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External SSDs are storage devices that conveniently carry a large amount of data from one computer to another. Or you can use one as an offline backup—tuck it away, and nobody can hack into your essential information.
This post includes the best SSD-based portable drives and desktop drives I’ve tested. There are quite a few of them—more than enough for you to find one that goes well with your situation.
Dong’s note: I first published this post on June 24, 2021, and last updated it on July 19, 2024.
Best External SSDs of 2024: The top-five lists
There are two top-five lists, each sorted in the recommended order, with the best being shown last—the numbers are the hardware’s ranking.
When applicable, I’ll also include similarly-excellent alternatives in each case. Any of these will serve you well. It’s a question of how well, and that requires some reading—check out the full review!
One list includes traditional, simple external drives for general usage—casual or gaming. The other is for portable drives with what I’d call the “storage vault” level of security or ultra-fast performance for professional use.
Both lists consist of only SSD-based drives. As internal solid-state drives become more and more affordable, there’s no reason you should get a mobile storage device that still uses a sluggish hard drive on the inside.
The lists also include devices of different interfaces, including USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps), Gen 2 (10Gbps), Gen 2×2 (20Gbps), and Thunderbolt 3 or 4 (40Gbps). If you’re confused about these interfaces, you’re not alone. Check out this post on the USB-C port type, where I explained them all.
I. Top best five external SSDs for gamers or day-to-day storage
There are a lot of excellent external drives for general consumers. This list will include similar alternatives in each case.
Top 5 best external SSDs for gamer or casual users
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| Name | Synology BeeDrive’s Rating | Crucial X6 Portable SSD’s Rating | Samsung T7 Shield’s Rating | Crucial X10 Pro Portable SSD’s Rating | SanDisk Desk Drive’s Rating |
| Price | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rating | |||||
| Description | |||||
| Statistics | |||||
| Buy this product |
Advisory
From late 2022 till early 2024, many SanDisk Extreme/Pro and WD My Passport SSD portable drives were reported to wipe off their data randomly. While I didn’t experience that with the drives I’ve used, including those mentioned here, and the situation has seemed to improve, you’re advised to update the firmware to the latest before using them. In any case, never put the only copy of your data on a portable drive.
5. SanDisk Desk Drive: Representing WD and SandDisk brands
The SanDisk Desk is the only external SSD designed for a workstation. It requires an external power adapter to work and, therefore, is less portable. To make up for that, the compact puck-size storage device has top performance for its specs and has up to 8TB of storage space.
Similar alternatives:
- WD Black P50 Game Drive
- WD BLACK Game Drive
- SanDisk Extreme Pro
- WD Black D30 Game Drive SSD
- SanDisk Extreme
- WD My Passport SSD
- Shopping link: Compare these drives on Amazon!
SanDisk Desk Drive's Rating
Pros
Fast USB 3.2 Gen 2 performance
Compact and beautiful design
Lots of storage space, completely silent.
Cons
Power adapter required; no USB 3.2 Gen 2×2; no redundancy
A bit pricey; runs a bit warm
4. Crucial X10 Pro: Representing Micron’s NVME-based portable SSDs
The Crucial X10 Pro is the latest and the best among Micron’s many excellent portable SSDs. It’s one of a few featuring the 20Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 standard and, in testing, proves to be the fastest among its peers.
Excellent and similar alternatives to consider:
- Micron Crucial X9 Pro
- Micron Crucial X8
- Shopping link: Compare these drives on Amazon!
Crucial X10 Pro Portable SSD's Rating
Pros
Fast performance overall with top NVMe USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 performance
Super-compact yet spacious; rugged, practical design
Supports all platforms, including Android.
Cons
No USB-A cable or adapter included
A tad expensive
3. Samsung T7 Shield: The best Samsung portable SSD to date
The Samsung T7 Shield is more than just the rugged version of the T7/Touch above. The new drive proved to be faster in testing, especially in tests using USB 3.2 Gen 1.
On top of that, it comes with a reasonable price tag at launch. It’s an easy recommendation.
Similar alternative:
- Samsung T9
- Samsung T5
- Shopping link: Compare these drives on Amazon!
Samsung T7 Shield's Rating
Pros
Fast performance, compact and rugged design
Hardware encryption with effective password protection
USB cables included
Cons
The Android app is a joke
Attracts dirt easily
2. Crucial X6: An excellent SATA-based portable SSD
The Crucial X6 is the only SATA-based external SSD on this list. But despite the diminutive storage standard and physical size, it’s an excellent device thanks to its fast performance and affordability.
