, 512GB, USB 3.0 — $37 (21% off, was $47)
Samsung Fit Plus, 512GB, USB 3.2 — $60 (25% off, was $80)
PNY Pro Elite V3, 512GB, USB 3.2 — $54 (11% off, was $61)
SanDisk Ultra Fit, 512GB, USB 3.2 — $37.21 (20% off, was $50)
SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive Go, 1TB, USB 3.2, both USB-A and USB-C connections — $65 (41% off, was $110)
SanDisk Extreme Pro, 1TB, USB 3.2 — $90 (38% off, was $145)
Kindston Ironkey Vault Privacy 50, 512GB, USB 3.2, Encrypted — $170 (31% off, was $245)

A superb pick off this list is the Ultra Dual Drive Go from SanDisk. This is a flash drive with both USB-C and USB-A connectors, thus it’s a lot more versatile. It can reach up to 400 MB/s read speeds, too!

Other great Prime Day deals

These aren’t the only Prime Day deals being tracked by the PCWorld team. If you’re looking to supercharge your home setup with the juiciest tech sales, hit the links for the best expert-curated picks we’ve found.

USB flash drive deals FAQs

What capacity do I need in a USB flash drive?

This is a question that you need to answer yourself because it really depends on what you plan to use it for. If you’re only moving work documents around, a small capacity like 64GB will be fine. If you want to use a flash drive for backing up photos, videos, games, and other big files, then you might want to go 512GB or larger.

What features should I prioritize when choosing a USB flash drive?

First of all, our recommendation is to look at the flash drive’s transfer speeds. To ensure you get fast read/write speeds, you should get a USB 3.0 or above. USB 2.x drives are sorely outdated.

Then, you have to make sure the flash drive can survive living in your pocket, getting crushed by your laptop, falling through your fingers, and so on. Aluminum casings will offer better protection in such cases.

If the flash drive offers 128-bit AES encryption or better, your data will also have some extra protection in case you lose it, as the drive will be inaccessible and block out others from reading your data.

How did we find the best USB flash drive Prime Day deals?

Finding great deals can be difficult because not all discounts are worth covering. When looking for good Prime Day deals, we compare the prices on Amazon with the regular retail price and check pricing history to see if there have been any changes lately and that the price drops are truly noteworthy. We also check product reviews to see if they’re reliable in the long run and live up to their promises.