Online cloud services are a popular way to store data today, and it’s no secret why: they’re cheap and convenient. But at the end of the day, nothing beats the security and peace of mind you get when your digital products are safe and sound on your own physical hard drive (the so-called “cloud” is really just someone else’s computer, anyway). External hard drives comprise a huge market covering everything from compact portable hard drives to office-grade network attached storage systems, but whatever you’re looking for, we’ve got it here. Read on for the best cheap external hard drive deals available this month:
Today’s best external hard drive deals
Need a rugged and portable SSD for less than 100 bones? It offers high-speed storage on the go with a shockproof hard shell, speeds up to 1050MBps, and a modern USB-C port.
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With a rugged casing surrounding a 1TB hard drive, the LaCie Mini Portable Hard Drive lets you take your digital treasures anywhere without worry.
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Store a small number of files with this 4TB hard drive, perfect for professionals working with a document archive or small-time independent media users with multiple videos.
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Bolster your storage space so you can save as much as you need. This 8TB hard drive is compatible with PC, Xbox, and PS4.
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The Western Digital Easystore Portable External Hard Drive is a powerful upgrade to any storage, and with 4TB to back it up, it’s a great addition to your computer that you can take with you wherever you go.
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Can’t get rid of your favorite games from the last few years? The Seagate 4TB Game Drive lets you store all your files and saves, with enough room to let you create new memories with new games.
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If you want a reliable hard drive option, the WD Easystore 8TB is a great, rugged option if you have more documents and files than you know what to do with.
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This external hard drive with 6TB of storage capacity is a great choice for all your file needs, packing a huge amount of space into a small package.
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This compact and ultra-portable solid state drive not only offers high-speed data transfers thanks to its USB-C connectivity, but it’s also one of the easiest to use SSDs on the market.
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If you don’t need anything fancy like a RAID setup, the Elements 18TB is a beefy external hard drive that’s surprisingly easy on your wallet for a drive this size.
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This is a robust, high-performance SSD that comes with a shock-resistant exterior, USB 3 and USB-C connections, and 500GB of storage, which should be enough for everything you need to carry around.
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Why delete old games when you could store them for life? With the Seagate 2TB Game Drive, you can keep your games and save and relive them just in time for the PS5.
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If you have enough files to overload nearly 10 laptops, the Seagate 8TB Hard Drive is enough to keep your documents safe and backed up, so you never have to worry about data loss.
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If you’re not looking for an expensive external hard drive, this 1TB Easystore from Western Digital is a great budget option for that little boost in storage without breaking the bank.
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Back up all your important files and access them from anywhere with the Buffalo LinkStation NAS Enclosure. It even comes with a 4TB hard drive pre-installed, so it’s ready to go right out of the box.
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This portable SSD has a secure fingerprint reader and can fit in your pocket. With transfer speeds of up to 1 GB/second, it’s also a blazing-fast way to back up your files.
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The WD My Passport Ultra Silver 1TB Portable External Hard Drive is innovatively styled with a polished metal casing and password protection with AES 256-bit hardware encryption.
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If you want server-like storage capacity in a simpler NAS setup, the QNAP TS-653D-4G-US offers an incredible six drive bays and high read/write speeds with RAID support.
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Unlike the original Toshiba Canvio 2TB external hard drive, this one comes in a slimmer design, but is just as reliable when backing up files.
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With the high performance of WD Black, this hard drive will make sure none of your media stutters and give you the best chance of avoiding data corruption.
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When your PC’s storage just isn’t enough, this Western Digital 500GB My Passport Ultra Portable External Hard Drive is a must-have.
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A rugged NAS bay with 8TB of storage included. Hard drives are NAS-grade and preconfigured for RAID configuration, and the TeraStation supports the most common cloud backup services and protocols.
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The SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable SSD lets you quickly write to a high-capacity portable drive that’s ideal for producing amazing content or capturing incredible images.
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Does your Mac not have enough space? Try the WD My Passport 4TB hard drive, designed specifically for Apple computers, and store as many files as you need.
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Never worry about losing your files again when you back them all up on the Toshiba Canvio Flex portable external hard drive. It has USB-C and USB-A 3.0 for fast transfer speeds.
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The palm-sized Western Digital My Passport gives you the speed of an SSD in a pocket-sized package, and it even has built-in hardware encryption to keep your data safe.
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For basic desktop storage needs, this smaller version of the popular Western Digital Elements external drive is a bargain at this price point. It is also slim and easy to carry.
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WD hard drives have always been known for their durability, and their 2TB Game Drive is no different. This hard drive can store over 20 games and save with room to spare.
