Best Budget NVMe M.2 SSDs in 2023: Fast Storage For Less
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In actual user experience terms, the difference between a budget NVMe SSD and a high-end M.2 drive is not as large as the specifications suggest. While you will see a huge difference when swapping your old hard drive for any SSD, the same cannot be said for upgrading your SSD to a faster one.
But there are of course differences between entry-level SATA and PCIe/NVMe drives. When you are building a new PC and have an M.2 slot to spare, you will want to use it. And if you prefer not to spend a substantial part of your budget on storage, there are now quite a few affordable PCIe/NVMe SSDs to choose from.
Most manufacturers highlight maximum sequential performance in their marketing, as these numbers are easy to understand and compare. However, when you look at seemingly slow drives like the now-discontinued Intel Optane series – which often outperformed much faster drives (specs-wise) – you will notice that sequential transfer rates are just one factor. In the real world, random IOPS performance and latency are often more important.
Best Value Gen3/Gen4 NVMe SSDs
We will start with the conclusion before going into more detail. Based on our testing and others, these would be our top choices for the best affordable M.2 SSDs in 2023. (Note that PCIe Gen4 offers twice the bandwidth of Gen3 and is available in systems based on Ryzen 3000/11th-gen Intel Core processors or later.)
Last update on 2023-09-30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Our current budget favorite in the Gen3 space is the WD Blue SN570, which offers better performance than its SN550 predecessor at a similar price point. Much like the SN550 and other low-cost NVMe SSDs, the SN570 is DRAMless, but the latter’s specs have been vastly improved across the board to compete with Samsung’s non-Pro 980.
Among the affordable NVMe SSDs in the Gen4 space, some entry-level options are based on cheaper QLC NAND memory chips, but there are exceptions. Launched in 2022, the WD Black SN770 is a DRAM-less PCIe 4.0 SSD that offers very impressive performance considering its modest price tag. Since it’s based on high-quality TLC Flash chips, it also comes with far better endurance ratings compared to QLC-based alternatives.
Best Affordable Gen4 NVMe M.2 SSDs
Now that Intel and AMD both offer PCI-Express 5.0-enabled platforms in the enthusiast segment – and PCIe Gen4 across all price ranges – it’s safe to say that Gen4 has gone mainstream. Compared to Gen3, Gen4 doubles the bandwidth for devices that can use it. At this point, those devices are primarily Gen4 M.2 SSDs, which were initially confined to the high-end space, where pricing is less of a concern.
This has changed along with mainstream Gen4 adoption, as Gen3 drives are now being replaced by increasingly affordable Gen4 SSDs. These drives are, on average, a bit slower than their high-end counterparts. This is particularly true when it comes to sequential performance.
But again, random IOPS is usually a better proxy for real-world performance – and these numbers can be quite impressive even in the budget range. As a result, we are particularly interested in this metric when looking at budget SSDs. Another factor is the type of NAND memory used, where the TLC type is preferable to QLC from both an endurance and a performance standpoint.
Best Value: TLC-Based Gen4 SSDs
| Budget TLC Gen4 SSDs | Product (1TB capacity) | Max. sequential read/write (MB/s) | 4K random read/write performance (IOPS) | DRAM | NAND Type | Endurance/ Warranty | Latest Price* | Check Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | WD Black SN770 | 5150/4900 | 740K/800K | N/A | TLC | 600 TBW/ 5-Year | $59.99 | Amazon Newegg Amazon UK |
 | Silicon Power US70 | 5500/4400 | 750K/750K | DDR4 | TLC | 1800 TBW/ 5-Year | Price not available | Amazon Newegg Amazon UK |
 | PNY XLR8 CS3040 | 5600/4300 | N/A | DDR4 | TLC | 1800 TBW/ 5-Year | $100.86 | Amazon Newegg Amazon UK |
 | WD Blue SN850 | 4150/4150 | 600K/750K | N/A | TLC | 600 TBW/ 5-Year | $88.09 | Amazon Amazon UK |
 | MSI Spatium M470 | 5000/4400 | 600K/600K | DDR4 | TLC | 1600 TBW/ 5-Year | $49.99 | Amazon Newegg Amazon UK |
 | Sabrent Rocket Gen4 | 5000/4400 | 750K/750K | DDR4 | TLC | 1800 TBW/ 5-Year | $59.99 | Amazon Newegg Amazon UK |
 | Addlink S90 Lite | 5000/4000 | 780K/800K | N/A | TLC | N/A/ 5-Year | N/A | N/A |
 | Crucial P5 Plus | 6600/5000 | 630K/700K | DDR4 | TLC | 600 TBW/ 5-Year | $53.99 | Amazon Newegg Amazon UK |
 | WD Black SN750 SE | 3600/2830 | 525K/640K | N/A | TLC | 600 TBW/ 5-Year | $46.00 | Amazon Newegg Amazon UK |
Other than the excellent WD Black SN770, drives based on the Phison E16 controller (previously used in early high-end Gen4 SSDs) are now making a noteworthy comeback in the affordable PCIe Gen4 SSD space. These include the MSI Spatium M470, PNY XLR8 CS3040, and the Silicon Power US70. While not quite on par with today’s best NVMe drives, the TLC-based mainstream models offer good value – not least due to the very high endurance (TBW) ratings. The brand-new WD Blue SN580 is also an interesting budget option, but at this time it is only slightly cheaper than the more capable SN770.
