Search Wirecutter For: Search Reviews for the real world Browse Close. Browse Close. The is about as expensive per gigabyte as other external SSDs, and it’s one of the lightest and most compact, so you can easily throw it in your bag (or even your pocket) when you’re on the go. The T5 has one USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C port and includes cables to connect to new and old devices as well as AES 256-bit hardware encryption to protect your sensitive data. It has the most pleasant software to navigate, with a clean layout that looks less bloated than other portable SSD software, which makes it a breeze to set up encryption or check for updates. Plus the T5 has an indicator light that lets you know when it’s connected and comes with a three-year warranty.
The 2 TB Seagate Backup Plus Slim is the best portable hard drive for most people because it’s reliable. It’s lighter and smaller than most of the other hard drives we tested, was consistently faster than most of the competition in our tests, and is one of the least expensive drives per terabyte we tested. 1-16 of over 1,000 results for 'best portable hard drive for mac'. SanDisk 500GB Extreme Portable External SSD - USB-C, USB 3.1 - SDSSDE60-500G-G25.
If our pick is sold out or unavailable, we recommend the for around the same price. In our tests, the My Passport SSD was 30 to 60 MB/s slower than the Samsung T5, but it was faster than the other external SSDs we tested, and it supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 speeds.
The My Passport SSD is longer, thinner, and lighter than the Samsung. It has one USB-C port and comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable, as well as a tiny USB-C to USB-A adapter, which was simple to pop on and off, but seems easy to lose. Like the Samsung, it has AES 256-bit hardware encryption, intuitive software, and a three-year warranty. But it lacks the Samsung’s helpful activity indicator light. Portable SSDs are between 3 and 5.5 times faster than portable hard drives or desktop external drives. They’re also much more compact and durable, more secure, and they run cooler on less power.
However, all those upsides come with a big downside: price. A 500 GB portable SSD costs around $200.
For the same money, you could get an 8 TB desktop hard drive or two 4 TB portable hard drives. A 500 GB portable SSD costs around $200. For the same money, you could get an 8 TB desktop hard drive or two 4TB portable hard drives. Portable hard drives are great for travel and for people who frequently transfer large amounts of data between computers. If you just need a drive to back up your data and aren’t worried about having the fastest transfer speeds, a is much less expensive, though it isn’t as fast, durable, compact, or secure. If you spend most of your time working from the same desk or you need more than 4 TB of storage, get an. It’s even faster and cheaper per gigabyte than a portable hard drive, but bulky.
Don’t plan to travel with it. Although you can by purchasing and an enclosure to put it in, we don’t recommend it. It’s simple enough, but it won’t save you any money compared to our pick, and the resulting drive will be significantly larger than our pick and lack its easy-to-use encryption software. How we picked. A great external SSD should be reliable, fast, and small.
This is what you should look for in a portable solid-state drive:. Reliability: A portable SSD must keep your data safe. Toughness: Since portable SSDs lack moving parts, they are less susceptible than mechanical drives to total failure when dropped or jostled.
While a portable or desktop hard drive might fail after a simple bump, an external SSD can withstand temperature and vibration better than a hard drive. A portable SSD should also be sturdily built, and not feel creaky or hollow. Manufacturers like Samsung and SanDisk control every aspect of SSD development by creating their own SSD controllers, firmware, and NAND. This means that they can design their portable SSDs from the start to work reliably.
Durability: Flash memory cells can be written to only so many times before wearing out. You’d have to write to even begin wearing out the drive, though, and very few people will ever get near that limit—but high endurance is a bonus, especially if you’re performing a high-intensity task on the drive, like 4K video editing. SSD manufacturers don’t report durability ratings for external drives (only internal ones), but we wish they would.
We’ll keep an eye on customer reviews for reliability data. Drive speed: Speed is the reason you’re spending a lot more for a portable SSD over a portable or external desktop hard drive, so we tested both sequential and random speeds.
While fast sequential speeds are important for transferring and backing up large blocks of data to your drive, quick random speeds are essential if you must run programs or games directly off of the portable SSD. (That’s not ideal; your internal solid-state drive will be faster and not susceptible to corruption if a cable gets jostled.). Connection type: We considered both USB-A and USB-C models in this review.
