Quick GoPro Memory Card Recommendation List
These are the best memory cards for GoPro cameras with their corresponding performance taken from a MacBook Pro.
Sandisk, Lexar and Samsung cards are officially recommended and tested by GoPro, but I’ve found many other brands work well in the new camera models.
Recommended Cards | Speed Class | USBW | USBR | Links | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UHS-II | |||||||||
Kingston Canvas React V90 A1 | UHS-II | X | Amazon | ||||||
ProGrade V60 | UHS-II | 137 | 198 | Amazon | / B&H | ||||
Delkin Power V90 | UHS-II | 275 | 287 | Amazon | / B&H | ||||
Angel Bird A1 V60 | UHS-II | 142 | 267 | Amazon | |||||
UHS-I | |||||||||
Sandisk Extreme Pro U3 A2 | UHS-I | 96 | 173 | Amazon | X | ||||
Sandisk Extreme Plus U3 A2 | UHS-I | 107 | 174 | Amazon | / B&H | ||||
Sandisk Extreme U3 A2 | UHS-I | 55 | 78 | Amazon | / B&H | X | |||
Sandisk Ultra U1 A1 | UHS-I | 50 | 93 | Amazon | / B&H | ||||
Sandisk Nintendo Switch | UHS-I | 95 | 158 | Amazon | / B&H | ||||
Sandisk Nintendo Apex Legends | UHS-I | 95 | 158 | Amazon | / B&H | ||||
Sandisk Nintendo Fortnite | UHS-I | 95 | 158 | Amazon | |||||
Sandisk High Endurance V30 | UHS-I | 82 | 92 | Amazon | / B&H | ||||
Sandisk Max Endurance V30 | UHS-I | 49 | 92 | Amazon | / B&H | ||||
Samsung Pro Plus V30 A2 | UHS-I | 62 | 126 | Amazon | / B&H | ||||
Samsung Evo Plus V30 A2 | UHS-I | 63 | 127 | Amazon | / B&H | X | |||
Samsung Pro Endurance V30 | UHS-I | 61 | 93 | Amazon | / B&H | ||||
Kingston Canvas Go! Plus V30 A2 | UHS-I | 128 | 173 | Amazon | / B&H | X | |||
Kingston Canvas Select Plus V30 A1 | UHS-I | 80 | 93 | Amazon | / B&H | ||||
Kingston High Endurance U1 A1 | UHS-I | Amazon | / B&H | ||||||
Kingston Industrial V30 A1 | UHS-I | Amazon | / B&H | ||||||
Lexar 1066x A2 Silver Series | UHS-I | 118 | 146 | Amazon | / B&H | X | |||
Lexar 633x V30 A2 512GB Blue Series | UHS-I | Amazon | / B&H | ||||||
Lexar 633x V30 A1 128GB Blue Series | UHS-I | 82 | 93 | Amazon | / B&H | ||||
Lexar U3 A2 PLAY | UHS-I | Amazon | / B&H | ||||||
Lexar U1 A1 PLAY | UHS-I | 20 | 144 | Amazon | / B&H | ||||
Lexar U3 A2 E-Series Plus | UHS-I | Amazon | |||||||
Lexar U3 A1 E-Series | UHS-I | Amazon | |||||||
Delkin Advantage V30 | UHS-I | 77 | 92 | Amazon | / B&H | ||||
Delkin Select V30 | UHS-I | 83 | 93 | Amazon | / B&H | ||||
Delkin V30 Black | UHS-I | 86 | 93 | B&H | |||||
Delkin Dashcard V30 | UHS-I | X | B&H | ||||||
Transcend 500S U3 | UHS-I | B&H | |||||||
Transcend 350V High Endurance U3 | UHS-I | 21 | 23 | Amazon | / B&H | ||||
Transcend 340S Ultra Performance V30 A2 | UHS-I | Amazon | / B&H | ||||||
Transcend 330S High Performance V30 A2 | UHS-I | Amazon | / B&H | ||||||
Transcend 300s V30 A1 | UHS-I | Amazon | / B&H | ||||||
Transcend USDC10V High Endurance U1 | UHS-I | X | |||||||
Transcend Premium 400x U1 | UHS-I | Amazon | / B&H | ||||||
PNY Elite-X A1 / A2 V30 | UHS-I | 47 | 92 | Amazon | |||||
PNY Premier-X A2 V30 | UHS-I | 84 | 93 | Amazon | / B&H | ||||
PNY PRO Elite U3 A2 | UHS-I | 82 | 93 | Amazon | / B&H | ||||
PNY PRO Elite U3 | UHS-I | Amazon | / B&H | ||||||
PNY Elite-X V30 A1 | UHS-I | Amazon | / B&H | ||||||
PNY Elite U1 | UHS-I | 29 | 89 | Amazon | / B&H | ||||
Amplim A1 V30 667X Gold | UHS-I | 86 | 92 | Amazon | |||||
Netac Pro A1 U3 | UHS-I | 50 | 92 | Amazon | |||||
Netac Pro U3 | UHS-I | 36 | 81 | X | |||||
Patriot EP PRO U3 | UHS-I | X | Amazon | ||||||
Patriot EP A1 V30 | UHS-I | X | Amazon | ||||||
Patriot High Endurance U3 | UHS-I | X | Amazon | ||||||
Patriot U1 | UHS-I | 21 | 80 | X | |||||
Silicon Power Superior A2 V30 | UHS-I | 41 | 94 | Amazon | / B&H | ||||
Silicon Power Superior A1 V30 | UHS-I | 55 | 92 | B&H | |||||
Silicon Power 3D NanD A1 U3 | UHS-I | Amazon | |||||||
Silicon Power Elite U1 | UHS-I | Amazon | / B&H | ||||||
Silicon Power GAME U3 A1 | UHS-I | Amazon | / B&H | ||||||
Gigastone 4k Camera Extreme | UHS-I | X | Amazon | ||||||
Gigastone 4k Camera Pro A2 V30 | UHS-I | X | Amazon | ||||||
Gigastone Camera Plus V30 A1 | UHS-I | X | |||||||
Gigastone 4k UHD Video U3 A1 | UHS-I | X | |||||||
Gigastone Full HD Video U1 | UHS-I | X | |||||||
Gigastone 4k Game Turbo A2 U3 | UHS-I | X | Amazon | ||||||
Gigastone 4k Game Pro A2 V30 | UHS-I | X | Amazon | ||||||
Gigastone Gaming Plus A1 V30 | UHS-I | X | Amazon | ||||||
Gigastone V30 | UHS-I | X | Amazon | ||||||
Gigastone 10x High Endurance V30 | UHS-I | X | |||||||
Gigastone Ultimate Storage A2 V30 | UHS-I | X | Amazon | ||||||
TeamGroup Go V30 | UHS-I | X | Amazon | ||||||
TeamGroup High Endurance V30 | UHS-I | X | Amazon |
If you experience freezes, glitches, or crashes, it is very often a problem with SD card compatibility, and swapping to a different card can usually fix these issues.