Another relative newcomer in 2023 is the Addlink S90 Lite, which uses the Gen4 Phison E21 controller and TLC chips with excellent results.
Budget QLC (or Unspecified) Gen4 SSDs
| Budget QLC Gen4 SSDs | Product (1TB capacity) | Max. sequential read/write (MB/s) | 4K random read/write performance (IOPS) | DRAM | NAND Type | Endurance/ Warranty | Latest Price* | Check Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Corsair MP600 Core XT | 5000/3500 | 700K/900K | N/A | QLC | 250 TBW/ 5-Year | $57.99 | Amazon Newegg Amazon UK |
 | MSI Spatium M461 | 5000/3200 | 630K/750K | N/A | QLC | 250 TBW/ 5-Year | $44.99 | Amazon Newegg Amazon UK |
 | Crucial P3 Plus | 5000/3600 | N/A | N/A | QLC | 220 TBW/ 5-Year | $44.99 | Amazon Newegg Amazon UK |
 | Solidigm P41 Plus | 4125/2950 | 225K/520K | N/A | QLC | 400 TBW/ 5-Year | Amazon Newegg Amazon UK |
|
 | PNY CS2140 | 3600/3200 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 400 TBW/ 5-Year | $39.99 | Amazon Newegg Amazon UK |
 | Kingston NV2 | 3500/2100 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 320 TBW/ 3-Year | $41.75 | Amazon Newegg Amazon UK |
 | Sabrent Rocket Q4 | 4700/1800 | 180K/450K | DDR4 | QLC | 200 TBW/ 5-Year | $185.53 | N/A |
In the more affordable QLC space, we find some Gen4 drives that offer about the same overall performance as high-end Gen3 models. That includes the PNY CS2140 and Kingston’s NV2, whereas the Crucial P3 Plus and Sabrent Rocket Q4 deliver significantly higher sequential transfer rates than what is possible with PCIe 3.0.
The Corsair MP600 Core XT and MSI’s Spatium M461 are an interesting pair of newcomers that have raised the performance bar for Gen4 QLC SSDs. Both use the Phison E21T controller, which we recently tested in the Corsair MP600 Mini and it performed well in the Steam Deck.
A downside of all QLC-based alternatives is that endurance ratings are noticeably worse compared to their TLC counterparts. In terms of performance, however, they are often more than decent.
Possibly Good Value: Early Phison E16 Drives
The first batch of Gen4 NVMe M.2 SSDs on the market all used the Phison E16 controller. Many of them are still around and may be worth looking into if you want Gen4 at a reasonable price. You can barely tell these SSDs apart as far as specifications go, as they all use nearly identical hardware.
| Gen4 E16 SSDs (1TB) | Product | Max. sequential read/write (MB/s) | 4K random read/write performance (IOPS) | NAND Type | Endurance/ Warranty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 (1TB) | 5000/4400 | 750K/700K | TLC | 1800 TBW |
 | Corsair MP600 Gen4 (1TB) | 4950/4250 | 680K/600K | TLC | 1800 TBW |
 | Patriot Viper VP4100 (1TB) | 5000/4400 | 800K/800K | TLC | 1800 TBW |
 | Seagate Firecuda 520 (1TB) | 5000/4400 | 760K/700K | TLC | 1800 TBW |
 | XPG Gammix S50 (1TB) | 5000/4400 | 750K/750K | TLC | 1800 TBW |
Admittedly, the Phison E16-based SSDs are not entirely identical. There are a few different firmware variants and some of the drives come with an included (and in some cases optional) heatsink. Nevertheless, although they are no longer on par with the fastest SSDs in the category, these drives have been almost universally well-received and the price remains the most important differentiator.