This indicates the shape of the physical connector, but not necessarily the data transfer speed or power delivery speed—USB-C can support USB 2.0, USB 3.0, USB 3.1 Gen 2, or Thunderbolt 3 speeds. We also considered only USB 3.0 (or faster) external SSDs in this review. While USB 3.0 can theoretically transfer data at a maximum speed of 625 MB/s, USB 3.1 Gen 2 is twice as fast with a maximum theoretical speed of 1,250 MB/s, and Thunderbolt 3 has theoretical maximum speeds of 5,000 MB/s, eight times faster than USB 3.0.
USB 3.1 Gen 1 is the same thing as USB 3.0. Price: More expensive portable SSDs can offer faster speeds, but you don’t want to overpay to get extra speed or other features you may not notice. For instance, the SanDisk claims the has read and write speeds of 850 MB/s and 800 MB/s, respectively—more than 1.8 times as fast as our pick—but most people don’t need to pay around twice as much for a solid-state drive that transfers data faster than 400 MB/s. Capacity: A capacity around 500 GB for about $200 currently represents the best mix of affordability, space, and speed. Drives with capacities of 1 TB and 2 TB tend to be about as cost-effective, but they usually cost about $400 and $800, respectively.
250 GB versions, on the other hand, are too small for many people, and they’re typically more expensive per gigabyte. Portable SSDs can be smaller than a stack of sticky notes.
Size and weight: A portable SSD should be light and compact—many are roughly the size of a stack of sticky notes, or even smaller. Because solid-state drives lack spinning platters, they can be made lighter and more compact than hard drives. Encryption: Portable SSDs that support the developed by the, can more reliably protect your sensitive information.
External solid-state drives with AES don’t require software to set it up—although some include password protection software to enable encryption—and keep your data safe from unauthorized access even if the drive is removed from its housing. Not all portable SSDs offer this feature, and we prioritize drives that do. Software: Backup software is a nice addition to a portable SSD, but it’s not essential. If you want, you can find lots of. Warranty and customer service: Three-year warranties are standard among portable solid-state drives, although we came across a handful with less impressive warranties. Strong customer service is also valuable if something goes wrong. We investigated the most popular portable solid-state drives on Amazon, and scoured the websites of well-known external SSD manufacturers like Samsung, SanDisk, Western Digital, and LaCie for worthy contenders.
We then researched each of the 28 models we found by reading reviews from trusted editorial sources like AnandTech, CNET, and Storage Review, as well as Amazon reviews. By keeping to our criteria, we winnowed down our list from 28 contenders to four finalists: the,. How we tested. The is the best portable solid-state drive for most people because it’s reliable, fast, reasonably priced—for an external SSD—and compact. At around $200, or 40 cents per gigabyte, it costs about as much per gigabyte as most SSDs—many of which are slower and larger. The T5 has a single USB-C port that supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 speeds (which has a maximum theoretical speed of 1,250 MB/s) and includes both a USB-C to USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-A cable.
It also comes with the easiest-to-use software of the drives we tested and AES 256-bit hardware encryption to protect your data. Plus, it has a handy indicator light so you know when it’s connected and actively transferring data, and it comes with a three-year warranty. When plugged into a USB 3.0 port, the 500 GB Samsung T5 gave us sequential read and write speeds of 409.8 MB/s and 423.6 MB/s, respectively, about as fast as the competition. Using a Thunderbolt 3 port, it was even faster—462.2 MB/s and 493.3 MB/s, respectively. Thunderbolt 3 supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 speeds, which are (theoretically) twice as fast as USB 3.0 speeds. The Samsung T5’s USB 3.1 Gen 2 speeds are 13 and 17 percent faster than its USB 3.0 read and write speeds, respectively. Those sequential read and write speeds were also 26.8 MB/s and 63.4 MB/s faster than the second-fastest drive we tested, the 512 GB Western Digital My Passport SSD, which also supports the USB 3.1 Gen 2 standard.
The Samsung T5’s random speeds were faster than any of the competition, too. Using a USB 3.0 port, the T5 had random read and write speeds of 23.9 MB/s and 40.6 MB/s, respectively. When plugged into a Thunderbolt 3 port, it had CrystalDiskMark random read and write speeds of 26.1 MB/s and 40.6 MB/s. The 500 GB model costs around $200, or 40 cents per gigabyte, which is in line with other USB 3.1 Gen 2 portable SSDs. Our runner-up, which also supports USB 3.1 Gen 2, costs about 39 cents per gigabyte. Drives like the 480 GB SanDisk Extreme 500 and the 512 GB Adata SD600 that support only USB 3.0 speeds are a little cheaper, but not much, at around 35 cents per gigabyte. Left to right: Samsung T5, WD My Passport, ADATA SD600, SanDisk Extreme 500.
