Comparison of memory cards
Encyclopedia
This table provides summary of comparison of various flash
memory card
s, .
Following labels are used:
Flash memory
Flash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data...
memory card
Memory card
A memory card or flash card is an electronic flash memory data storage device used for storing digital information. They are commonly used in many electronic devices, including digital cameras, mobile phones, laptop computers, MP3 players, and video game consoles...
s, .
Common information
- unless otherwise indicated, all images to scale
Card family Standards organizations Varieties Entry date Picture Main features CompactFlash CompactFlashCompactFlash is a mass storage device format used in portable electronic devices. Most CompactFlash devices contain flash memory in a standardized enclosure. The format was first specified and produced by SanDisk in 1994...SanDisk SanDiskSanDisk Corporation is an American multinational corporation that designs, develops and manufactures data storage solutions in a range of form factors using the flash memory, controller and firmware technologies. It was founded in 1988 by Dr. Eli Harari and Sanjay Mehrotra, non-volatile memory...I 1994 Thinner (3.3 mm), flash only, now up to 128 GiB GigabyteThe gigabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage. The prefix giga means 109 in the International System of Units , therefore 1 gigabyte is...
, although standard goes up to 128 PiBPetabyteA petabyte is a unit of information equal to one quadrillion bytes, or 1000 terabytes. The unit symbol for the petabyte is PB...
since CF 5.0)II Thicker (5.0 mm), older flash, but usually Microdrive MicrodriveMicrodrive is a brand name for a miniature, 1-inch hard disk designed to fit in a CompactFlash Type II slot. The release of similar drives by other makers has led to them often being referred to as 'microdrives'...
s, up to 128 PiBSmartMedia SmartMediaSmartMedia is a flash memory card standard owned by Toshiba, with capacities ranging from 2 MB to 128 MB. SmartMedia memory cards are no longer manufactured.- History :...Toshiba Toshibais a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...3.3/5 V 1995 Very slim (45.0×37.0×0.76 mm3), no wear leveling Wear levelingWear leveling is a technique for prolonging the service life of some kinds of erasable computer storage media, such as Flash memory used in solid-state drives and USB Flash drives...
controller, up to 128MB. This particular example shows the write protect sticker (the silver disc).MultiMediaCard Siemens AG Siemens AGSiemens AG is a German multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company....
, SanDiskSanDiskSanDisk Corporation is an American multinational corporation that designs, develops and manufactures data storage solutions in a range of form factors using the flash memory, controller and firmware technologies. It was founded in 1988 by Dr. Eli Harari and Sanjay Mehrotra, non-volatile memory...MMC 1997 Slim and small (24×32×1.4 mm3), up to 16GB RS-MMC/MMC Mobile 2003/2005 Compact (24×18×1.4 mm3), up to 16GB MMCplus 2005 Compact (24×32×1.4 mm3), swifter, optional DRM, up to 16GB MMCmicro 2005 Subcompact (14×12×1.1 mm3), optional DRM, 16MB to 4GB Secure Digital Secure DigitalSecure Digital is a non-volatile memory card format developed by the SD Card Association for use in portable devices. The SD technology is used by more than 400 brands across dozens of product categories and more than 8,000 models, and is considered the de-facto industry standard.Secure Digital...Panasonic PanasonicPanasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation, which was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd...
, SanDiskSanDiskSanDisk Corporation is an American multinational corporation that designs, develops and manufactures data storage solutions in a range of form factors using the flash memory, controller and firmware technologies. It was founded in 1988 by Dr. Eli Harari and Sanjay Mehrotra, non-volatile memory...
, ToshibaToshibais a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...