Best Affordable PCIe Gen3 NVMe M.2 Drives
Seeing as Gen4 SSDs are backward compatible, today’s differences in prices between budget Gen4 and Gen3 SSDs rarely motivate opting for the latter. But if you are looking to fill a PCIe 3.0 slot, it may still be worth a look.
| Budget SSDs (1TB version) | Product | Max. sequential read/write (MB/s) | 4K random read/write performance (IOPS) | DRAM | NAND Type | Endurance/ Warranty | Latest Price* | Check Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | WD Blue SN570 | 3500/3000 | 460K/460K | No | TLC | 600 TBW/ 5-Year | $44.24 | Amazon Newegg Amazon UK |
 | Samsung 980 | 3500/3000 | 500K/480K | No | TLC | 600 TBW/ 5-Year | $61.25 | Amazon Newegg Amazon UK |
 | Mushkin Helix-L | 2110/1700 | 240K/260K | No | TLC | 600 TBW/ 3-Year | $38.99 | Amazon Newegg Amazon UK |
 | Sabrent Rocket Q | 3200/2000 | 125K/500K | DDR3L | QLC | 260 TBW/ 5-Year | $49.99 | Amazon Newegg Amazon UK |
 | Seagate Barracuda Q5 | 2400/1700 | N/A | N/A | QLC | 274 TBW/ 3-Year | $48.50 | Amazon Newegg Amazon UK |
 | PNY CS2130 | 3500/1800 | N/A | DDR3 | QLC | N/A 5-Year | $68.99 | Amazon Newegg Amazon UK |
 | Intel 670p | 3500/2500 | 220K/330K | DDR3L | QLC | 370 TBW/ 5-Year | N/A | Newegg |
 | Patriot P300 | 2100/1650 | 290K/260K | No | TLC | 320 TBW/ 3-Year | $44.99 | Amazon Newegg Amazon UK |
 | Mushkin Pilot-E | 3500/3000 | 331K/353K | DDR3 | TLC | 600 TBW/ 3-Year | $54.95 | Amazon Newegg Amazon UK |
TLC Vs. QLC NAND – Why It Matters
Higher densities introduce durability and performance issues.
Although the incredibly high densities in today’s SSDs are a feat of engineering, the ability to write additional bits of data to each memory cell is not without downsides. The exponential increase in density from MLC (multi-level cell) via TLC (triple-level cell) to QLC (quad-level cell) NAND (Not-AND; a type of transistor logic gate) has introduced endurance and performance-related challenges.
- Firstly, all else being equal, QLC NAND by itself performs significantly worse compared to TLC. The higher density makes QLC slower and more error-prone, which must be corrected for by the manufacturers. This is partly accomplished by using an SLC (single-level cell) cache. Once this significantly faster cache is temporarily used up, the SSD will write directly to the QLC memory, which reduces performance to a fraction of the maximum sequential rates. This is an issue with TLC-based SSDs as well, but there it is much less pronounced.
- Secondly, the endurance ratings of affordable M.2 SSDs – QLC-based ones in particular – tend to be much lower compared to more expensive drives. This means that you can write less data to it as measured in TBW (terabytes written) before it runs out of warranty, which is mutually exclusive with the warranty in years. For the average gamer or office user, this is rarely an issue. But do keep the TBW ratings in mind if you work with e.g. video editing and other storage-intensive workloads.
However, the main problem with QLC SSDs so far is not that they are unreliable or slow (they’re not), but that they are still too expensive compared to their more durable and (usually) slightly faster TLC counterparts. As long as the price difference is small or non-existent – and it still is among the entry-level NVMe drives – there are few reasons to choose a QLC-based SSD over a TLC-based model.
