Best external drives 2024: Backup, storage, and portability

External USB/Thunderbolt drives are a super-convenient way to quickly back up your important files, as well as store any data that you don’t need on your computer’s internal storage. They’re also an extremely handy way to transport data between locations and devices.

While any of these would be a great reason to pick up an external drive, the advantages of having reliable backup is the number-one reason your setup isn’t complete without one. Why? Chances are you have important data on your PC that you can’t afford to lose. To protect that data you’ll want to do two things: store it off-site on the cloud if possible and back it up to an external drive. This way you ensure your data is completely safe should anything go wrong with your computer.

While we highly recommend that you consider cloud storage as a backup option, restoring from local storage is generally far, far faster than pulling your data down from the cloud. Therefore, an external drive should be your primary hedge against disaster.

Why you should trust us: We’re PCWorld. We’ve been putting computer hardware through its paces for decades. We’ve seen it all and we know how to root out a drive’s strengths and weaknesses, using a combination of rigorous benchmark testing and real-world hands-on use. Below we offer our expert recommendations on the best external drives for everything from blazing-fast performance, to budget options, to portability, and more.

Updated April 8, 2024: We reviewed several new external drives in March, all of which have something noteworthy to offer consumers, whether it’s great 4K random performance, a super-slim profile, or affordability. While none of them made our list of top picks, they are still worthy alternatives. You can learn more about our latest reviews under our recommendations.






Crucial X9 Pro – Best 10Gbps external SSD





















Pros


Super small form factor

Great 10Gbps performance

Handsome design



Cons


Not the least expensive 10Gbps SSD available


















Not everyone wants or even needs 20Gbps USB drive performance, which comes at a price premium anyway. The Crucial X9 strikes a compelling balance between top-shelf performance and affordability that should please the majority of users. In our benchmark tests, it traded top scores with the SK Hynix Beetle (our runner-up choice below), but at a significantly lower cost. Making it an indisputable win-win for consumers.

It’s also handsome, described by our reviewer as “a svelte object of desire.” More importantly, it feels well made, and is rated for IP55 dust and spray resistance, so you don’t have to baby this portable drive when you take it out.

Read our full

Crucial X9 Pro review





SK Hynix Beetle X31 – Best 10Gbps external SSD runner-up





















Pros


Top 10Gbps performer

Compact, rounded design



Cons


Available only in pale gold

Pricier than the competition


















As stated above, the SK Hynix Beetle X31 is every bit the performer as our top pick in the 10Gbps realm, with the two enjoying an equal number of wins in our benchmarks and handily besting the competition. But where the SK Hynix loses its edge is on price. Right now, it’s about $13 more for 1TB than the Crucial X9.

It’s also more blinged out. Peep that gold scarab-inspired exterior. It will sit proudly on any desk, and for some buyers that might make the extra cost worth it.

Read our full

SK Hynix Beetle X31 review





Crucial X6 Portable SSD (2TB) – Best budget 10Gbps external SSD





















Pros


Ergonomic design

Good everyday performance

Very affordable for an external SSD



Cons


Performance tanks when cache runs out

















Best Prices Today:



€40.9 at ManoMano FR€64.69 at Fnac FR€64.9 at Macway FR





The Crucial X6 Portable SSD is square to be hip (search Huey Lewis). Or placed in your hip pocket, at any rate. In a sea of portable SSDs whose shape and sometimes sharp edges makes them a literal pain when situated in your shirt or trousers, the thin, rounded-edge X6 is a sigh of relief. It’s not state-of-the-art fast, but it’s fast enough for most users and extremely affordable.

Read our full

Crucial X6 Portable SSD review





Lexar SL600 Blaze – Best 20Gbps external SSD





















Pros


Good 20Gbps performer

Top bang for the buck

Five-year warranty



Cons


4TB model not yet available

















Best Prices Today:



$129.99 at B & H Photo





Let’s face it, the competition is very close in the top tier of 20Gbps external drives, with name-brand contenders trading wins up and down the benchmark charts. Nevertheless, a winner is a winner, and cumulatively, the Lexar nudged out our previous champ, Crucial’s X10 Pro, even if only by a hair.

The upshot is that you can expect excellent performance from the Lexar SL600. On top of that, it comes in a uniquely shaped form factor, complete with an opening to accommodate a lanyard, if that’s how you roll. You can even take the highly portable drive’s design a step further by opting for the SL660 variant that comes with RGB lighting around its miniature handle. The drive comes with the standard five year warranty.

When performance is this closely matched among products, the determining factor should be price. And in that respect, too, the SL600 is neck-and-neck with the Crucial X10 Pro, and priced slightly to significantly cheaper than some of its competitors, at least as of this writing — particularly at the 2TB level.

Read our full

Lexar SL600 Blaze 20Gbps USB SSD review





Teamgroup M200 – Best budget 20Gbps SSD





















Pros


Fast everyday performance

Available in up to 8TB (eventually) capacity

Attractively styled



Cons


No TBW rating

Company will change components if shortages demand

Writes slow to 200MBps off cache


















Rated for 20Gbps and selling for $90 with 1TB of storage, the Teamgroup M200 is an attractive (in a military fashion) external drive for the budget-conscious performance enthusiast.