, KodakSD 1999 Small (32×24×2.1 mm3), DRM, up to 4GB. (2GB and 4GB cards use larger block sizes and may not be compatible with some host devices. See Article) miniSD 2003 Compact (21.5×20×1.4 mm3), DRM, up to 4GB. (2GB and 4GB cards use larger block sizes and may not be compatible with some host devices. See Article) microSD 2005 Subcompact (11×15×1 mm3), DRM, up to 4GB. (2GB and 4GB cards use larger block sizes and may not be compatible with some host devices. See Article) SDHC 2006 Same build as SD but greater capacity and transfer speed, 4GB to 32GB. (not compatible with older host devices) miniSDHC 2008 Same build as miniSD but greater capacity and transfer speed, 4GB to 32GB. 8GB is largest in early-2011. (not compatible with older host devices) microSDHC 2007 Same build as microSD but greater capacity and transfer speed, 4GB to 32GB. 32GB is largest in mid-2011. (not compatible with older host devices) SDXC 2009 Same build as SD, but greater capacity and transfer speed, 32GB and higher. Standard goes up to 2TB. (not compatible with older host devices) microSDXC 2009 Same build as microSD, but greater capacity and transfer speed, 32GB and higher. Standard goes up to 2TB. (not compatible with older host devices) Memory Stick Memory StickMemory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, launched by Sony in October 1998, and is also used in general to describe the whole family of Memory Sticks...Sony Sony, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
/SanDiskSanDiskSanDisk Corporation is an American multinational corporation that designs, develops and manufactures data storage solutions in a range of form factors using the flash memory, controller and firmware technologies. It was founded in 1988 by Dr. Eli Harari and Sanjay Mehrotra, non-volatile memory...Standard 1998 Slim and narrow (50×21.5×2.8 mm3), optional DRM, up to 128MB PRO 2003
(not to scale)Slim and narrow (50×21.5×2.8 mm3), swifter, optional DRM, up to 4GB Duo 2003 Compact (31×20×1.6 mm3), optional DRM, up to 128MB PRO Duo 2002-06 
Compact (31×20×1.6 mm3), optional DRM, up to 32GB PRO-HG Duo 2007-08 Compact (31×20×1.6 mm3), swifter, optional DRM, up to 32GB Micro (M2) 2006-02 
Subcompact (15×12.5×1.2 mm3), optional DRM, up to 16GB xD XD-Picture CardxD-Picture Card is a flash memory card format, used mainly in older digital cameras. xD stands for Extreme Digital.xD cards are available in capacities of 16 MiB up to 2 GiB.- History :...Olympus Olympus Corporationis a Japan-based manufacturer of optics and reprography products. Olympus was established on 12 October 1919, initially specializing in microscope and thermometer businesses. Its global headquarters are in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, while its USA operations are based in Center Valley, Pennsylvania,...
, FujifilmFujifilmis a multinational photography and imaging company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.Fujifilm's principal activities are the development, production, sale and servicing of color photographic film, digital cameras, photofinishing equipment, color paper, photofinishing chemicals, medical imaging...Standard 2002-07 Slim and small (20×25×1.78 mm3), electrically identical to SmartMedia, no wear-leveling controller, up to 512MB Type M 2005 Slim and small (20×25×1.78 mm3) but slower read/write, no wear-leveling controller, up to 2GB Type H 2005 Slim and small (20×25×1.78 mm3) and swifter, no wear-leveling controller, up to 2GB USB flash drive USB flash driveA flash drive is a data storage device that consists of flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus interface. flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. Most weigh less than 30 g...Various USB 1.1/2.0/3.0 2001 
(not to scale)Universally compatible across all computer platforms, but greater size suits them better to file transfer/storage instead of use in portable devices, up to 256GB
Physical details
Note that a memory card's dimensions are determined while holding the card with contact pins upwards. The length of cards is often greater than their width. Most cards show a directional arrow to aid insertion; such an arrow should be upward.| Card | Width (mm) | Length (mm) | Thickness (mm) | Volume (mm³) | Mass (g) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CompactFlash CompactFlash CompactFlash is a mass storage device format used in portable electronic devices. Most CompactFlash devices contain flash memory in a standardized enclosure. The format was first specified and produced by SanDisk in 1994... , Type I |
43.0 | 36.0 | 3.3 | 5,108 | 3.3 |
| CompactFlash CompactFlash CompactFlash is a mass storage device format used in portable electronic devices. Most CompactFlash devices contain flash memory in a standardized enclosure. The format was first specified and produced by SanDisk in 1994... , Type II |
43.0 | 36.0 | 5.0 | 7,740 | |