Crucial X6 Portable SSD's Rating
Pros
Fast performance
Super-compact yet rugged, beautiful design
USB-C-ready
Cons
Comparatively low perform cap
No USB-A converter or cable included
1. Synology BeeDrive: An unique and exellent backup solution
The BeeDrive is Synology’s first non-NAS storage device. The drive is designed for those needing a relative backup solution and is not yet ready for a NAS server.
In testing, the BeeDrive has proven to be a terrific backup solution. You can also use it to transfer photos and videos from a phone to your computer in real-time. And even without all that, it’s still an excellent portable SSD.
Synology BeeDrive's Rating
Pros
Fast USB 3.2 Gen 2 performance
Robust and effective personal backup/sync solutions thanks to the well-thought-out BeeDrive for Desktop and mobile app
Compact, practical design; runs cool
Cons
No hardware encryption, no macOS support (yet), no option for system imaging, and users can't exclude subfolders from a sync; the iOS app could be better
The BeeDrive mobile app only works within the local network; the desktop app doesn't work with third-party hardware
II. Top five best external SSDs for data security, outdoor adventures, or professionals
This list includes ultra-secure portable drives—and their similar alternatives when applicable—that deliver the type of performance professionals require.
Top 5 best rugged/ultra-secure/professional external SSDs
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| Name | Samsung T7/Touch’s Rating | iStorage diskAshur M2’s Rating | iStorage datAshur PRO2’s Rating | Apricorn Aegis Padlock SSD’s Rating | Samsung Portable SSD X5’s Rating |
| Price | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rating | |||||
| Description | |||||
| Statistics | |||||
| Buy this product |
5. Samsung Portable SSD X5: The Thunderbolt 3 bootable speed demon
The X5 is the fastest portable SSD by far. The catch is it only works with Thunderbolt 3 and not USB. For this reason, it’s more suitable for professional Mac environments, at least for now.
Similar alternatives:
- SanDisk PRO-BLADE TRANSPORT
- SanDisk Professional G-Drive SSD
- OWC Envoy Pro SX
- Shopping link: Compare these drives on Amazon!
Samsung Portable SSD X5's Rating
Pros
Super-fast performance
Solid, pretty, rugged design
Compatible with Windows and Mac right out of the box
Useful and effective security feature
Can work as a boot drive
Cons
Only works with Thunderbolt 3
Expensive
Only one Thunderbolt 3 port
The 3-year warranty is a bit short.
4. Apricorn Aegis Padlock SSD: The convenient keeper of secrets
Like the diskAshur PRO2 below, the Apricorn Aegis Padlock SSD portable drive has an integrated USB cable that makes it work right away out of the box—you’ll need a converter before it can connect to a USB-C port, however.
However, it’s a portable SSD and not a hard drive, so it’s much faster.
Apricorn Aegis Padlock SSD's Rating
Pros
Built-in strong hardware encryption and security keypad
Compact, rugged, light-weight and practical design
Fast SATA-based SSD performance
Built-in USB cable with the included extension
Fool-proof security approach
Cons
No USB-C, USB 3.2 Gen 2, or NVMe storage
Aegis Configurator software incurs extra cost
Manual management can be daunting
Runs a bit hot
3. iStorage datAshur PRO2: The storage vault thumb drive
This tiny thumb drive is the most secure of its kind. It’s a storage device to which you can entrust your most confidential information. It’s a storage vault that fits inside your pocket.
iStorage datAshur PRO2's Rating
Pros
Top-notch security against data breach
Rugged, weatherproof, compact design
Fast performance
Cons
Expensive
No safeguard against deliberate data deletion
Loose sleeve
2. iStorage diskAshur M2: Super-secure and rugged with a bit of Oddity
The diskAshur M2 is another ultra-secure drive from iStorage that has two other members on this list.
The M2 is an ultra-compact portable SSD that has an interpreted keypad. The drive was excellent in my testing, except it uses a Micro-B SuperSpeed USB port instead of USB-C.
iStorage diskAshur M2's Rating
Pros
Strong hardware encryption and security keypad
Fast USB 3.2 Gen 1 performance
Rugged, compact design
USB cables included
Cons
Micro-B Superspeed port instead of USB-C
PIN management can be overwhelming
Capacity caps at 2TB
Software patch needed for each Windows computer
1. Samsung T7/Touch: Security on the fingertip
The Samsung T7 Touch doesn’t have an integrated keypad, but it’s super-secure, thanks to the built-in fingerprint scanner.