It might not be as cheap as the Crucial X6, but for the extra outlay you get outstanding everyday performance — in many tests, it’s the fastest 20Gbps drive we’ve ever tested. At just 4.13-inches long and 2.18-inches wide and weighing under 3 ounces, it’s also extremely portable and its slick styling will appeal to gamers.

Read our full

Teamgroup T-Force M200 20Gbps USB SSD review





Samsung T7 Shield 4TB – Best 20Gbps high-capacity performance drive





















Pros


Fast 1GBps sustained transfers

Excellent real world performance

Vast 4TB capacity

Svelte and handsome



Cons


Not cheap

Small 4K performance glitch under CrystalDiskMark 8 writing 4K files


















Once our top pick overall, the Samsung T7 Shield has been overtake in raw speeds by the two newcomers above. But if the 2TB limit of the drives above has you feeling too confined, the T7 Shield 4TB is a good option.

The T7 Shield also leans into physical protection, with an IP65 ratings against particulate matter and water spray. Going hiking with your data? A T7 Shield is a good choice, and you can secure it with software-based password protection in lieu of a fingerprint.

With its top-tier speeds and large capacity, the T7 4TB model is capable of handling the largest end-user data sets on the go.

Read our full

Samsung T7 4TB review





Adata Elite SE880 SSD – Most portable 20Gbps external drive





















Pros


Very fast, over-20Gbps USB connection

Extremely small form factor

5-year warranty



Cons


Slows considerably during long contiguous writes

Somewhat low TBW rating


















No external SSD we’ve seen can match Adata’s Elite SE880 for portability. Indeed, measuring only 2.55 inches long, 1.38 inches wide, and 0.48 inches thick, it reminds you more of a USB thumb drive than your standard external SSD. It also weighs a mere 1.1 ounces, so it vanishes from your consciousness in the pocket.

In real-world 48GB transfer tests, the Elite SD880 beat out quite a few of its competitors, though it lost significant ground in the longer 450GB write test. Photo and video pros with large files to transfer might want to consider speedier options.

Read our full

Adata Elite SE880 SSD review





Kingston XS200 USB SSD – Most portable high-capacity 20Gbps external SSD





















Pros


Super svelte

Good 20Gbps performance

Available in up to 4TB in capacity



Cons


Slower than much of the competition

Not much of a looker

















Best Prices Today:



€55.36 at ManoMano FR€80.15 at RueDuCommerce FR€84.37 at Darty FR





The Kingston XS2000 is an admirable blend of size, capacity, speed, and affordability. With up to 4TB in capacity, it is one of the most capacious drives that still fits in smaller pockets.

The XS2000 is a 20Gbps USB drive, and while it lagged as a reader compared to most of the 20Gbps competition, it beats the pants off of the 10Gbps drives in synthetic benchmarks and our 48GB transfers. The 450GB write was very slow, but overall, it’s a decently fast SSD and a solid product that offers a ton of storage in a very small form factor.

Note: Kingston sent us a updated version that solved its slow read performance in synthetic benchmarks. The 450GB write remained slow.

Read our full

Kingston XS2000 USB SSD review





Sandisk Pro-Blade Transport – Best 20Gbps modular storage





















Pros


Fast 20Gbps performance

Modular storage

More affordable than you might think (as currently discounted)



Cons


Some non-fatal operational glitches

















Best Prices Today:



$49.99 at Western Digital





The SanDisk Pro-Blade Transport is a portable SSD dock that can be thought of as a cross between removable media and high-speed NVMe. It comes with easy-to-use removable storage cartridges for fast rotating backup. Additionally, it’s a good way to organize projects by their own media as well. The SanDisk Pro-Blade Transport’s modular design allows users to expand their TB count over the same connection and keep everything together and organized in neat, handsome cartridges.

The cartridges come in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities and are all capable of transferring at speeds of 20Gbps. In our speed tests, the Pro-Blade’s cartridges did well in both synthetic benchmarks as well as real-world transfers, with good sustained speeds throughout both the shorter 48GB and longer 450GB read/write tests. We did notice a few hiccups though when the drive’s system would lock up and we needed to manually reboot it to fix the issue. These only came about during rigorous testing scenarios and aren’t likely to affect day-to-day usage. Also, this is something that SanDisk should be able to fix with a software update and it wasn’t a major issue anyways. Overall, this sleek storage system is a great option for organizing your storage and for those who need ultimate flexibility.

Read our full

Sandisk Pro-Blade Transport review





OWC Express 1M2 USB4 SSD – Best USB4/Thunderbolt combo external SSD





















Pros


Over 30GBps transfers with USB4

Works with all USB and Thunderbolt 3/4 ports

Available unpopulated so you can leverage any NVMe SSD



Cons


A bit pricey when loaded with an SSD

Large (but beefy) for an external SSD

















Best Prices Today:



$219.99 at OWC