CFexpress vs. SD Card
Comparing 2 standards across 13 specifications. 13 key differences identified.
CFexpress is an ultra-high-speed removable solid-state storage media standard developed by the CompactFlash Association (CFA). Built directly on the PCI Express (PCIe Gen 3/Gen 4) physical bus and NVM Express (NVMe) command set, it is the dominant storage medium for high-end professional digital cinema, mirrorless photography, and broadcast video.
The SD Card (Secure Digital) is the global standard removable flash memory form factor established in 1999 by Panasonic, SanDisk, and Toshiba (SD Association). Measuring 32.0 × 24.0 × 2.1 mm, it spans capacity generations from original SDSC (up to 2GB) and SDHC (up to 32GB) to SDXC (up to 2TB) and SDUC (up to 128TB).
Specification Comparison Table
13 Parameters| Parameter / Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Governing Body
|
CompactFlash Association (CFA) | SD Association (SDA) |
|
Underlying Storage Architecture
|
PCI Express (PCIe Gen 3 / Gen 4 / Gen 5) + NVM Express (NVMe v1.3/1.4) | — |
|
Type A Dimensions & Bus
|
20.0 × 28.0 × 2.8 mm | 1-lane PCIe (1 GB/s PCIe 3.0 / 2 GB/s PCIe 4.0) | — |
|
Type B Dimensions & Bus
|
38.5 × 29.6 × 3.8 mm | 2-lane PCIe (2 GB/s PCIe 3.0 / 4 GB/s PCIe 4.0) | — |
|
Type C Dimensions & Bus
|
54.0 × 72.0 × 4.4 mm | 4-lane PCIe (4 GB/s PCIe 3.0 / 8 GB/s PCIe 4.0) | — |
|
Type B XQD Compatibility
|
Physically identical exterior shell to Sony XQD (host backward-compatible via firmware) | — |
|
Operating Power Tiers
|
Up to 1.7W (Type A) / Up to 3.0W (Type B) / Up to 6.0W (Type C) | — |
|
Physical Dimensions
|
— | 32.0 mm × 24.0 mm × 2.1 mm |
|
Pin Configurations
|
— | 9 pins (UHS-I / Legacy) / 17 pins (UHS-II / UHS-III dual-row) / 19 pins (SD Express) |
|
Capacity Standards
|
— | SDSC (≤2GB), SDHC (4–32GB), SDXC (64GB–2TB), SDUC (2TB–128TB) |
|
Standard File Systems
|
— | FAT12/16 (SDSC), FAT32 (SDHC), exFAT (SDXC / SDUC) |
|
Operating Voltages
|
— | 2.7V–3.6V (Standard) / 1.8V (UHS-I/II signal voltage) |
|
Mechanical Features
|
— | Write-Protect slide notch (left edge), 45-degree polarized corner keying |