Last Updated on December 1, 2023 by Daniel Osakwe
Although, cloud storage is the new thing when talking about data storage, however, we can’t totally eradicate the use and importance of external hard drives. On our review today, we’ve highlighted and reviewed the best external hard drives in the market.
These drives are available in different storage capacities, sizes, transfer speeds, and prices. In addition, these external hard drives are portable, lightweight, easy to use, and durable.
So, without further ado, why not check out our top 12 external hard drives below.
Table of Contents
Buyers Guide: Things to Consider Before Buying External hard drives
Storage Capacity: Arguably the most critical assurance to consider when buying an external hard drive is an additional capacity limit. It’s horrendous buying a fast gadget with encryption and distant access if it’s not gigantic enough to truly store the information you need. Taking everything into account, you moreover would favor not to pay through the eye for a drive you’ll never anytime almost fill, so what size would it be fitting for you to go for? It depends upon what you have to do with it.
Transfer Speed: Size isn’t the only thing that is important, despite respect to external drives. Move speed is inconceivably noteworthy too in such a case, that you transfer records forward and backward to a monstrous drive constantly, you would favor not to need to believe that age for them will wrap up.
Portability and Durability: If you have to simply use your external drive for fortifications in your own one-of-a-kind home, you don’t need to consider accommodation and could even hope to organize associated capacity arrangements, for progressively invariable reinforcement decisions. In case you have to keep your drive with you when you’re making the rounds in any case, potability is of preeminent essentialness. You need it to be light and minimal enough to fit in a sack or pocket so it will in general be gotten to quickly and adequately without troubling the entirety of your day. Ideally, you need one that doesn’t need an external force interface too.
Best external hard drives Compilation Chart
| Products | Features | Where to Buy |
| Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC
|
Capacity: 2TB | Interface: USB 3.0 | Get it on Amazon |
| Western Digital My Passport Ultra 4TB
|
Capacity: 4TB | Interface: USB 3.0 | Get it on Amazon |
| Samsung T5 SSD
|
Capacity: 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Interface: USB Type-C | Get it on Amazon |
| Adata SD700
|
Capacity: 256GB, 512GB or 1TB | Interface: USB 3.0 | Get it on Amazon |
| WD My Book Duo 4TB
|
Capacity: 4TB | Interface: USB 3.0 x 2 | Get it on Amazon |
| Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt
|
Capacity: 1TB, 2TB | Interface: Thunderbolt, USB 3.0 | Get it on Amazon |
| Seagate Backup Plus Desktop Drive 5TB
|
Capacity: 5TB | Interface: USB 3.0 | Get it on Amazon |
| Western Digital My Passport Wireless Pro
|
Capacity: 2TB | Interface: USB 3.0 and Wi-Fi | Get it on Amazon |
| LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Drive 4TB
|
Capacity: 4TB | Interface: USB-C | Get it on Amazon |
| iStorage diskAshur 2TB
|
Capacity: 2TB | Interface: USB 3.0 | Get it on Amazon |
| G-Technology G-RAID with Thunderbolt 3
|
Capacity: 8TB – 24TB | Interface: Thunderbolt 3, USB 3.1 | Get it on Amazon |
| LaCie Rugged USB-C
|
Capacity: 1TB – 5TB| Interface: USB 3.1 | Get it on Amazon |
Best External Hard Drives for Mac
Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC
Capacity: 2TB | Interface: USB 3.0
In case you’re searching for the best external hard drive that will spare you a huge amount of money, Buffalo’s MiniStation Extreme NFC could be your match made in paradise. With similarity for both Mac and Windows machines, the Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC is truly adaptable and accompanies a rugged case that is residue and water-safe, alongside an implicit USB 3.0 link.
Not exclusively is your information kept shielded from thumps and drops with the rough shell, but on the other hand, it has 256-piece AES security highlights and NFC (Near Field Communication) includes too. Basically, it permits you to open the drive to get to your records rapidly and effectively by tapping the provided NFC card onto the drive’s body. Really slick!
| Pros | Cons |
| NFC security | Not the fastest drive |
| Rugged design |
Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt
On the off chance that you have a gadget with a Thunderbolt port, at that point this is an extraordinary alternative, as it gives double the paces of standard USB 3.0 drives. It’s additionally not particularly costly contrasted with other Thunderbolt drives.