| SmartMedia SmartMedia SmartMedia is a flash memory card standard owned by Toshiba, with capacities ranging from 2 MB to 128 MB. SmartMedia memory cards are no longer manufactured.- History :... |
37.0 | 45.0 | 0.76 | 1,265 | 2.0 |
| MMC, MMCplus | 24.0 | 32.0 | 1.4 | 1,075 | 1.3 |
| RS-MMC, MMCmobile | 24.0 | 18.0 | 1.4 | 605 | 1.3 |
| MMCmicro MMCmicro MMCmicro is a MultiMediaCard standard form factor size. It was formerly known as S-card when introduced by Samsung on December 13, 2004. It was later adapted and introduced in 2005 by the MultiMediaCard Association as the third form factor memory card in the MultiMediaCard family.... |
14.0 | 12.0 | 1.1 | 185 | |
| SD Secure Digital Secure Digital is a non-volatile memory card format developed by the SD Card Association for use in portable devices. The SD technology is used by more than 400 brands across dozens of product categories and more than 8,000 models, and is considered the de-facto industry standard.Secure Digital... , SDHC, SDXC, SDIO |
24.0 | 32.0 | 2.1 | 1,613 | 2.0 |
| miniSD, miniSDHC, miniSDIO | 20.0 | 21.5 | 1.4 | 602 | 1.0 |
| microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC | 11.0 | 15.0 | 1.0 | 165 | 0.27 |
| Memory Stick Memory Stick Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, launched by Sony in October 1998, and is also used in general to describe the whole family of Memory Sticks... Standard, PRO |
21.5 | 50.0 | 2.8 | 3,010 | 4.0 |
| Memory Stick Memory Stick Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, launched by Sony in October 1998, and is also used in general to describe the whole family of Memory Sticks... Duo, PRO Duo, PRO-HG , XC |
20.0 | 31.0 | 1.6 | 992 | 2.0 |
| Memory Stick Memory Stick Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, launched by Sony in October 1998, and is also used in general to describe the whole family of Memory Sticks... Micro (M2), XC |
12.5 | 15.0 | 1.2 | 225 | 2.0 |
| xD XD-Picture Card xD-Picture Card is a flash memory card format, used mainly in older digital cameras. xD stands for Extreme Digital.xD cards are available in capacities of 16 MiB up to 2 GiB.- History :... |
25.0 | 20.0 | 1.78 | 890 | 2.8 |
| USB USB flash drive A flash drive is a data storage device that consists of flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus interface. flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. Most weigh less than 30 g... |
varies | varies | varies | varies | varies |
Technical details
| Card | Varieties | Actual max. storage capacity (mebibyte Mebibyte The mebibyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. The binary prefix mebi means 220, therefore 1 mebibyte is . The unit symbol for the mebibyte is MiB. The unit was established by the International Electrotechnical Commission in 2000 and has been accepted for use by all major... , or MiB) |
Theoretical max. capacity | Max. Read Speed (MByte/s) | Max. Write Speed (MByte/s) | Read/write cycles | Low-level access | Operating voltage (V) | Controller chip | # of pins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CompactFlash CompactFlash CompactFlash is a mass storage device format used in portable electronic devices. Most CompactFlash devices contain flash memory in a standardized enclosure. The format was first specified and produced by SanDisk in 1994... |
I | 131,072 | 128 PiB | 167 | 167 | NOR/NAND | 3.3 and 5 | rowspan="2" | 50 | |
| II | 12,288 | 128 PiB (due to LBA-48) | 167 | 167 | ||||||
| SmartMedia SmartMedia SmartMedia is a flash memory card standard owned by Toshiba, with capacities ranging from 2 MB to 128 MB. SmartMedia memory cards are no longer manufactured.- History :... |
128 | 2 | 1,000,000 | NAND | 3.3 or 5 | 22 | ||||
| MMC | MMC | 8,192 | 128 GB | 2 | 2 | 1,000,000 | 3.3 | rowspan="5" | 7 | |
| RS-MMC | 2,048 | 2 | 2 | 3.3 | 7 | |||||
| MMCmobile | 2,048 | 15 | 8 | 1.8 and 3.3 | 13 | |||||
| MMCplus | 4,096 | 52 | 52 | 3.3 | 13 | |||||
| MMCmicro | 2,048 | 1.8 and 3.3 | 13 | |||||||
| eMMC | 2 TiB | 104 | 104 | 1.8 and 3.3 | rowspan="1" | 13 | ||||
| Secure Digital Secure Digital Secure Digital is a non-volatile memory card format developed by the SD Card Association for use in portable devices. The SD technology is used by more than 400 brands across dozens of product categories and more than 8,000 models, and is considered the de-facto industry standard.Secure Digital... |
SD | 4 GiB | 133 | 133 | 3.3 | rowspan="3" | 9 | |||
| miniSD | 8,192 | 133 | 133 | 11 | ||||||
| microSD | 4,096 | 133 | 133 | 8 | ||||||
| SDHC | 32,768 | 2 TiB | 12.5/25(HS) | 12.5/25(HS) | 1.8 and 3.3 | rowspan="3" | 9 | |||
| miniSDHC | 4,096 | 12 | 12 | 11 | ||||||
| microSDHC | 32,768 | 10 | 10 | 8 | ||||||
| SDXC | 32,768 | 2 TiB | 104 | 104 | 1.8 and 3.3 | rowspan="1" | 9 | |||
| Memory Stick Memory Stick Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, launched by Sony in October 1998, and is also used in general to describe the whole family of Memory Sticks... |
Standard | 128 | 128 MiB | 2.5 | 1.8 | 3.3 | rowspan="5" | 10 | ||
