Adata SD700 External SSD The best cheap external SSD Capacity: 256GB, 512GB or 1TB Interface: USB 3.0 56.58 View at Amazon 405 Amazon customer reviews Great performance IP68 rating No USB Type-C The Adata SD700 will suit those looking for a rugged storage device that can provide ample capacity without costing too much.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
The best external hard drives are fast, dependable and easy to use.
When choosing the best external hard drive, your main consideration should be storage capacity: around 500GB will suit most people, though it is of course cheaper to buy smaller capacities.
To be on the safe side, you can also get larger ones at 1TB or greater particularly useful if you need to store lots of video, or large Raw files.
Also consider speed, portability, price and connectivity youll want to ensure your new external hard drive has the right connection port for your device.
The first generation rectangular USB-A ports are slowly being superseded by the newer, smaller reversible USB-C ports.
The best external hard drive and SSD deals Samsung T5 500GB USB 3.1 External SSD Drive: 178 74 at Amazon Save 104: Save over 58 on this sleek SSD drive, which is one of our top-rated external SSD drives.
Its compact and light, weighing just 51 grams, and is only 10.5mm thick.
And at this price, who are we to argue View Deal PNY Elite 960GB USB 3.1 Portable SSD: 138 117 at Amazon Save 21: Get 16 off this PNY Elite 960GB SSD, which has data transfer rates of 430mb per second and is ultra-compact.
It is USB 3.1 Gen 1 connectivity and is backwards compatible with USB 3.0 and USB 2.0.
View Deal The best external hard drives SSDs (Image credit: Amazon) 01.
Usb-C Raid Software Is Basic
Western Digital My Passport 4TB The overall best external hard drive for Mac or PC Capacity: 4TB Interface: USB 3.0 89.99 View at Amazon 89.99 View at Currys PC World 99.99 View at very.co.uk See all prices (33 found) 299 Amazon customer reviews Large capacity Good data transfer speeds WD backup software is basic When it comes to the best external hard drives, look no further than the Western Digital My Passport range.
This is the latest model to have launched, coming in sizes from 1TB to 4TB.
It features cloud storage and 256-AES encryption, along with WDs own backup software.
WD My Passport also make an SSD and an Ultra version).
And while it doesnt quite offer a similar speed to solid state drive devices, the Western Digital My Passport range hits a brilliant balance between high storage capacities and quick file transfers without knocking the price way up.
Samsung Portable SSD T5 The best high-speed external storage device Capacity: 250GB - 2TB Interface: USB 3.1 (Gen 2) 83.20 View at Amazon 87.82 View at Ebuyer 106.97 View at Laptops Direct See all prices (20 found) 31 Amazon customer reviews Very good performance Very high capacity Expensive The Samsung T5 SSD is a great performing storage device, reaching speeds up to 550 MBsec, making the most of the USB 3.1 specification.
It plugs directly into PCs and Macs with either a newer USB-C port or USB-A, is roughly the size of a matchbox and being a flash storage device, contains no moving parts, so can survive being dropped.
External SSDs may cost considerably more than hard disks, but the extra money and faster speeds go a long way.
Youll be able to easily load edit and save 4K video directly on the T5, which can be very slow with a USB hard disk, you can install applications onto it, or even run an entire alternative operating system off it at full speed, if youre so inclined.
SSDs give you less capacity for more money, so we dont recommend the T5 for backup.
Its better to have a bigger hard disk for that and use the T5 in more specialised situations that need all that lovely performance.
G-Technology G-RAID with Thunderbolt 3 The fastest and largest external hard drive for modern desktop Macs Capacity: 8TB - 24TB Interface: Thunderbolt 3, USB 3.1 Low Stock 549 View at Wex Photo Video 550 View at Amazon 709 View at Apple UK See all prices (5 found) 4 Amazon customer reviews Lashings of fast disk storage Easy removal of disks High price G-Technology has long been a favourite of Mac creative professionals, and no small part of this is the clever use of silver aluminium that perfectly matches Apples iMac casing, keeping desktop areas with a uniform appearance.
The latest incarnation of its G-RAID dual hard disk Thunderbolt product isnt just a smart performer, capable of 440 MBsec transfer rates in RAID 0, which is pretty incredible for hard disks, but it also gives you a few extras.
Theres an HDMI 2.2 port on the back, which routes a video signal for an external display over the G-RAIDs Thunderbolt 3 cable, which has plenty of bandwidth to spare even with the hard disk going at full speed.
It also has a USB-C port to connect to Macs or PCs that lack Thunderbolt.
Usb-C Raid Upgrade It With
Expect to pay a small fortune for the largest capacities, but thanks to the easy drive removal system, you could always buy a cheaper, lower capacity G-RAID and upgrade it with off-the-shelf hard disks yourself.
Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt The most affordable Thunderbolt external hard drive Capacity: 1TB, 2TB Interface: Thunderbolt, USB 3.0 165.99 View at Amazon 171.41 View at Ebuyer 179.71 View at BT Shop 225 Amazon customer reviews Comparatively low price Limited hard disk performance If you want to make use of your Thunderbolt port, then this Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt is a great option, as it provides twice the speeds of standard USB 3.0 drives.
Its also not especially expensive compared to other Thunderbolt drives.
Helpfully, the Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt also comes with a USB 3.0 port for connecting to computers that dont have a Thunderbolt port.
LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Drive 4TB A fast USB-C star Capacity: 4TB Interface: USB-C No price information Check Amazon 237 Amazon customer reviews Fast USB-C connection Great design Expensive You need USB-C ports to take advantage of speed The LaCie Porsche Design is one of the best external hard drives for Macs on sale today, and comes with both USB Type-C to Type-A and USB Type-C to Type-C connectors, making it a versatile way to expand the storage space of your Mac, regardless of what ports it has.
This is also one of the most stylishly-designed external hard drives on this list, and it comes with a large 4TB capacity (with other sizes available as well), and it performs brilliantly.