The cost is held down because of its uses a conventional hard drive, as opposed to an SSD, which restricts the possible paces. It additionally accompanies a USB 3.0 port for individuals without admittance to Thunderbolt.
| Pros | Cons |
| Mac-formatted | Not SSD |
| Affordable |
Regardless of whether we had blended emotions on past forms of the My Passport Wireless, the 2016 “ace” variation of the external HDD reestablishes confidence in the Western Digital name. The structure, for one, has been updated and no longer takes after the My Passport Ultra or My Passport for Mac. Rather, there’s currently a more premium feel to the My Passport Wireless Pro.
It takes after an external DVD drive, however considering the locally available SD card space, don’t stress over getting it mistook for whatever else. For picture takers, this will make the Wireless Pro stick out. For every other person, there’s a gigantic 6,400mAh battery incorporated with the gadget. This leaves the drive alone utilized totally liberated from wires over 2.4GHz or 5GHz channels. At the point when it’s wired up, notwithstanding, don’t expect front-line association tech, as the My Passport Wireless Pro uses just USB Type-B to Type-A.
Totally missing is the best-in-class USB-C association. Where the My Passport Wireless Pro settles on moderateness, it’s ready to profit in pretty much every other territory. Obviously, not every person needs a remote hard drive or SD card uphold, yet for the individuals who do, it’s practically basic.
Read the Western Digital My Passport Wireless Pro review
| Pros | Cons |
| Good battery life | Expensive due to Wi-Fi features |
| Wireless AC | No USB-C |
G-Technology has for quite some time been a most loved of Mac innovative experts, and no little some portion of this is the sharp utilization of silver aluminum that consummately coordinates Apple’s iMac packaging, keeping work area zones with a uniform appearance. The most recent manifestation of its item isn’t only a shrewd entertainer, equipped for 440 MB/sec exchange rates in RAID 0, which is entirely extraordinary for hard plates, however it likewise gives you a couple of additional items.
There’s an HDMI 2.2 port on the back, which highways a video signal for an outer showcase over the G-RAID’s Thunderbolt 3 link, which has a lot of data transfer capacity to save even with the hard plate going at max throttle. It likewise has a USB-C port to associate with Macs or PCs that need Thunderbolt. Hope to pay a little fortune for the biggest limits, however, because of the simple drive evacuation framework, you could generally purchase a less expensive, lower limit G-RAID and update it with an off-the-rack hard drive yourself.
| Pros | Cons |
| Lashings of fast disk storage | very expensive |
| Easy removal of disks |
Best External Hard Drives for PS4
The most recent generation of the Western Digital My Passport Ultra scope of external hard drives is here, coming in sizes from 1TB to 4TB, and they’re among the best external hard drives out there. It highlights distributed storage and 256-AES encryption, alongside WD’s own product suite.
It is a decent entertainer with regards to information transfer speeds however doesn’t draw close to the head of the leaderboard.
Obviously, it doesn’t arrive at the maximum velocities of strong state outer drives, yet for external hard drives dependent on customary HDDs, this is the drive to consider.
| Pros | Cons |
| Suite of applications | Average performance |
| Large capacity |
On the off chance that you’re searching for irrefutably the biggest limit external hard drive, at that point the WD My Book Duo 4TB is the one to get, offering a sizeable 4TB (you can likewise get variants with up to 20TB) of an extra room more than two hard drives. You may forfeit a portion of the plentiful extra room, if it’s all the same to you losing a few, so you can set the drives up in a RAID exhibit, so you have document reinforcements of your records should one of the drives kick the bucket.
This USB 3.0 drive has a considerable lot of the highlights of a completely fledged NAS gadget (counting a significant expense), and on the off chance that you have a switch with a USB 3.0 port, you could utilize this as a system joined capacity gadget in its own right. The gadget, which accompanies a two-year guarantee, has 256-piece AES equipment encryption, and programmed backup programming (WD SmartWare Pro). Important that the nook utilized is completely workable and that WD ships the drive as of now pre-arranged for Windows clients (NTFS).
| Pros | Cons |
| Huge amounts of space | Need two USB 3.0 ports free |
| RAID support | Expensive |
Adata SD700 External SSD
The Adata SD700 will suit those searching for a tough stockpiling gadget that can give an abundant limit without being excessively expensive. It performs unbelievably well and remains the main SSD we’ve seen that is IP68 rated.
Thanks to the strong state drive that dwells in this external hard drive, it’s much quicker than external drives that use conventional turning hard drives, which implies that you’re getting extraordinary exchange speeds just as tough insurance.
It additionally comes in limits up to 1TB, so you don’t need to stress over passing up the extra room since it utilizes an SSD – this drive truly hits quite a few notes.