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With a capacity of 500GB, the Samsung T7 is a pocket-sized rugged external SSD that gives you extra space for just about anything you need to store.
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The WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra is a great full-size network-attached storage option that comes with ample built-in space (meaning you don’t have to buy any separate drives).
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How to choose an external hard drive
The first two steps in choosing an external hard drive are setting your budget and determining what size you need. As cheap as storage per gigabyte is today, the classic trade-off between hard drive size and portability still holds; Basically, is your main consideration storage space or physical size? If your external hard drive is for home and office use in a single workstation and will more or less be placed in one place, then storage space is more valuable than mobility. If, on the other hand, you frequently transport data from one PC to another, then a portable hard drive might be a better option, even if you’re sacrificing some storage space for a smaller footprint.
The exact usage of your hard drive will also influence your purchase decision. If your external HDD or SSD is just for file storage then this is pretty simple, but if you’re going to be regularly reading and writing to your external storage (e.g. editing videos directly from the drive rather than from your desktop drive) computer system), you’ll want to make sure you get something that has good read and write speeds and uses up-to-date connectivity standards, like USB 3.0. For more details on external hard drive designs and features to consider when making your purchase decision, read on.
Hard drive vs. SSD
Storage drives are mainly divided into two main categories: traditional hard drives or HDDs and solid state drives or SSDs. Most hard drives, until recently, were mechanical hard drives. These have moving disks (called platters) inside, where data is written and read. These traditional hard drives have largely fallen out of favor for use as system drives, but their larger capacities and much cheaper cost per gigabyte mean they remain a very popular choice for external storage use.
In recent years we have witnessed the revolution of solid state drives. These drives are basically a type of flash memory, where data is written to chips instead of magnetic platters, which means there are no moving parts, which in turn means faster read/write speeds and (in theory) better long-term reliability. However, these drives are typically smaller and considerably more expensive per gigabyte than HDDs; the tradeoff is that they’re what you’ll typically find when looking for portable external hard drives that are small enough to fit in your pocket.
There are also hybrid hard drives, sometimes called SSHDs. These hybrid drives are essentially HDDs that feature built-in flash storage (usually a fairly small amount) where your most frequently used files are stored and read, combining much of the responsiveness of SSDs with the increased storage capacity of HDDs. These might be worth the price if you need the enhanced storage of an HDD but expect to do a lot of reading and writing to the external drive.
Are all external hard drives SSDs?
Virtually any hard drive can be used as an external drive with a suitable hard drive enclosure, and these are available as SSDs and HDDs. Although SSDs are rapidly replacing HDDs for use as internal system drives (the hard drive inside your PC where your operating system and other software are installed), HDDs are still very popular for external use, as they are much , much cheaper per gigabyte and therefore give you much more storage capacity for your dollar.
Are external hard drives reliable?
An external hard drive is simply any HDD or SSD, like those found in laptops and desktops, that is inside an external case. This enclosure features some means of connecting the hard drive to your computer or other device, usually a USB port, and may also (depending on its size) have some sort of power adapter. What that means is that an external hard drive will be just as reliable as any internal hard drive, as long as it comes from a reputable manufacturer. Stick with proven manufacturers like Western Digital, Seagate, SanDisk, Samsung, and Kingston, and your data should be in safe waters.
Are external hard drives fast?
One very important thing to consider is read and write speeds (the speeds at which data is downloaded and uploaded to the hard drive), but this is less of a danger than in the past. Even traditional rotating hard drives (HDDs) offer pretty solid read/write speeds these days, with 7200 rpm coming as standard. Be sure to double check this and avoid any that use the old 5400rpm standard, though they are less common now. Solid state drives naturally offer the best read/write speeds, but as explained above, they offer the least value per gigabyte.
Also, don’t overlook connection speeds. Faster read/write speeds will be hampered when transferring data over a connection that uses an older standard like USB 2.0. Make sure your external hard drive uses at least USB 3.0 (which is about ten times faster than USB 2.0 in comparison).
Do external hard drives need power?
Hard drives are electronic devices that need power from some external , but that doesn’t mean all external hard drives need to be plugged into the wall. Most can usually draw enough power through the same USB connection they use to transfer data, but larger hard drives may require an external AC adapter that will come with the hard drive. This isn’t a huge deal for most, but it’s something to keep in mind if power outlets are a prime spot where you’ll be setting up your unit.
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We strive to help our readers find the best deals on quality products and services, and we choose what we cover carefully and independently. The prices, details and availability of the products and offers in this publication may be subject to change at any time. Be sure to check that they are still valid before making a purchase.