It’s also the only drive on this list that features USB-C, USB 3.2 Gen 2, and an NVMe SSD on the inside—it’s the fastest among ultra-secure portable SSDs.
Samsung T7/Touch's Rating
Pros
Hardware encryption with an optional integrated fingerprint scanner
Compact and rugged design
USB 3.2 Gen 2-Class performance
Includes both USB-C and compatible cables
Cons
Write speed reduction during extended operations
More expensive than similar portable SSDs
Best External SSD: The final thoughts
All of the drives above are fast, and some of them can keep your information safe from prying eyes. However, none of these external SSDs have built-in redundancy. This means if, for some reason, they fail, you’ll lose all the information they store. As a result, while they are excellent for extra storage to hold backups, you’re advised not to use any of them to have the only copy of your important data. For data safety, at the very least, get more than one unit and use one as the backup of the other.
I’d like to know more about the WD Passport SSD issue, I recently purchased the 4Tb WDBAGF0040BGY-WESN and have not started to use it but your comment concerns me … I do not want a drive that I can lose my data so, if there is any specific information available I’d like to see it and approach WD on the issue before I start to put data that I can not lose on it! Has WD been questioned and how can it be fixed before I use it.
You want to download and install the latest firmware, Dave. Follow the link mentioned in the WD Black P50 section above.
WD’s response hasn’t been stellar on the matter.
People need to avoid those Sandisk Extreme Pro Portable drives at all costs. The drives are faulty and cause sudden data loss. theverge has an article this month about this issue. Dong, please research about these drives. We would love your insight on this issue. Check out amazon reviews and verge article.
I mentioned that at the top of this post and their reviews. I haven’t experienced similar issues with mine and I have a few. Seems like a firmware issue.
Extremely interesting write up. Your reviews are some of the best to be found.
I believe the SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD would work on a Thunderbolt 4 port (which I do have on my laptop), but would it be able to reach near it’s maximum advertised speeds of 2,000 MB/s reading and writing on that port? Or would one have to have the specific USB 3.2 GEN 2×2 port in order to reach near those advertised speeds.
I noticed it did not even get close to those speeds in your test, but I am guessing you did not test it on a USB 3.2 GEN 2×2 port. Please correct me if I am wrong on that guess.
Thanks for your time.
Yes, J — you’re right. Thunderbolt 4 (and 3) encompasses USB 3.2 Gen 2×2. More in this post.
I’ve had good service from my Sandisk Extreme Pro drives, using them on SCUBA diving and underwater photography trips to Indonesia and elsewhere in the tropics. When used with my MacBook Pro, they’re super-fast thanks to their Thunderbolt compatibility. And they’re waterproof which helps in the field. Like you, I haven’t had any problems with them but will continue to update the firmware just in case…
Thanks for sharing your experience, Michael. And yes, I’ve used dozens of them and never had any issues. But I only use them to hold copies of data so it’d have been just an inconvenience.
Hi, Dong! Thanks for the article!
Wondering if you could review the OWC Envoy Pro FX (Thunderbolt 3).
It’s rather pricey, but I’m looking for an external option for a Mac Mini (instead of paying Apple’s price for internal storage) – something that could get close to Apple’s internal storage read/write speeds.
I’d love to know your thoughts on the OWC! Thanks!
OWC tends to be overpriced and overrated, Mike. I’d go with other storage vendors.
Thanks! Is there anything faster than the X5 that you’d recommend?
Not really, Mike, for a portable drive. Make sure you have Thunderbolt 3.
Thanks, Dong! Really appreciate your time and responsiveness to everyone who posts!!
Will any of these storage devices allow me to download pictures and movies from my Samsung S10+ phone to the storage device?
It’s a matter of power delivery and app and you can make many SSD drives here work, Thomas. But if you want to make sure, get the Samsung T7 (Touch).
Thank you. I ordered the 500gGB storage in silver using your provided link.
Sure, Thomas. And thanks. 🙂
Picked up the 500gb drive. Works well and is easy to set up. The supplied USB C to USB C cable will not work with the Samsung S10+ phone. It will not stay locked in the phone. I suspect it is because of the rounded bezel on the phone. I ordered another cable that is supposed to work with the USB C connector on the Samsung S10+ phone
You can use the phone’s charging cable, Thomas.