At 2.9 inches long, 2.3 inches wide, and 0.4 inch thick, the Samsung T5 Portable SSD is one of the smallest external SSDs we found. It weighs just 1.8 ounces—despite an aluminum enclosure that feels solid and robust—making it easy to throw in your backpack (or pocket) when you have somewhere else to be. The size and weight differences between the portable solid-state drives we tested weren’t significant, though. All of the drives we tested were within an inch and a half in width (and weighed within 2 ounces) of one another. The heaviest drive we tested is 3.2 ounces, which is still very light, so most people won’t notice the difference in weight. The Samsung T5 includes straightforward, easy-to-use password protection software to manage the drive’s encryption. The Samsung T5 includes Portable SSD drivers on the drive for MacOS, Windows, and Android.
Once you’ve installed the software, you can add (or remove) a password to enable or disable the drive’s AES 256-bit hardware encryption, which protects your sensitive information from unauthorized access. You can also use it to check for software and firmware updates. There’s not much else to do here, but it’s easy to use and pleasant to look at, unlike some of the bloated and dated-looking software that came with the other portable SSDs we tested. The Samsung T5’s indicator light tells you if your drive is connected to your device, and blinks when it’s transferring data. The Samsung T5 has a useful LED indicator light on its side that lights up when the drive is connected to your device, and blinks when it’s transferring data.
Samsung includes a three-year warranty, which is standard for most solid-state drives. Wirecutter senior writer Joel Santo Domingo has used the Samsung T5 for around six months and calls it a “daily commute companion.” He was able to consolidate several USB sticks’ worth of data onto the drive without giving up the benefits of solid-state storage, and he also praised the included cable.
“I liked that it was a USB-A–to–USB-C cable, and not an adapter,” he said. “The latter is too easy to lose in a laptop bag.” More storage: 1 TB Samsung T5 Portable SSD. If our pick is sold out or unavailable, we recommend the for around the same price. In our tests, the My Passport SSD was about 30 to 60 MB/s slower than the Samsung T5, but it was faster than the other two solid-state drives we tested. Like the Samsung T5, it has a USB-C port and supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 speeds. The My Passport SSD is even thinner and lighter (but longer) than the T5, though not by much.
Its software is as simple to use as the Samsung’s, and it has hardware encryption, as well. The My Passport SSD has a three-year warranty but lacks an indicator light. Plugged into a USB 3.0 port, the My Passport SSD had sequential read and write speeds of 387 MB/s and 383.9 MB/s, respectively. While these are still respectable speeds, they reflect the slower side of the four solid-state drives we tested. When we plugged the My Passport SSD into a Thunderbolt 3 port, though, it had sequential read and write speeds of 435.4 MB/s and 429.9 MB/s, respectively—a speed increase of nearly 50 MB/s. It was faster than every drive except the Samsung T5, which was about 30 MB/s faster at reading and 60 MB/s faster at writing in the same test. The Western Digital had fast random read and write speeds, too.
Its average USB 3.0 random read and write speeds were 15.8 MB/s and 26.1 MB/s, respectively. Via a Thunderbolt 3 port, the My Passport SSD had random read and write speeds of 19.4 MB/s and 27.2 MB/s. It was a little slower than the Samsung’s read and write random speeds by around 7 MB/s and 13 MB/s, respectively. The My Passport SSD has a USB-C port, and it comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable. It also includes a tiny USB-C to USB-A adapter for older systems that’s easy to pop on and off, but we’re concerned that will be easy to lose. We found that the USB-A adapter slowed down the My Passport SSD a little, too; when we tested the My Passport with the Samsung T5’s USB-A cable, it had sequential read and write speeds that were about 10 MB/s faster.
The 512 GB My Passport SSD costs around $200, or 39 cents per gigabyte, which is about the same as you’d pay for the faster Samsung T5. The 256 GB model costs the same per gigabyte, and Western Digital’s 1 TB model is around 3 cents less expensive per gigabyte. WD’s My Passport SSD connects to older devices with a small USB-A adapter that could be easily lost. At 3.5 inches long, 1.8 inches wide, and 0.4 inches thick, the Western Digital joins our top pick as one of the most compact portable solid-state drives we found. Compared to the Samsung T5, the My Passport SSD is 0.6 inches longer, and a half-inch skinnier. It weighs 1.4 ounces—0.4 ounces lighter than our top pick—making it the lightest solid-state drive we tested. The My Passport SSD’s enclosure felt as sturdy as the Samsung T5, although its metallic gray bottom is a fingerprint magnet.
