eMMC VS SSD: Which Should You Choose?

eMMC vs. SSD storage: What's the difference?

▍What is eMMC storage?

MMC storage is considered the forerunner to another widely used storage format known as SD storage which is widely used in various devices such as cameras, smartphones, and many others. eMMC (embedded MMC) is a type of embedded storage commonly used in smartphones and budget laptops. eMMC chips are typically soldered directly onto the motherboard, rather than being offered as a removable SD or microSD card.

eMMC storage was commonly used in smartphones and also found in budget-friendly laptops. It is made up of NAND flash memory, which is commonly used in USB thumb drives, SD cards, and SSDs. This type of memory does not need power to store data.

The affordability of eMMC storage makes it a great choice for cost-conscious hardware, such as budget-friendly PCs. However, it was also discovered in certain high-end devices where manufacturers aimed to minimize expenses.

▍What is SSD?

An SSD is a type of data storage system that uses solid-state NAND flash memory, providing non-volatile and persistent storage. They serve as a modern alternative to the conventional hard disk drive (HDD) and carry out similar tasks, but at a significantly higher speed. Furthermore, SSDs are highly durable due to their lack of moving components, making them less susceptible to damage.

SSDs have a different connection to the motherboard compared to eMMC. They can be connected via SATA (Serial ATA) 3, mSATA, SATA Express or PCIe interface. The advantage of SSDs is that they can be easily removed and upgraded. SSDs are available in a wide range of form factors and connection protocols to cater to the diverse requirements of users. They can be found in laptops, desktops, and tablets as a common occurrence.

▍eMMC storage vs SSD: Speed, capacity, and cost

▶🚀 Speed

In comparison to SSD, eMMC storage is typically sluggish, allowing manufacturers to offer devices at a reduced price point. v5.1A, the most recent iteration of eMMC storage, exhibits transfer velocities of around 400MB/s, which is comparable to the performance of a SATA SSD. In contrast, at least 3,500MB/s are achievable for read speeds with a PCIe NVMe SSD that adheres to the PCIe 3.0 standard. The enhanced PCIe 4.0 standard increases the performance by over twofold. Although the write rates are marginally reduced in both scenarios, they remain considerably quicker than eMMC storage.

▶💾 Capacity

Either 32GB or 64GB storage are the most common sizes of eMMC storage, but you can also find 128GB and 256GB storage. SSDs are available in much larger sizes, usually from 128GB up to multiple terabytes.

▶💰 Cost

The cost of eMMC and SSD have a direct ratio with the size of storage capacity. The cost of an SSD varies widely, ranging from $15 to over $200. For eMMC storage, for example, a 64GB Kingston eMMC module is priced around $11, while a 32GB version is almost half that at $6. While there might be slight price differences between manufacturers, prices for the same storage capacity are generally consistent across different brands.

Do you need to change eMMC to SSD?

Although SSD is a better option as a storage component for many devices, not all fit it.

eMMC storage is typically used in lower-cost, lower-performance devices where cost savings are crucial. Such as:

SSDs are preferred for medium to high-performance devices where speed and reliability are important. Suitable applications include:

How to replace eMMC with SSD

For most light laptop users, if you want to download more stuff and enjoy better performance, an SSD is a better choice. To replace eMMC with SSD, you can use clone software to transfer all data to your new SSD safely. Here we recommend AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, a disk and partition management tool whose “Clone Disk” function can help you clone original disk to the target disk quickly without data loss.

AOMEI Partition Assistant

The Best Windows Disk Partition Manager and PC Optimizer

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Step 1. Download and install AOMEI Partition Assistant and click “Clone Disk” in the right menu.

Step 2. Then, you need to select an appropriate method to copy disk. Here, choose “Clone Disk Quickly”, click Next.

Step 3. Select the source disk and hit on “Next”.

Step 4. Then select the SSD drive as the destination disk and click “Next”. You can tick "Optimize the performance of SSD” to improve the reading and writing speed of SSD. 

Step 5. In this step, this program allows you to adjust the partition size on the destination disk. When you're cloning to smaller SSD, the first option is grayed out.

Step 6. It will back to the main interface, click “Apply” to submit all operations.

Final words

In all, eMMC and SSD are both nice storage components for users. The problem is which one is more suitable for your devices. If you’re using small devices, eMMC is enough. But if you wish to upgrade your laptop storage, SSD is a better choice.

Besides cloning your disk, you can also use AOMEI Partition Assistant to adjust your disk resources. For example, you can resize C drive without deleting other partitions, clean junk files, check disk status and perform disk maintenance routine, and also convert disk between MBR and GPT without cleaning your disk data… With this handy tool, you can always safely and efficiently manage your disks and other storage devices.

FAQs about eMMC vs SSD

1. Is 64gb eMMC enough for a laptop?
Whether 64GB of eMMC storage is enough for a laptop depends on your usage. If you mainly use your laptop for browsing the web, streaming videos, and using lightweight applications, 64GB might be enough. However, if you plan to store a lot of files, install numerous applications, or work with large media files, you'll likely find 64GB insufficient.

2. What are the disadvantages of eMMC?
eMMC storage typically comes in smaller capacities compared to HDDs or SSDs. This limited capacity may not be sufficient for you. And compare to hard disk, it has slower boot times, longer application loading times, and shorter lifespan.

3. Can I upgrade eMMC storage?
In most cases, eMMC storage is soldered directly onto the laptop's motherboard, making it non-upgradable. This means you cannot easily replace or upgrade the eMMC storage capacity of the laptop. However, some laptops may come with a slot for an additional SSD or support for external storage options such as SD cards or USB drives. If your laptop has one of these options, you can still expand your storage capacity by using an external storage device.