Robert Jones
Ever since its launch in 2020, the Sony PlayStation 5 has established itself as the most popular console around. We've even had a second iteration since, in the form of the PS5 Slim, plus the uber-powerful PS5 Pro. Either version of the base PS5, though, has the same slight storage issue.
But never fear: Sony allows you to add a separate SSD card to expand the amount of space to store games on – handy when the likes of Call of Duty weigh in at over 100GB apiece.
T3's top picks
The best expansion card overall
The WD_Black SN850X is a worthy successor to the excellent SN850 – it's faster too, with up to 7,300MB/s speeds. It is one of the most popular cards for a reason.
Great speeds for a very friendly price
Lexar has always been a favourite with photographers and gamers can benefit too – especially with the price of this 512GB card with up to 7,450MB/s read speeds.
A great option for more storage
Samsung's flagship SSD is known to be one of the most reliable and stable cards on the market. It may cost a touch more, but the premium price comes with performance.
Update 22 October 2025: We've edited this guide to make it more concise and helpful, removing extra drive options that didn't offer anything different enough.
Rik has written about video games for more than 36 years, having edited numerous gaming magazines. He has also starred on games TV shows, such as Channel 4's GamesMaster and Sky's Games World. He has added extra storage to his own personal PlayStation 5, which he uses to review games and generally unwind.
The PS5 SSDs we recommend in 2025
The best PS5 SSD overall
Western Digital's WD_Black gaming range has been going great guns for years. It offers fast storage for a number of devices, including PlayStation 5, and differentiates itself with metal casings and solid build quality.
We've previously recommended the WD_Black SN850 as our favourite in the past, but the more recent SN850X is faster and therefore even easier to recommend now that it's available for a decent price.
It boasts read speeds of up to 7,300MB/s – more than fast enough for the PS5 minimum spec – and has an excellent, solid heatsink included.
This is the SSD I currently use in my console, and I'm constantly thrilled by its performance. It's even better, I feel, than the official PlayStation alternative also sold by the brand.
The best budget PS5 SSD
If you don't have the biggest budget and just want to boost your storage a bit, opting for a 512GB SSD could be a great option – especially when there's the likes of the Lexar Professional NM800 Pro around for relatively little outlay.
It features fast read speeds – much higher than the minimum required to run in a PlayStation 5 – and comes from a brand trusted by camera professionals. That should give you reassurance on its stability and endurance.
It's not the sexiest SSD on the market, but it does come with a heatsink preinstalled so you can slot it straight into the console. And, once you've put the cover back on your machine, you should never have to see it again anyway.
There are other storage sizes available too, as well as a version without a heatsink that is even cheaper – although you will have to source your own third-party heatsink that way.
The best premium PS5 SSD
Samsung is a hugely renowned brand in the world of storage, and its SSD cards are widely considered to be among the best – hence you often have to pay extra for them.
The Samsung 990 Pro is definitely in that category. Far from the cheapest on the market, it is nonetheless highly regarded. It almost matches the superb read speeds (7,450 MB/s) with its write speeds (6,900 MB/s), which allows for quick installation of PS5 games.
Build quality is also exceptional, with a lot of thought going into such a tiny device. So, if you are thinking of shelling out extra for additional storage – such as this 2TB model – you can rest assured that this one will last.
It's also worth noting that the 990 Pro is great with power efficiency, too, so it should keep your console's usage down a touch.
How to choose the best PS5 SSD for you
There are two big considerations to bear in mind when choosing a PlayStation 5-compatible SSD card.
To begin with, the card needs to be an M.2 SSD, and you can't just buy any model; it has to match certain criteria in terms of speed.
You absolutely cannot just buy one of the best SSDs on the market, for example, and bang it in the console. While that drive may be very good, it may not be fast enough to be PS5 compatible.
In addition, your SSD has to have a heatsink to keep the storage solution cool during persistent operation. And that heatsink has to be compatible with the size limits of the NVMe SSD expansion bay in the PS5. Fortunately, Sony has supplied a very useful guide that details these criteria.
If you choose the latter, you'll have to add your own. However, they are reasonably inexpensive and easy to fit.
As a final note, for an SSD to be PS5 compatible, it needs to meet the following criteria:
- PCIe Gen4 interface
- 250GB - 8TB capacity
- 5,500MB/s read speed or faster
- 22mm width heatsink required (included or third party)
How we tested the PS5 SSD cards
We have extensive experience in using multiple PlayStation SSD cards ourselves, in both standard and digital edition consoles.
The process to place them into your PS5 and then use them to store games is simple. Sony even has a step-by-step video to follow.
The best way to test how effective installed storage can be is to time a game load time when it's running from the internal drive and then from the added SSD card.
You can even find several of the cards in this list offering faster load times than Sony's own.