Western Digital’s My Discovery software is simple to use, but advertisements for other available apps are distracting. The My Passport SSD includes Western Digital Discovery installations for Mac and Windows. Using Discovery, you can access Western Digital Security, where you can set and remove your password to activate the drive’s AES 256-bit hardware encryption. You can also choose to back up your portable solid-state drive through Western Digital’s Discovery software. Although the software is easy to use, it has ads for other applications—like Plex, Upthere Home, and Acronis True Image—which makes it feel bloated. (You can hide the ads by pressing the down arrow on the “Available Apps” tab, but you’ll have to do it every time you open the app.) The My Passport SSD does not have an indicator light like the Samsung T5 Portable SSD, but it does have a three-year warranty. The competition.
In our USB 3.0 tests, the had 413.6 MB/s sequential read speeds and 419.2 MB/s sequential write speeds, as well as 23 MB/s random read speeds and 39.6 MB/s random write speeds. It was about as fast as the Samsung T5 in the same test, and around 20 MB/s faster than the Western Digital. But most people buying an external SSD will likely have USB 3.1 Gen 2 or Thunderbolt 3 ports, and our pick’s speeds were much faster than the Adata’s over a USB 3.1 connection. For nearly $200, you should buy a drive that supports the USB 3.1 Gen 2 standard.
Adata doesn’t manufacture its own SSDs like Samsung and SanDisk (which is owned by Western Digital), either. With the current, we’re concerned about their supply chain. The Adata is also physically bigger (and heavier) than both of our picks, and its software isn’t as easy to use. Most people buying an external SSD will likely have USB 3.1 Gen 2 or Thunderbolt 3 ports, and our pick’s speeds were much faster than the Adata’s over a Gen 2 connection. The performed poorly in our tests, although it was the most affordable portable solid-state drive we tested at around $170, or 35 cents per gigabyte. In our USB 3.0 tests, it had sequential read and write speeds of 416.3 MB/s and 235.9 MB/s, respectively. It was as fast as our top pick at reading data, but nearly 200 MB/s slower at writing data.
In our random read and write tests, it had speeds of 20.1 MB/s and 6.3 MB/s, respectively. Again, the SanDisk had similar read speeds to our picks, but write speeds that were a lot slower—around 30 MB/s. It’s fairly small and light (3 by 3 by 0.4 inches and 2.7 ounces), but it’s still bigger and heavier than both of our picks. Its included software was straightforward to use, but less intuitive than our picks, and it lacks a indicator light.
We also dismissed some models without testing: The, and cost around the same price as our picks, but they claim slower read and write speeds, and they don’t offer hardware encryption. Adata’s is affordable—but it claims slower speeds than our picks, and it’s around an inch bigger in length and width. Has the same problem.
And is about three inches longer and wider than our picks, four times as thick, and a couple ounces heavier, too. Oyen Digital’s and are about the same price as our picks, but they don’t offer hardware encryption. They’re also a little bigger. Dell unveiled its at the CES 2018 trade show. At $440, it’s more than double the cost of our picks for the same capacity, and it’s much faster than most people need. We don’t plan to test it against our picks unless the price drops significantly. Like the Dell, the is too expensive as of this writing, and faster than most people need., Transcend’s and, and G-Technology’s and all cost way more than our picks.
(And they don’t even offer the impressive speeds the Extreme 900 claims.) What to look forward to. Western Digital unveiled its latest in July 2018 for around $130, roughly the same price as our picks. Like its competition, the My Passport SSD works with USB 3.1 Gen 2 and comes with a USB-A adapter, in addition to its USB-C–to–USB-C cable. It includes hardware encryption, too. We’ll test it in our next update. At the CES 2018 trade show, Western Digital introduced its. For around $130, the 500 GB Extreme Portable SSD supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 speeds and comes with one USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C port, a USB-C cable, and a USB-C–to–USB-A adapter for use with new and older computers.
It also has hardware encryption. We were impressed by the size and weight of the SanDisk PSSD when we saw it, so we’re excited to test it against our picks soon. Also at the electronics show, Seagate debuted its new, which costs a little more than the SanDisk device for the 500 GB capacity, at $170.
It also supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 speeds and includes a USB-C cable and a USB-C–to–USB-A cable for connecting, but it doesn’t have hardware encryption. We plan to test it alongside the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD and Western Digital My Passport SSD once they’re all available.