eMMC vs SSD: What's the Difference and How to Replace eMMC with SSD

Updated by

Linda 

Written by

Linda 

Last updated on April 22, 2024

With both eMMC and SSD storage employing NAND flash technology, you might find some laptops using either eMMC or SSD storage. However, do you have a general idea about these two? If your computer or laptop needs storage expansion or upgrade, which storage drive would you invest in?

To illustrate the significant differences between eMMC and SSD storage, we've compared both in terms of storage components, capacity, price, speed, applications, and performance.

Frequently Asked Questions about eMMC and SSD:

1. What is eMMC
2. What is SSD
3. eMMC vs SSD: Which is Better
4. Can eMMC be Upgraded
5. How to Replace eMMC with SSD

What is eMMC?

eMMC stands for Embedded MultiMediaCard. If you're familiar with Secure Digital (SD) devices, you should know that eMMC comes from MMC, which was the predecessor to SD cards. While MMC still exists, we hear more about eMMC these days.

Technically, eMMC includes both a controller and NAND flash memory, both on the same integrated circuit. Because it is based on flash, it requires almost no power to retain data. “Embedded” means that the eMMC storage chip is soldered directly onto a device's motherboard, like a part of its body.

eMMC is known for being affordable, compact, power-efficient, low-noise, and rugged, and is commonly found in smartphones, tablets, or some budget laptops, notebooks, or 2-in-1 devices.

"SSD" stands for "Solid State Drive," which in Chinese is "固态硬盘." It's a type of hard drive that uses solid-state memory chips for storage. Compared to regular mechanical hard drives, SSDs have faster read and write speeds, lower latency, and they're more resistant to shocks.

SSDs, or solid-state drives, are another NAND flash product. Though they both use NAND flash, SSDs and eMMCs are designed for very different applications, because they are based on different technologies.

First, an SSD comprises a flash controller, multiple NAND flash chips, and a circuit board. Second, it connects via a proprietary or SATA power cable, and operates as a removable/auxiliary storage device in the computer's storage hierarchy.

Though smaller, thinner, and lighter than an HDD, an SSD is still larger and heavier than an eMMC in terms of both volume and weight. More importantly, it offers greater capacity. As a result, SSDs are typically found in feature-rich laptops and desktops.

Next, we will continue discussing the differences between eMMC and SSD. If you're interested in learning more about the distinctions between eMMC and HDD, you can click on the link:

eMMC vs HDD: Which Is Better? What Are the Differences?

HDD and eMMC are two different types of hard drives. Which one should you choose for your laptop? When should you use an HDD or eMMC? Is eMMC better than an HDD?

eMMC vs SSD: Which Is Better?

From the broad introduction of each term, we understand that eMMC and SSD flash storage are developed for specific markets. When choosing one for your storage device, you should pay attention to three main differences, including speed, capacity, and price. Indeed, nothing can meet your own needs.

1. Transfer speed

In terms of energy consumption, SSDs stand out as the fattest of all storage devices, Consuming more power, relative to their capacity, than hard disk drives (HDDs), hybrid drives, and other forms of storage.

While eMMC data transfer speeds have been increasing, it's limited by its defined 1-bit, 4-bit, and 8-bit bus widths, which are approaching their maximum. It's not that eMMC is slow, but it's difficult to get much beyond 400 MB/s. Not so for an SSD.

eMMC transfer rates:

• eMMC 4.41, 104 MB/s
• eMMC 4.5, 200 MB/s
• eMMC 5.0, 400 MB/s

Faster SSD data transfer rates:

Reading speeds vary from 500MB/s to over 3,000MB/s
Writing speeds vary from 300MB/s to over 3,000MB/s

Data Capacity

By combining NAND flash memory and a controller on a single chip, eMMC simplifies memory design and reduces the number of components, which is why it is widely used in phones and ultrathin laptops. But its limited specifications generally make it unsuitable for large-file or big-data storage.

eMMC capacity:

• Popular capacities: 32 GB and 64 GB
• Available capacities: 128 GB and 256 GB

* High capacity storage over 128GB is rare in current markets
* eMMC supports storage expansion via microSD card

Since SSDs were introduced to improve performance in booting up, loading files, and running programs compared to HDDs, they also can't fall too far behind in storage capacity. The most common SSD operating storage is at least 128 GB, which is even larger than many HDDs.

Solid State Drive capacity:

Between 128 GB and 1 TB

Price

If you look at some of the online reviews, there's an axiom about SSDs, which is: the faster it is, the more it costs. It's almost like it's written on the label, the pricing scheme for SSDs. How expensive are we talking?

About 20 cents per gigabyte. For the same money, a terabyte of SSD will get you four to many more terabytes of HDD.

In comparison, you'll spend much less on an eMMC device, per unit of storage and total capacity. Even the 128GB and 256GB variants are undeniably cheaper.

Can the eMMC be upgraded?

In almost every major way, an eMMC is not as good as an SSD. For budget laptops, though, eMMC offers a reasonable price point to get you online or streaming videos. Is eMMC better than an SSD now? The fact is, without firmware, multiple flash memory chips, quality hardware, and a fast interface, eMMC will likely remain limited in its application for ultra-portables and consumer electronics for a long time to come.

In short, SSDs are larger, faster, and ideal for full-featured laptops and desktops that need to boot operating systems quickly, run games, process huge files, or store vast amounts of data.

If your eMMC on the PC is not enough for you currently, can you upgrade eMMC to SSD without any hassle? If you are planning to do this now, go find a complete disk cloning tool.

How to Replace eMMC with an SSD

When you decide to replace eMMC storage with an SSD that has a lower price every year, don't hesitate to download the Partition Manager Professional on your laptop. It's a versatile disk and partition manager that allows Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP users to manage various hard drives in different ways.

You can have full control over storage, whether it's HDD, SSD, eMMC, USB flash drive, memory card, or any device that can be properly recognized by the Windows operating system, by adjusting/moving partitions, formatting, deleting, wiping data, migrating OS to SSD/HDD, copying/cloning disks or partitions, and more.

The key is that you'll use the “cloning” feature to replace the current eMMC with an extra SSD. As long as you follow the user guide carefully, the entire process shouldn't take much time or effort.

Step 1: Select the source disk.

1. Go to the "Clone" tab, click "Clone System Disk" or "Clone Data Disk," then click "Next" to proceed. 2. Select the source disk that you want to copy or clone, then click "Next."

Select the disk you want to copy:

Step 2: Choose the target disk.

Select the target HDD/SSD and click “Next” to proceed.

Review the warning, and then click Yes to confirm.

Step 3: Choose your clone mode.

You can customize the disk layout by choosing either Auto Adjust Disk or Clone to Source.

Step 4: Click "Start" to begin the cloning process.

To take full advantage of the new SSD and retire the eMMC, make sure that your laptop has only one storage drive (the new SSD) installed. Otherwise, Windows will mark one of the drives as offline. For details, see the link below.

How to Upgrade eMMC to M.2 [Step-by-Step Guide]

Can you upgrade eMMC to M.2 NVMe SSD? Of course! This article offers you a step-by-step guide on how to upgrade eMMC to M.2. Start learning now.