| PRO | 4,096 | 2 TiB | 20 | 20 | 3.3 | |||||
| PRO Duo | 32 ,000 | 20 | 20 | 3.3 | ||||||
| PRO-HG Duo | 32, 000 | Actual: 30 Theoretical: 60 |
Actual: 30 Theoretical: 60 |
3.3 | ||||||
| Micro (M2) | 16,384 | 32 GiB | 20 | 20 | 1.8 and 3.3 | |||||
| xC | 2 TiB | 60 | 60 | 3.3 | rowspan="1" | 10 | ||||
| xD XD-Picture Card xD-Picture Card is a flash memory card format, used mainly in older digital cameras. xD stands for Extreme Digital.xD cards are available in capacities of 16 MiB up to 2 GiB.- History :... |
512 | 512 MiB | 5 | 3 | 3.3 | rowspan="4" | 18 | |||
| Type M | 2,048 | 8 GiB | 4 | 2.5 | ||||||
| Type H | 2,048 | 8 GiB | 5 | 4 | ||||||
| Type M+ | 2,048 | 8 GiB | 6 | 3.75 | ||||||
| USB USB flash drive A flash drive is a data storage device that consists of flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus interface. flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. Most weigh less than 30 g... |
Full speed | 131,072 (2009) 262,144 (2010) | No Limit | 1 | 1 | 5 | rowspan="2" | 4 | ||
| High speed | 40 | 40 |
Consumer details
| Card | Write protection switch | DRM Digital rights management Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that... |
|---|---|---|
| CompactFlash CompactFlash CompactFlash is a mass storage device format used in portable electronic devices. Most CompactFlash devices contain flash memory in a standardized enclosure. The format was first specified and produced by SanDisk in 1994... |
||
| SmartMedia SmartMedia SmartMedia is a flash memory card standard owned by Toshiba, with capacities ranging from 2 MB to 128 MB. SmartMedia memory cards are no longer manufactured.- History :... |
, sticker | (optional) |
| MMC, RS-MMC | rowspan="2" | |
| MMCMobile | , secureMMC | |
| SD Secure Digital Secure Digital is a non-volatile memory card format developed by the SD Card Association for use in portable devices. The SD technology is used by more than 400 brands across dozens of product categories and more than 8,000 models, and is considered the de-facto industry standard.Secure Digital... |
rowspan="3" , CPRM | |
| miniSD | ||
| microSD | ||
| Memory Stick Memory Stick Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, launched by Sony in October 1998, and is also used in general to describe the whole family of Memory Sticks... Standard, PRO |
, MagicGate MagicGate MagicGate is a copy-protection technology introduced by Sony in 1999 as part of the Secure Digital Music Initiative . It works by encrypting the content on the device and using MagicGate chips in both the storage device and the reader to enforce control over how files are copied.MagicGate... |
|
| Memory Stick Memory Stick Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, launched by Sony in October 1998, and is also used in general to describe the whole family of Memory Sticks... Duo, PRO Duo |
, MagicGate MagicGate MagicGate is a copy-protection technology introduced by Sony in 1999 as part of the Secure Digital Music Initiative . It works by encrypting the content on the device and using MagicGate chips in both the storage device and the reader to enforce control over how files are copied.MagicGate... |
|
| Memory Stick Memory Stick Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, launched by Sony in October 1998, and is also used in general to describe the whole family of Memory Sticks... PRO-HG Duo |
, MagicGate MagicGate MagicGate is a copy-protection technology introduced by Sony in 1999 as part of the Secure Digital Music Initiative . It works by encrypting the content on the device and using MagicGate chips in both the storage device and the reader to enforce control over how files are copied.MagicGate... |
|
| Memory Stick Memory Stick Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, launched by Sony in October 1998, and is also used in general to describe the whole family of Memory Sticks... Micro (M2) |
, MagicGate MagicGate MagicGate is a copy-protection technology introduced by Sony in 1999 as part of the Secure Digital Music Initiative . It works by encrypting the content on the device and using MagicGate chips in both the storage device and the reader to enforce control over how files are copied.MagicGate... |
|
| xD XD-Picture Card xD-Picture Card is a flash memory card format, used mainly in older digital cameras. xD stands for Extreme Digital.xD cards are available in capacities of 16 MiB up to 2 GiB.- History :... |
||
| USB USB flash drive A flash drive is a data storage device that consists of flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus interface. flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. Most weigh less than 30 g... |
Sometimes |
Compatibility
The following chart gives details on availability of adapters to put a given card (horizontal) in a given slot or device (vertical). This table does not take into account protocol issues in communicating with the device.Following labels are used:
- + (native) - a slot is native for such card.
