The best NVMe SSDs
272 drives meet the rule below, 86 of them with a live Amazon listing. Every NVMe drive here, across PCIe 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0, ranked by rated sequential read. NVMe is the protocol; the PCIe generation and the controller decide how fast a given drive actually is.
What is on this list
A drive is included when it meets all of:
- NVMe protocol, any PCIe generation
- Any capacity and form factor
What this data does not tell you:
- PCIe generation sets the ceiling, not the delivered speed. A good Gen3 drive can beat a weak Gen4 one on random I/O.
- A drive runs at the lower of its own generation and the slot's, so a Gen5 drive in a Gen3 slot performs as Gen3.
Ranked by read
The top 20 of 272 are listed. The full SSD catalogue filters on every spec.
| # | Model | Tier | Controller | Read MB/s | TBW | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sabrent ROCKET 4 PLUS 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Top-tier | Phison PS5018-E18 (TSMC 12nm, 8 Ca | 7200 | 2800 | Check price on Amazon |
| 2 |  Samsung 980 PRO 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Top-tier | SAMSUNG ELPIS CONTROLLER (Samsung | 7000 | 1200 | Check price on Amazon |
| 3 |  TeamGroup CARDEA A440 M.2 PCIe 1TB, 2TB | Top-tier | Phison PS5018-E18 (TSMC 12nm, 8 Ca | 7000 | 1400 | Check price on Amazon |
| 4 |  Samsung 960 PRO M.2 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Top-tier | SAMSUNG POLARIS CONTROLLER (5-Core | 3500 | 1200 | Check price on Amazon |
| 5 |  ADATA XPG GAMMIX S70 1TB, 2TB | Top-tier | Innogrit IG5236 “Rainier” Controll | 7400 | 1480 | Find on Amazon |
| 6 |  ADATA XPG GAMMIX S70 BLADE 1TB, 2TB | Top-tier | Innogrit IG5236 “Rainier” Controll | 7400 | 1480 | Find on Amazon |
| 7 |  Patriot VIPER GAMING VP4300 1TB, 2TB | Top-tier | Innogrit IG5236 “Rainier” Controll | 7400 | 2000 | Find on Amazon |
| 8 |  Mushkin GAMMA 1TB, 2TB | Top-tier | Phison PS5018-E18 (TSMC 12nm, 8 Ca | 7175 | 1400 | Find on Amazon |
| 9 |  Addlink S95 1TB, 2TB | Top-tier | Phison PS5018-E18 (TSMC 12nm, 8 Ca | 7100 | 1400 | Find on Amazon |
| 10 |  Western Digital WD BLACK™ SN850 NVMe 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Top-tier | WD_BLACK G2 | Sandisk Modelo 20-82 | 7000 | 1200 | Find on Amazon |
| 11 |  Anacomda i4 1TB, 2TB | Top-tier | Phison PS5018-E18 (TSMC 12nm, 8 Ca | 7000 | — | Find on Amazon |
| 12 |  Corsair Gen4 PCIe MP600 Pro 1TB, 2TB | Top-tier | Phison PS5018-E18 (TSMC 12nm, 8 Ca | 7000 | 1400 | Find on Amazon |
| 13 | Top-tier | Phison PS5018-E18 (TSMC 12nm, 8 Ca | 7000 | 1400 | Find on Amazon | |
| 14 |  Galax HALL OF FAME EXTREME 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Top-tier | Phison PS5018-E18 (TSMC 12nm, 8 Ca | 7000 | — | Find on Amazon |
| 15 |  Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 7000s 1TB, 2TB | Top-tier | Phison PS5018-E18 (TSMC 12nm, 8 Ca | 7000 | 1400 | Find on Amazon |
| 16 |  Gigabyte AORUS Gen4 7000s Premium 1TB, 2TB | Top-tier | Phison PS5018-E18 (TSMC 12nm, 8 Ca | 7000 | 1400 | Find on Amazon |
| 17 |  MSI SPATIUM M480 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Top-tier | — | 7000 | 1400 | Find on Amazon |
| 18 |  Reletech P400 EVO 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Top-tier | Phison PS5018-E18 (TSMC 12nm, 8 Ca | 7000 | — | Find on Amazon |
| 19 |  Western Digital WD BLACK™ AN1500 NVMe 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Top-tier | SANDISK 20-82-00705 (WD Custom Con | 6500 | — | Find on Amazon |
| 20 |  Gigabyte AORUS RAID SSD 4X512GB | Top-tier | Phison PS5012-E12 + (RAID Built in | 6300 | 700 | Find on Amazon |
NVMe versus SATA
SATA tops out near 550 MB/s because of the interface, not the flash. NVMe removes that limit and cuts command overhead, which is why even an entry-level NVMe drive transfers large files several times faster than the best SATA drive.
What separates NVMe drives from each other
Three things: the PCIe generation, whether there is a DRAM cache on board, and the NAND type. Generation sets the peak, DRAM keeps random performance steady under load, and TLC versus QLC decides how the drive behaves once the fast SLC cache is exhausted.
Choosing a generation
Gen3 remains sensible for laptops and older boards. Gen4 is the volume tier and the default for a new build. Gen5 is for peak sequential throughput, at a price and heat premium that most workloads never recover.
Common questions
Is NVMe worth it over SATA for everyday use?
For booting and launching applications the difference is modest. For copying large files, working with video, or anything that moves gigabytes at a time, NVMe is several times quicker.
Will an NVMe drive work in any M.2 slot?
Not always. Some older M.2 slots are SATA-only, and a few are wired with fewer PCIe lanes. Check the board manual for which slots are NVMe and how many lanes each has.