Other Considerations When Buying an Entry-Level NVMe SSD in 2023
Some compromises have to be made to get the best possible value in the budget M.2 NVMe SSD space. Besides the small QLC/TLC price differences, it is also interesting to note that the difference between entry-level and mid-range drives is also relatively small. Adding around $20–30 to your budget might get you a DRAM-equipped SSD with a much higher TBW rating.
Another issue with the entry-level M.2 SSD market is that some manufacturers are not providing detailed performance specifications (or even an endurance rating in the case of PNY). Comparing SSDs based only on maximum sequential performance alone is not sufficient, as these numbers are not reliable indicators of real-world performance outside of specific tasks. For reference, see our performance comparison further down on this page.
Warranty terms are also important. While three years sounds reasonable enough compared to other product categories, we have come to expect five years for SSDs, so anything less does not inspire as much confidence.
Those objections aside, it should be mentioned that practically all modern M.2 SSDs – even in the budget segment – are considerably more reliable in general than hard drives as well as older SSDs from 5–10 years ago. Drive failures are very uncommon and, for the average user, a cheap NVMe SSD should last for the lifetime of the system, even if the TBW rating is relatively modest.
Entry-Level NVMe SSD (Real-World) Performance
Although high maximum sequential transfer rates are typically the manufacturers’ headline feature, these numbers do not scale with common real-world scenarios like loading apps and games. As the average user load in gaming/office use is more centered around reading and writing small chunks of data, factors like latency and random performance are arguably more interesting.
As our testing of the similarly affordable WD Blue SN550, Sabrent Rocket Q, Kingston NV2, and Samsung 980 reveals, these drives are actually not that far from competing with the theoretically much faster (and more expensive) WD Black SN850 or Samsung 990 Pro in benchmarks measuring loading times.
The Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers benchmark is a more accurate and practical alternative to a stopwatch for measuring level loading times. Five different levels are loaded during the benchmark, which then provides a total loading time. Here, any SSD (including external SSDs in an NVMe enclosure) will provide a significant and clearly noticeable boost compared to any mechanical hard drive. Note that the hard drive used in our comparison is a comparatively fast 7,200 rpm 3.5″ model.
Unsurprisingly, the high-end SN850X and 990 Pro have the shortest app start-up times in PC Mark 10, but it is interesting to note that the cheap Kingston NV2 is trailing by trivial amounts, and the same is true for Seagates Gen3 FireCuda 510. Samsung’s non-Pro 980 and the QLC-based Sabrent Rocket Q are trailing a bit, but it’s hardly a night-and-day difference.
Synthetic performance metrics from CrystalDiskMark tell a different story. These high-end, mid-range, and affordable NVMe SSDs perform about as you would expect from their specifications. 4K transfer rates, especially Q1T1 (minimum queue depth) correlate better with real-world scenarios, however. The average office or gaming PC workload is not centered around sequential transfers of large files, but more commonly the opposite.
Summary: Budget Gen4 SSDs Are Now a Great Option
The number of budget NVMe M.2 SSDs has greatly increased in the past couple of years and now makes up a fair share of the market. As of mid-2023, some observations stand out:
- PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSDs now offer the best value overall – Thanks to the introduction of affordable yet very capable DRAM-less SSDs like the WD Black SN770 and Addlink S90 Lite, there is better value than ever in the Gen4 space. In terms of real-world loading times and user experience, you are not missing out on much at all by opting for a more affordable drive. The price difference between Gen3 and Gen4 has also become largely insignificant.
- TLC NAND still trumps QLC in the price/performance race – Although it is technically impressive, the main selling point of QLC NAND is that the compromise between improved density and reduced endurance should result in lower prices. Unfortunately, the average price difference is still too small compared to the better-performing TLC counterparts.
- There is no need to compromise on endurance ratings or warranty terms – On that same note, you don’t have to settle for mediocre endurance ratings or reduced warrant periods. At this time, the price difference between drives with or without an industry-standard warranty (five years) and good endurance is often non-existent.
Do you have a different opinion of what makes the best affordable M.2 NVMe SSDs at this time? Don’t hesitate to share it in the comments.
*Prices are updated automatically at regular intervals but are subject to change between updates.
Great article with very useful comparisons and analyses. Essential shopping guide.
Thanks!