GoPro SD Card Compatibility
All the latest GoPro cameras take micro SD memory cards. The GoPro Hero 8 to the Hero 11 will perform best with U3 memory cards and have a maximum capacity of 256GB, with the Hero 11 taking cards up to 2TB.
U3 vs U1 – This is your memory card, speed class. U1 has a minimum write speed of 10MBs, and U3 has a minimum write speed of 30MBs. To guarantee performance with the Hero 8 or the Hero 9, you must use a memory card that is the U3 speed class since the camera writes at about 12MBs – above the U1 spec.
SDXC vs SDHC – SDXC, and SDHC refer to the file structure. 32-bit vs 64-bit. SDHC is always in 32GB cards and smaller whereas SDXC is always found with 64GB cards and larger. The 32-bit file structure found in the 32 GB cards means, that you will not be able to record clips that are larger than 4GB. However, today GoPro cameras still only record clips with a limit of 4GB which is known as chaptering. Regardless of what camera you use, it won’t make a difference if you decide to go with SDHC or SDXC memory cards.
UHS-I vs UHS-II – There are now UHS-II memory cards but the GoPro cameras do not have the hardware to take advantage of these cards. They will still work, but will just run at UHS-I speeds.
GoPro SD Card Capacity
The size of the memory card you can use for your GoPro depends on which model you have.
New GoPro cameras can use memory cards up to 512GB and the Hero 11 can go up to 2TB.
Older GoPro cameras such as the GoPro Hero7 could use 256GB memory cards but there was a potential that they would cause problems when mounted to the Karma gimbal and you would have to drop down to a 64GB memory card.
This list shows the memory card reviews for each GoPro model as well as the max SD card capacity for GoPro cameras.
*Note: GoPro is officially now saying all their models since the Hero 7 accepts 512GB cards on their website. However, expect some compatibility issues with 512GB cards in some of the older GoPro cameras.
Camera Model | Max Size |
GoPro Hero 11 | 2TB |
GoPro Hero 10 | 512GB |
GoPro Hero 9 | 256GB |
GoPro Hero 8 | 256GB |
GoPro Hero 2018 | 128GB |
GoPro Hero 7 | 128GB |
GoPro Hero 6 | 256GB |
GoPro Hero 5 | 128GB |
What Size Memory Card Is Best for GoPro?
You will be limited by the max size of the memory card based on the model of GoPro (see the chart above). Also, starting with the Hero 9 GoPro cameras now offer higher bitrates of 100Mbps with an average bitrate of around 96Mb/s, and starting with the Hero 11 cameras offer a bitrate of 120Mbps.
GoPro Hero Record Times | Chart
Here is a handy chart on record times in minutes based on the different record formats.
On most GoPro cameras today, you have the option to record at a higher bitrate or a lower bitrate. The camera defaults to a lower bitrate on many of the presets so make sure you turn that up when programming your own recording preset.
Times are in minutes.
Format | Frame Rate | Bitrate | 32GB | 64GB | 128GB |
5.3k Hero 11 | 120, 60, 30, 24 | 120Mbps | 36 min | 71 min | 142 min |
4k, 5k Hero 10 | 120, 60, 30, 24 | 100Mbps | 43 min | 85 min | 171 min |
4k, 5k Hero 9 | 30, 24 | 96 Mbps | 44 min | 89 min | 178 min |
4k | 60 | 78 Mbps | 55 min | 109 min | 219 min |
4k | 30 / 24 | 67 Mbps | 64 min | 127 min | 255 min |
2.7k | 120 | 78 Mbps | 55 min | 109 min | 219 min |
2.7k | 60 | 67 Mbps | 64 min | 127 min | 255 min |
2.7k | 30 / 24 | 45 Mbps | 95 min | 190 min | 379 min |
1080 | 240 | 78 Mbps | 55 min | 109 min | 219 min |
1080 | 120 | 67 Mbps | 64 min | 127 min | 255 min |
1080 | 60 / 30 / 24 | 45 Mbps | 95 min | 190 min | 379 min |
Best SD Cards For GoPro Cameras For Each Model
Each camera has its own personality when it comes to dealing with memory cards. Use these guides to find the best cards for any particular model, or to see if there are any potential firmware issues that cause strange behavior.
Camera Model |
GoPro Hero11 |
GoPro Hero10 |
GoPro Hero 9 |
GoPro Hero 8 |
GoPro Hero 2018 |
GoPro Hero 7 |
GoPro Hero 6 |
GoPro Hero 5 |