Here are the best and most affordable microSD cards for the Nintendo Switch

You bought a Nintendo Switch only to find out that the console has an extremely small — at least by today’s game size and memory standards — 32GB of internal memory.

If you’re planning on purchasing physical titles (whatever you do, don’t put them in your mouth) 32GB is likely more than enough space. If you’re more a fan of digital downloads, however, and want to play a game that isn’t just The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, you’re likely thinking about hunting down a microSD card to expand the system’s memory.

Thanks to a post-launch update the Switch is compatible with Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) cards that top out at 32GB, as well as Secure Digital eXtended Capacity (SDXC), which are between 64GB and 256GB. The SDXC update prompts to download as soon as you put a high-capacity card in the Switch.

Depending on how many games you intend to buy for the Switch, 32GB of additional storage via microSDHC could be enough for your purpose, but those who plan to use the eShop and Virtual Console, will definitely want to opt for a larger SDXC microSD card.

To start, this search is confined to relatively reliable brands, so you won’t find strange eBay knock off cards. While many of these cards are available at big box retailers like Best Buy and Wal-Mart, in almost all cases (unless you find a crazy deal) they’re cheaper on Amazon. I’ve also stuck with cards that meet ‘Class 10’ speed standards, which means the card transfers at 10mb/s.

Starting things off big, there are a number of options in the 200GB range, though you’ll need to be willing to shell out a few extra dollars. If you think about it though, picking up one larger card, rather than multiple smaller microSD cards, is a better option. Of course 256GB microSD cards are also available but they’re extremely expensive and not worth the cost difference for an additional 56GB.

If you’re interested, I opted for the $106 SanDisk Ultra 200GB card.

200GB microSD Cards

• Lexar High-Performance microSDXC 633x 200GB — $139 on Amazon
• SanDisk Ultra 200GB microSD — $106 on Amazon (with Prime) 
• PNY Elite 200GB microSDXC Card — $79 on Amazon (this is the best deal, but the shipping length is over a month). 

128GB microSD Cards

• Lexar High-Performance microSDXC 633x 128GB — $54 on Amazon (with Prime)
• SanDisk Ultra 128GB microSDXC — $58 on Amazon (with Prime)
• Samsung 128GB EVO Micro SDXC — $59 on Amazon (with Prime)

64GB microSD Cards

• Lexar High-Performance microSDXC 633x 64GB — $24 on Amazon (with Prime)
• PNY Elite Performance 64GB High Speed SDXC — $29 on Amazon (with Prime)
• SanDisk Ultra 64GB microSDXC — $34.49 on Amazon (with Prime)
• Two 64GB Lexar Professional 633x 64GB SDXC – $65 on Amazon (with Prime)