The Lexar Play 1TB MicroSD Card is the perfect companion for the Steam Deck if you have an extensive Steam library, especially if the Steam Deck has been encouraging you to play your back catalog of video games.

The Lexar Play 1TB MicroSD uses the UHS-I interface to provide fast read speeds, as does the Steam Deck. While, technically speaking, the Lexar Play has a read speed of 150MB/s, the Steam Deck's own UHS-I interface limits it to 104Mb/s. It's a bummer, but rest assured, you'll always benefit from the fastest read speeds it can handle to keep those loading times short.

Thankfully, the Lexar Play 1TB MicroSD Card makes up for the speed limit by having an entire terabyte of storage for you to fill. Best of all, the microSD card has A2-rated performance, so you won't be waiting a century for your favorite titles to write on the card.

Perhaps your Steam library isn't as extensive as many others, but you still have a respectable collection. You also spend enough time on the Steam Deck to warrant its cost; it certainly isn't collecting dust in your home. If that describes you, then the best microSD card for the Steam Deck is the Kingston Canvas Go! Plus.

For starters, the Kingston Canvas Go! Plus has a maximum capacity of 512GB, which is just big enough to handle plenty of modern titles while not being too big that the rest goes to waste.

With the Kingston Canvas Go! Plus, you're also getting the maximum read speed that the Steam Deck can handle with its UHS-I interface. Though the Kingston Canvas Go! Plus reaches read speeds of 170MB/s; the Steam Deck is limited to only 104MB/s. Still, it comes with an SD card adapter, so if you replace the Kingston Canvas Go! Plus in the future, it can be repurposed for a laptop or PC and benefit fully from its performance.

Despite having excellent hardware capable of playing modern games (with some tinkering), the Steam Deck is in a unique position of being your go-to for enjoying AAA or, better yet, indie titles. They tend to be less resource-intensive and far fewer gigabytes in size. If that's what you're planning to do or you just have a budget to adhere to, then you'll get the most out of the SanDisk Ultra.

In return, the SanDisk Ultra provides 256GB of storage, which is quite good if you own the 256GB Steam Deck model, netting you over half a terabyte of storage altogether. And if you own the 64GB Steam Deck model, you'd finally have proper storage.

Of course, it isn't just about the capacity of the SanDisk Ultra—it can back it with performance, too! The SanDisk Ultra can reach read speeds of 120MB/s and write speeds consistent with the U1 speed class. However, read speeds are most important here, so the SanDisk Ultra's performance will always provide quick load times.

The Samsung Pro Plus MicroSD Card is the ideal option for those who frequently take their Steam Deck on the go. Its performance and durability create a reliable combination, not to mention quality, considering it's coming straight from a trusted brand like Samsung.

For starters, the Samsung Pro Plus sports 512GB of storage, matching the 512GB Steam Deck model in capacity. Even if you own the base model, owning the Samsung Pro Plus means you won't have to uninstall games constantly to make room for other titles. Additionally, the Samsung Pro Plus has A2-rated performance, so it'll write data to the Steam Deck at a meaningful pace, along with read speeds as high as 160MB/s.

Best of all, the Samsung Pro Plus is kitted with a bevy of protection, making it great for taking on the go. This microSD comes with water, temperature, x-ray, magnet, drop, and wear-and-tear protection.

No one likes waiting for games to load, but it's still a fact of life; however, if you're looking for a microSD card that matches the Steam Deck's internal storage in terms of load times, consider picking up the SanDisk Extreme Pro.

The SanDisk Extreme Pro provides three storage options: 64GB, 256GB, and 400GB. All three offer the same 170MB/s read speed and 90MB/s write speed, in addition to an SD adapter, which comes in handy for repurposing the SanDisk Extreme Pro in a laptop or PC if you upgrade to a bigger microSD card in the future.

What's equally impressive is that the SanDisk Extreme Pro has many protections against water, shock, vibration, airport x-rays, and temperatures of -13 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Altogether, the SanDisk Extreme Pro is rugged, has good storage, fast read and write speeds, and is efficient.

The PNY XLR8 512GB is ideal for those looking for a microSD they can set and forget. This microSD card features a massive 512GB storage capacity, along with read speeds reaching 100MB/s and write speeds as high as 90MB/s, making it work quite nicely with the Steam Deck's own specifications.

One of the aspects of the Steam Deck you have to account for is its use of the UHS-I interface, which limits read speeds to 104MB/s. If a microSD card has a read speed higher than that, the microSD has its performance limited to 100MB/s. Considering the PNY XLR8 512GB works from a UHS-I interface; it'll always work at peak performance.

Rest assured, downloading video games won't take decades to write, given how well the PNY XLR8 512GB MicroSD Card's write speeds perform. So, if you need a microSD card exclusively for your Steam Deck, it's hard to pass on this one.

The Lexar 64GB microSD Card is the ideal option for Steam Deck owners with a very tight budget (the 512GB Steam Deck model isn't cheap, you know?). It brings A1-rated performance for solid write speed and a read speed reaching 100MB/s, which keeps up with the Steam Deck in terms of limitations.

The Lexar 64GB microSD Card's read speed makes it so that the Steam Deck's UHS-I interface can fully use the microSD card's performance without wasting a few dozen MB/s. While the minimum sustained write speed is 10MB/s, it won't be that big of an issue if you're planning on installing anything other than indie titles.

If you just need some extra storage or like having multiple microSD cards to swap in and out, the Lexar 64GB MicroSD Card is an excellent option to fall back on. As a bonus, it's also durable with protection against water, shock, x-ray, static, impact, and extreme temperatures.