Read the Adata SD700 full review
| Pros | Cons |
| Great performance | No USB Type-C |
| IP68 rating |
In the event that you need to consolidate speed and limit, at that point the Seagate Backup Plus Desktop Drive 5TB is unquestionably worth considering. It arrives in a scope of sizes up to 8TB and it beats the opposition with regards to read and write speeds too.
On the head of this stockpiling and speed, you get an OK measure of significant serenity on account of Seagate’s lower than normal disappointment rates, particularly in greater limit hard drives. You additionally get backup software, and the drive is viable with the two Windows and Macs, however, it’s organized for Windows out of the container except if you go for a Mac-explicit hard drive – however, these are more costly.
| Pros | Cons |
| Very fast data transfer speeds | None found |
| Reliable |
Ordinarily, iStorage hard circles cook best to governments and worldwide associations around the globe, in light of current circumstances as well – they offer tight security like no different drives around. On the off chance that somebody attempts to alter your iStorage drive, you can design it to fall to pieces.
Furthermore, the information is encoded by the 256-piece AES convention, with numerous types of security set up to guarantee the miscreants don’t get in regardless of how tireless. At the point when you think about such additional security, then costs won’t frighten you off either. Of course, it’s as yet costly, multiple times the cost of an identical 2TB drive, and probably not going to be the most agile entertainer.
Yet, you’re paying for an item that is essentially uncrackable. Remember, however, you’ll get no assistance from the producer if things go astray and you lose your secret phrase.
| Pros | Cons |
| Rugged design | Expensive |
| Physical security |
You may have unearthed the LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Drive when scrutinizing the Apple site for USB-C adornments. There’s an explanation behind that: the Porsche Design ships with both USB Type-C to Type-An and USB Type-C to Type-C connectors, making it a commendable up-and-comer paying little mind to your arrangement. It’s costly for an external hard drive, don’t misunderstand us, particularly in case you’re in the market for the top-end 4TB alternative.
Then again, this is an HDD that could hypothetically yield rates of up to 5Gbps, in the event that it wasn’t frustrated by the restrictions of SMR (Shingled Magnetic Recording) innovation. Involving five 800GB platters in a 15mm structure factor, the LaCie Porsche Design Mobile is a great challenger to the Seagate M3, however, it’s quite greater in both weight and measurements. Certainly, it packs an additional accommodation factor as USB-C, yet it ought to be noticed that the Porsche Design Mobile is as yet restricted to USB 3.0 rates.
In addition, even an aluminum finish can’t keep it from conflicting with your Rose Gold MacBook. All things considered, LaCie’s contribution is the best USB-C outer HDD cash can purchase, at any rate for now.
| Pros | Cons |
| Great design | Expensive |
| Fast USB-C connection |
In the event that you’d preferably have an external hard drive that exploits strong state drive (SSD) speeds, at that point, the Samsung Portable SSD T5 is absolutely among the best external hard drive for you.
Samsung has gained notoriety for outside SSDs, on account of items like the T3, and the T5 expands on its forerunner by including a quick USB Type-C association that squeezes out each and every drop of execution from the strong state drive inside.
Obviously, it’s likewise in reverse viable with USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 if your laptop doesn’t have USB Type-C. Be ready to dish out more money, however, it’s well justified, despite all the trouble.
| Pros | Cons |
| Highly compact | Expensive |
| Incredibly fast |
LaCie Rugged USB-C
Capacity: 1TB – 5TB | Storage Type: Hard Disk | Connector: Type-C | Interface: USB 3.1
is right away conspicuous from its orange packaging, which is an elastic case that protects the drive from even medium-height drops up to 1.2m, alongside your valuable information. As indicated by Lacie it can evidently withstand the weight of a one-ton vehicle and is impervious to rain.
That settles on it an extraordinary decision for content creation when you’re making the rounds, regardless of whether you’re partaking in thrill seeker sports, venturing to the far corners of the planet, slightly jumpy or essentially cumbersome.
| Pros | Cons |
| Rugged design | Not everyone likes the orange casing |
| Durable |
How We Picked the Best External Hard Drives
We relied on the opinion of experts and feedback from clients based on three major factors: External hard drives for PS4, Macs, and Xbox One.
Before publishing this post, more facts and data about these external hard drives were gotten from further research and online reviews (both positive & negative). With the result and feedback we got, we were able to rank each product according to the standard we set.
If you observe the reviews carefully, you’ll see that each hard drive has been carefully categorized according to our research result. However, take note that the external hard drives that didn’t meet our standard were not included in this list.
Frequently Asked Questions
Best External Hard Drives: Verdict
Having read our review, searching for the best external hard drives wouldn’t be as difficult as before. However, ensure you check all the necessary features, including its pros and cons before purchasing.
