eMMC vs. SSD Storage: What's The Difference, And Which Is Better?

If a laptop you’re interested in is advertising eMMC instead of SSD storage, we’ve got you covered.

Buying a laptop or PC has become a minefield in recent years. With so many innovations and upgrades releasing annually, buying a cheap laptop for studying or a laptop for working-from-home is not as easy as you may think.

So, if you’re wondering what storage option to go for, and have already ruled out HDD, here’s a look at eMMC and SSD.

What’s the Difference Between eMMC and SSD Storage?

eMMC is a form of flash memory often found in cheaper devices. Its predecessor, MMC (or MultiMediaCard), remains a common component in SD Cards and USB drives. What distinguished eMMC is that it is embedded – hence the ‘e’ – onto the motherboard of a device.

SSD storage is a type of solid-state memory connected to the motherboard, rather than embedded. It also features flash memory but has higher-quality chips, and a greater number of them, compared to eMMC.

Most laptops in 2021 utilise SSD storage, along with some HDD storage. Very few feature eMMC. eMMC memory is more prevalent in mobile devices, or low-end laptops.

Is eMMC better than SSD?

In your quest for better storage, SSD is the best option compared to eMMC.

SSD storage features more NAND gates than its eMMC counterparts. This allows for more simultaneous transfers of information that ensure SSDs are a faster type of storage.

While the speed of an SSD varies depending on whether it is NVME, SATA or PCIe, the data transfer speeds of the slower SSDs are still faster than the top eMMC storage.

Of course, there are some advantages to an eMMC – mainly its cost compared to SSD. This makes eMMC the more affordable storage option, which is why it features in some of the best cheap laptops around.

eMMC is, however, also cheaper because it comes in smaller sizes. SSDs usually offer 128GB or 256GB of storage, while 64GB and 32GB eMMC storage is more common.

Of course, for devices such as Chromebooks, this smaller size is suitable, as much of the storage comes via Google Drive’s cloud storage. But if you’re weighing up whether to choose a laptop or Chromebook and want better storage, not much can beat an SSD.

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