How to Compare Flash Drive Memory to a CD

A blank CD.

Comparing flash drive memory to that of CDs involves examining storage amount, price and use. Both mediums have advantages and disadvantages, depending on your needs.

Data Amounts

Flash drives, which give you better portability than CDs, come in capacities of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 GB, whereas CDs range anywhere from 700 to 800 MB, which is less than 1 GB.

Price

CDs are less expensive to purchase since they are available in packs of 3 to 100, but, per megabyte, flash drives offer the best value for your money. However, the more flash drive storage you want in a single unit, the higher the price you'll pay.

Reuse Value

The biggest advantage to using flash drive memory is you can add, erase and modify data in real time over and over; most blank CDs let you burn data to them only one time. Even CD-RWs have a limit of three or four uses before you have quality issues.

References

• Flashbay.com: Advantages of Flash Drives
• USB Flash Drives.us: Flash Drive vs. CD
• USB Memory Sticks.net: Flash Drives Compared to DVD/CDs