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The 7 Best External Hard Drives For Extra Memory

Need additional storage or want to back up your files? One of these hard drives will provide.

best external hard drives Staff

By Gabrielle Hondorp

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A hard drive is an important asset for anyone who spends a lot of time in the digital realm. Whether you need somewhere to download more games, a repository for all your family photos, or a secure place in which to store important documents, we can all use a little (or a lot of) extra storage. External hard drives are excellent, often cost-effective, solutions when your computer runs out of space. Fortunately, many options exist to help you get the right size, storage amount, and durability features like waterproofing. Below, we rounded up the best external hard drives to shop right now.

Despite being small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, the T5 holds an impressive amount of storage, as it’s available in 500 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB options. And while it’s on the expensive side, it makes up for it with its portability and speed. For those of us prone to clumsiness, the drop-resistant casing protects it from falls of up to two meters. It can also reach speeds of 540 MBps—significantly above the average for SSDs. As long as your device has a USB (A or C) port, it will be compatible, since the T5 has USB-C but comes with two cables: USB-C to A and USB-C to C.

Available from 500GB to 18TB, this Seagate is relatively affordable and has a contemporary, aesthetically pleasing design. And not only does it look good, but the textured panel has a pleasant feeling and makes it somewhat easier to grip. The One Touch comes with a long USB3.0 cable and is compatible with both Mac and Windows. Also included: a free year of the Mylio Create app, useful for organizing, editing, sharing, and syncing all your photos.

The Adata SD700 is ideal for work in dirty and potentially hazardous environments such as a home workshop. It’s ruggedized to protect against dust, dirt, water, and drops, with a thick, plastic bumper around the edge. With storage options from 256 GB to 1 TB, this SSD provides adequate storage for many without requiring a huge expense.

Western Digital’s Elements portable hard drive offers storage sizes from 1T to 5T, which is plenty of space for most of us who need to back up photos, videos, and important files. It connects to your devices with USB 3 and 2 ports, and transfers data quickly. While it’s formatted with NTFS for Windows 10, 8.1, and 7, it can be reformatted for other operating systems as well, including Macs and gaming devices.

Not only is this hard drive portable, it’s amply protected and ready to take a beating. Protection includes a design with internal shock mounts, an aluminum shell, and a removable rubber bumper to help shield the delicate insides. All that keeps it resistant to rain, dirt, and pressure of up to 1,000 pounds as well. Keep in mind that the ArmorATD is not the fastest HDD out there. But G-Technology makes it in drives ranging from 1 to 5 TB, which means that you have options regarding both size and price.

Yes, this SSD is expensive. But if speed is your priority, you won’t be disappointed. Samsung claims it has 2,800 MBps read and 2,300 MBps write speeds, and in tests that the reviewers at Tom’s Guide conducted, it met these speeds easily. The X5 has a beautiful sleek design that features internal shock resistance to help keep its contents safe when dropped. But the outer metal shell also makes it somewhat bulky and slippery, so it may not be a first choice if you’re looking for something super portable. While other less expensive options will work just as well to store your data, this is the way to go if you want the newest, greatest, and fastest. 

If you’re looking for nearly unlimited storage, the WD My Book tops out at 36 TB. Though this is much more storage than most people will ever need, if you run a business or are a data hoarder, that kind of space practically ensures that you never have to go in and delete older files to free up room. If that seems like overkill, the single-drive 3 TB option is a much more reasonable option for most. A concern, especially considering the amount of data it’s capable of storing, is that it has only a two-year warranty. Some reviewers had issues with the drive within the warranty period but also mentioned that the company was quick to replace faulty devices.