- D (Directly compatible) - a card may be used in such a slot directly, without any adapters. Best possible compatibility.
- M (requires a Mechanical adapter) - such adapter is only a physical enclosure to fit one card sized into another; all electrical pins are exactly the same.
- EM (requires an Electro-Mechanical adapter) - such adapter features both physical enclosure and pins re-routing as terminals are sufficiently different. No powered elements in such adapter exists, thus they're very cheap and easy to manufacture and may be supplied as a bonus for every such card.
- E (requires an Electronic adapter enclosure) - these adapters are the most advanced ones with some chips (may be requiring external power) that transform signals, as well as physical enclosure and pin routing.
- X (requires an eXternal adapter) - technically the same as E, but such adapter usually consists of 2 parts: a pseudo-card with pin routing and physical enclosure size that perfectly match the target slot and a break-out box (a card readerCard readerA card reader is a data input device that reads data from a card-shaped storage medium. Historically, paper or cardboard punched cards were used throughout the first several decades of the computer industry to store information and programs for computer system, and were read by punched card readers...
) that holds a real card. Such adapter is the least comfortable to use. - Empty cell - card can't be used in such slot, no single adapter is known to exist. Sometimes a chain of adapters can help (for example, miniSD→CF as miniSD→SD→CF)
| Cards → | CF CompactFlash CompactFlash is a mass storage device format used in portable electronic devices. Most CompactFlash devices contain flash memory in a standardized enclosure. The format was first specified and produced by SanDisk in 1994... |
SM SmartMedia SmartMedia is a flash memory card standard owned by Toshiba, with capacities ranging from 2 MB to 128 MB. SmartMedia memory cards are no longer manufactured.- History :... |
MMC | Memory Stick Memory Stick Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, launched by Sony in October 1998, and is also used in general to describe the whole family of Memory Sticks... |
SD Secure Digital Secure Digital is a non-volatile memory card format developed by the SD Card Association for use in portable devices. The SD technology is used by more than 400 brands across dozens of product categories and more than 8,000 models, and is considered the de-facto industry standard.Secure Digital... |
xD XD-Picture Card xD-Picture Card is a flash memory card format, used mainly in older digital cameras. xD stands for Extreme Digital.xD cards are available in capacities of 16 MiB up to 2 GiB.- History :... |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ↓ Slots | I | II | MMC | RS-MMC, MMCmobile | Std | PRO | PRO Duo | Micro | SD | mini | micro | Std | M | H | |
| ExpressCard ExpressCard ExpressCard is an interface to allow peripheral devices to be connected to a computer, usually a laptop computer. Formerly called NEWCARD, the ExpressCard standard specifies the design of slots built into the computer and of cards which can be inserted into ExpressCard slots. The cards contain... |
E | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | |||
| PC card PC card In computing, PC Card is the form factor of a peripheral interface designed for laptop computers. The PC Card standard was defined and developed by the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association which itself was created by a number of computer industry companies in the United States... |
EM | EM | E | E | E | E | E | ||||||||
| CF I | + | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | |||||
| CF II | + | + | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | |||||
| SM | + | X | X | X | |||||||||||
| xD | E | + | + | + | |||||||||||
| MMC | + | M | D | ||||||||||||
| MS | X | + | + | M | M | X | X | E | |||||||
| SD | D | M | + | EM | EM | ||||||||||
| IDE PATA | EM | EM | E | ||||||||||||
| Serial ATA | E | E | |||||||||||||
| USB | X | X | X | X | X | X | E | E | E | E | X | X | X | ||
| Floppy | E | ||||||||||||||
| Nintendo DS Slot-1 | E | ||||||||||||||
| Nintendo DS Slot-2 | E | E | E | ||||||||||||
External links
- GumstixDocsWiki Frequently Asked Questions: Are SD cards interchangeable with MMC cards?
- Types of Memory Cards
- USB mass storage device classUSB mass storage device classThe USB mass storage device class, otherwise known as USB MSC or UMS, is a protocol that allows a Universal Serial Bus device to become accessible to a host computing device, to enable file transfers between the two...
: Mass Storage device class specification — on the site of the USB Implementers Forum.