Best Software to Test Speed of Your USB Drives

There are several methods to test the speed of your USB drives. The first is the old fashion way by timing to see how long it takes for a 100MB file to transfer from an external drive to an internal drive. But this method is not perfect and there can be errors when wanting to compare different USB drives.
It’s much better to use a benchmarking software that will be more accurate than the standard do It yourself timing method. Every test designed for benchmarking is going to show some biases of its designer—big files versus small files, reading vs. writing, and so on. But any good program will still tell you what drives are faster than others.
You can read more about USB 3.0 here: New USB Speed Transfer Test
 
The following are some good USB drive speed software test programs you can use:
USB Flash Benchmark is a free software; you don’t need to install it to use it which is great. The user interface is cluttered, but not difficult. All you have to do is plug in the drive, select it, then click the relatively big Benchmark D: button.
When the testing is done, the information on screen is a bit overwhelming and confusing. Fortunately, a pop-up window provides a URL which will take you to your online results, including well-displayed Read and Write speeds.
When the testing is done, the information on screen is a bit overwhelming and confusing. Fortunately, a pop-up window provides a URL which will take you to your online results, including well-displayed Read and Write speeds.
 
HD Tune is a tool used for benchmarking purposes; the software lets you get a full diagnostic utility that can test the health of your drive. HD Tune can also scan for errors and the best part is the software is free or you can get the paid $35 HD Tune Pro version.
After you’ve installed and launched HD Tune, select the “Benchmark” tab, select your drive, click Start, and wait. HD Tune provides only one number, without differentiating between reading and writing. As a rule, HD Tune’s scores are a bit lower than USB Flash Benchmark’s Read scores.
 
CrystalDiskMark is a great choice for those wanting a software that can do everything. Using the CrystalDiskMark you can design customized tests. The software allows you to select a file, run different tests and many other features that other competitors don’t have. This is a software for the advanced user and can be completed for those you are just starting off.
 
You can also watch this YouTube video below to help with figuring out how to test the speed of you USB drives: