Owning one of the best external hard drives is a great way to back up your data or simply give you more storage space for your astrophotography work. With Black Friday coming up, we're anticipating some great deals to come up — in fact, our top pick, the SanDisk Extreme, has already been discounted to $80 on Amazon.
Anybody who works with media files often, like photographers, will benefit from keeping an external hard drive, given how little storage space the best laptops these days normally come with. We've covered a range of different hard drives, both HDD and SSD, in a number of shapes and sizes, so hopefully, you'll find something to suit on our list.
For those who are new to photography or looking to upgrade their kit, we also have guides to the best cameras, tripods, and power banks for keeping all your equipment charged while you're on the go.
The quick list
Tantse Walter is a photographer and adventurer who has spent seven years facilitating global adventurous expeditions. She loves getting into the nitty-gritty of sourcing and planning trips. Whether that be for astrophotography location scouting, or just for the love of exploration. Tantse enjoys taking creative, bright and bold photos of people, places, animals and the night sky.
Best external hard drives we recommend in 2024
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The perfect choice for users looking for a small, high-performance SSD. It has an IP55 water and dust rating, a shock-absorbing rugged exterior and crucially has fast read and write speeds. What's not to like?
Tiny, light and robust. The Seagate One Touch is a professional-looking, but still durable device. It's compatible with Windows and Mac and scheduled backups are easy to configure.
Despite the name, the FireCuda Gaming Hub is an excellent storage solution for those with huge media libraries, whether that be games, photos or videos.
The SanDisk Professional G-Drive has anchor points for attaching to a DIT cart/mounting plate. It's a conventional HDD that's a great choice for creative professionals who need a high-performance, durable hard drive.
A credit-card sized (length and width) ultra-light and portable SSD offering high protection security for your media files.
Best for expanding your desktop storage at home rather than taking it out and about. You can password-protect it, and it comes with Western Digital utilities such as backup scheduling and data encryption.
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Easily recognizable in their orange silicone 'suits' the LaCie Rugged range of hard drives and SSDs all have an IP67 rating — they are built to be taken out into the field.
Capable of lightning-fast transfers, this palm-sized device is shockproof to military testing standards. It features a one-touch auto-backup button and the included software offers encryption and disk-locking.
A tiny SSD that you could even turn into a key ring if you wish, It has an IP55 ingress rating for protection against water and dust and it has drop protection up to 7.5 feet for added peace of mind.
A quality HDD from a respected brand. It's affordable with plug-and-play functionality and is fast enough for everything you'd need it for. It's fuss-free and easily portable.
Best external hard drives we recommend in 2024
Best overall
✅ You want something pocketable: This thing is so tiny, it's almost small enough to use on a keyring.
❌ We can't think of a reason to not buy this SSD: We've been using this ourselves for as long as we can remember and they have never let us down.
🔎 SanDisk Extreme is one of the best portable SSDs on the market, and it looks great too. ★★★★★
The SanDisk Extreme has just about everything going for it. We are genuinely struggling to find a reason why we shouldn't recommend it. It's fast, it's durable, it's shock-absorbent, it's reliable, it's incredibly small and it has high performance: literally everything you could possibly want from a hard drive.
It has an IP55 rating, meaning it's resistant to water and dust, and a rugged exterior means it'll withstand drops and knocks. And because it's so small — it's practically useable as a keyring — it's the perfect portable storage device if you travel often. It takes up basically no space at all. Heck, you can use this as a keychain if you want, thanks to its built-in clip hole. Attach it to your laptop case, your purse or even your belt. Whatever works for you.
But it's not all about the looks and design: We were impressed by the SanDisk Extreme's performance, too. It has fast write speeds so it won't slow you down when you're trying to edit or transfer high-resolution photos or 4K videos. It easily connects to any USB-C or USB-A device and offers password protection with 256-bit AES hardware encryption to keep all your files secure.
You can choose from four different capacities: 500GB, 1TB, 2TB and 4TB, as well as three different colors, Black, Sky Blue or Monterey. We've found this to be an incredibly reliable device, and it comes with a five-year warranty for added peace of mind — what's not to love?
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| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Rugged, tiny |
| Functionality | IP55 rated, fast read and write speeds |
| Performance | We can't fault it |
Best for minimalists
✅ You want scheduled backups: The Seagate Toolkit software can provide on-demand and scheduled backup options
❌ It's likely to get wet: Unlike many models on this list, this has no waterproof rating.
🔎 Seagate One Touch is a practical portable hard-drive, with fast write speeds that is ready to go straight out of the box. ★★★★½
If you care about how stylish your SSD looks, then perhaps you might want to consider the Seagate One Touch. Incredibly lightweight, this little storage device is also surprisingly robust: its silver exterior is fully shockproof, giving you some peace of mind knowing you're protected from bumps and knocks.
This isn't the type of storage device you can take into the great outdoors, however: it isn't waterproof-rated, so it's one to keep dry and keep indoors if you want to ensure your data and files are safe and sound.
The Seagate Toolkit software makes on-demand and scheduled backups a breeze, and it is compatible with both Windows and Mac. You could leave it plugged in and set it to back up your computer at the end of every working day, for example.
Included with your purchase of the Seagate One Touch is a 6-month Dropbox Backup plan, which lets you back up the external hard drive onto Dropbox for added protection. You also get a six-month subscription to Mylio Photos+. USB-C and USB-C to A cable are also provided with the hard drive.
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| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Minimalist, professional |
| Functionality | Robust and durable, not waterproof |
| Performance | Fast transfer times, automated backups |
Best for heaps of media
✅ You have a mega library of media: The huge capacity of this hard drive means you won't have to sacrifice any of your photos, videos or games.
❌ You want something that doesn't needs external power: If you're looking for something to keep plugged into your laptop while you're on the move, this isn't for you.
🔎 Seagate FireCuda Gaming Hub: Despite the name, this is a hard-drive for anyone who has copious amounts of data — whether that's photos, movies or games. ★★★★
One of the biggest selling points of the FireCuda Gaming Hub is its large storage capacity, with a high spin speed for a classic HDD meaning you can guarantee solid transfer speeds when you're working with big media files.
Whether you're looking for something from which to spin out games or store massive amounts of media, the FireCuda Gaming Hub offers plenty for your home desk set-up. You can customize the RGB LED lighting too so it fits in with your particular style, while you can position it either vertically or horizontally depending on your preference.
Of course, being such a high-capacity hard drive means the FireCuda isn't a great choice for portability. While its moderate size would fit inside a backpack without too much trouble, it requires an external power source to run, so it's not really ideal for pairing with a laptop if you're often out and about. Rather, this is a great choice if you're looking for a reliable and powerful hard drive that can permanently sit on a desk at home or in the office.
It's worth noting that although the Seagate FireCuda Gaming Hub is fast for a spinning external hard drive, it doesn't compete with most external SSDs. That said, the huge capacity makes up for that sacrifice.
- View our guide to the Best cameras for low light photography
| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Desktop style, mains powered |
| Functionality | Huge capacity for heaps of media |
| Performance | Fast, but not as fast as an external SSD |
Best for mounting
✅ You want mounting options: There are two anchor points on each side to attach to a DIT cart or mounting plate to customize your workstation.
❌ You want something that doesn't need external power: This needs to be plugged into power as well as your computer.
🔎 SanDisk Professional G-Drive: An excellent storage solution for creative professionals who need a high-performance, durable hard-drive. ★★★★
If you're a photographer working with RAW files or heavy-duty photos, we would strongly recommend the SanDisk Professional G-Drive, which can certainly augment the storage capacity of your laptop or PC.
It's a very well-engineered HDD with a strong build quality, while it can also be stacked and mounted to your specifications if you're using it primarily to complement your at-home set-up or fit in with your workstation. There aren't any software facilities, but in our experience, many portable hard drive users often don't need that anyway.
However, like the FireCuda we've included in our list above, the G-Drive requires an external power supply, so it's not a great choice if you're wanting something portable. It's also slower than some drives on this list thanks to being a traditional HDD rather than an SSD. But if a high capacity storage device if what you need and the fastest transfer speeds aren't important, this is a very good choice — and it looks seriously slick, too.
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| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Angular aesthetic, high quality construction |
| Functionality | Stackable and mountable |
| Performance | Easily handles demanding workloads |
Best lightweight option
✅ You want high security: The SSD T7 features 256-bit AES hardware encryption, though there is a 'touch' version that offers biometric security.
❌ You need something waterproof: This SSD doesn't come with an IP rating, so it hasn't been tested for dust and water resistance, though it is shockproof.
🔎 Samsung SSD T7 is a popular, lightweight and small external hard drive with high security thanks to the 256-bit AES hardware encryption. ★★★★
Measuring 85 x 57mm and weighing in at 58 grams (0.13lbs), storage device really don't come much smaller than the Samsung T7 SSD. This drive is absolutely worth considering if you want something ultra-lightweight, stylish and effortlessly portable. It's about the size of a credit card (although a little thicker, with a depth of 8mm) so it'll easily fit into any pocket with no fuss. And, being an SSD, it of course boasts super speedy data transfer speeds.
Despite being so tiny, however, the Samsung T7 SSD isn't fragile: It's made with a robust aluminum body and it can survive drops of up to 6.5 feet (2 meters) without being damaged. It's also built in such a way that its temperature stays regulated without overheating.
The T7 comes preformatted in the exFAT format and is compatible with Windows, Mac and Android straight out of the box. It offers fast write speeds for transferring large amounts of data, and it features password protection with AES 256-bit hardware encryption. If you want even more security, you can opt for the Samsung T7 Touch, which offers biometric security via fingerprint.
It's worth noting that there's no waterproof rating on this device, but it comes in three appealing colors: Titan Gray, Indigo Blue and Metallic Red. You can buy it in 500GB, 1TB and 2TB versions, and it comes with a three-year warranty for peace of mind.
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| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Tiny, pocketable |
| Functionality | Data encryption, works straight of the box |
| Performance | Fast data transfer |
Best desktop hard drive
✅ You want to expand your computer storage capacity: There is a vast range of capacities available, all the way up to a ginormous 22TB.
❌ You are relying on it as your sole means of long-term back up: An HDD will fail eventually; if you're looking for something that will last longer than five years, consider an SSD instead.
🔎 Western Digital My Book is a convenient and affordable desktop storage solution for storing large files like photos and videos. ★★★★
If you need a massive amount of space and a hard drive that's going to stay put, the Western Digital My Book is a great option. This is a solid, understated HDD with a capacity that can go up to a whopping 22TB, so it's ideal for anyone working on large-scale products or with large files.
It needs a constant power supply whenever it's in use, so that's something to bear in mind if you have limited sockets around your desk. It's also a little on the bulky side, so you'll need a bit of space on your desktop to keep it. You won't get the fastest transfer speeds here, since this is a HDD rather than an SSD, but that does mean it's capable of backing up far more data than a newer, faster type of drive.
The My Book can be password protected and linked to a particular laptop or desktop computer, meaning it only asks for the password when you connect it to a new device. You can also install Western Digital Utilities, which provides options for scheduling backups and data encryption, keeping your files extra secure.
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| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Desktop HDD |
| Functionality | Requires power supply, password protection |
| Performance | Reliable scheduled backups |
Best for in the field
✅ You'll be using your hard drive out in the field: With IP67 waterproofing and a durable layer of silicone around the outside, this model can withstand all your outdoor adventures.
❌ You want a quick and easy choice: The number of different models on offer can make it difficult to decide.
🔎 LaCie Rugged: The rugged build and waterproofing on this drive make it a great choice for photographers who are looking to take it on outdoor shoots or camping trips. ★★★★½
LaCie's Rugged SSD does exactly what you would expect it to, with this series of durable and shock-proof devices boasting a reputation for being among the best to take with you if you're prone to moving in testing conditions. These devices are blanketed in a thick layer of bright orange silicone and can withstand drops of up to 4 ft (1.2 m).
LaCie Rugged SSDs sport a waterproof rating of IP67, which means they can be submerged in water up to 3.2 feet (1 meter) and they're completely protected against dust. Beyond that, they're crush-resistant too and able to withstand up to two tons of weight on top of them. Phew.
In other words, LaCie's Rugged range can cope with just about anything you want to throw at it, so there's no better storage device to have if you're out and about in the great outdoors.
There are various models of the LaCie Rugged with different features on offer, including options with encryption, embedded SD card slots as well as Thunderbolt 3 connections that offer up to 2,800 MB/s transfer speeds. You can even get some as hard drives and some as SSDs, depending on your needs and budget.
| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Rugged and waterproof |
| Functionality | Varies per model |
| Performance | Cumbersome setup, depends on model |
Best shockproof hard drive
✅ You want ultimate data control: The Transcend Elite software helps you to carefully manage your data, with options for backup, restore, cloud backup, encryption and disk locking.
❌ You're looking for an SSD: This is a standard hard drive, although it still has impressive transfer rates of up to 5Gbps.
🔎 Transcend StoreJet 25M3C: Featuring extreme shock resistance and multiple ways to manage your data, this is a fantastic hard drive to keep on your desk at home without fear of knocking it off. ★★★★
There are faster hard drives out there than the Transcend StoreJet 25M3C, especially when you look at some of the zippier SSDs. But it's a great option if you need a larger capacity and don't particularly mind middling speeds of up to 5 Gbps. Plus, its main selling point is its excellent shock resistance. It's available in several different configurations, but the 25M3C is a particular highlight thanks to its USB-C port. However, you can also use it with a USB-C to USB-A adaptor.
The palm-sized Transcend StoreJet 25M3C boasts 'supreme' shock resistance. Transcend boasts about it having passed US military-grade transit drop testing, thanks to its silicone rubber casing coupled with internal shock-absorbing suspension and reinforced hard casing. If you're clumsy or prone to dropping things, then, you don't have to worry about this one slipping out of your hands.
While using Transcend Elite software, you can utilize the 'one-touch auto backup' to instantly back up your data. The software also allows for advanced data management such as backup and restore, cloud backup, encryption and disk locking.
| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Small, robust |
| Functionality | Shock and drop proof, one touch backup |
| Performance | Quick file transfers and efficient data management |
Best tiny SSD
✅ You want something small to carry around with you: This one is small enough to attach to your keyring and it's extremely lightweight.
❌ You want the fastest transfer speeds: The upgraded Crucial X10 Pro offers faster transfer rates, but also costs more money.
🔎 Crucial X9 Pro: Ideal for attaching to a keyring or slipping into your pocket, this lightweight SSD is easy to carry around and offers basic water and dust protection. ★★★★½
The Crucial X9 Pro is the epitome of tiny: it weighs less than the Samsung Portable SSD T7 that we featured above, coming in at just 43g (1.5 oz), and it's smaller than the Sandisk Extreme that we love so much, measuring just 0.3 x 2.6 x 2 in (8 x 66 x 51 mm).
It's hard-wearing, too, thanks to its anodized aluminum body that comes with a rubberized base. We think it's super stylish with its matte gray body, too. And, like the Sandisk Extreme, it can be attached to a keychain or lanyard thanks to a gap on one of the corners, keeping it secure and always with you.
It has an ingress protection rating of IP55 (which means limited protection from dust and low-pressure water jets) and drop protection up to 7.5 feet, so you don't need to worry if you drop it or inadvertently leave it out in the rain. It's protected with a five-year warranty, too.
This hard drive is the field photographer's best friend, being small and light enough to carry around without adding excess weight to your camera bag. Keeping weight low can be crucial when traveling with tripods, lenses and heavy cameras, so anything that cuts down on the overall gear burden is a win in our books.
The model that has superseded this one is the Crucial X10 Pro, which costs more but offers significantly faster file transfers than its predecessor.
| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Tiny, attractive |
| Functionality | Highly portable, IP55 rated |
| Performance | Excellent performance |
Best no frills hard drive
✅ You're looking for a more affordable option: As an HDD, it's more affordable than SDD for the same amount of storage.
❌ You want speedy transfers: It's not as fast as SSD storage solutions and also uses a slightly outdated Micro-B USB connector.
🔎 Toshiba Canvio Flex: If you want a reliable, no-frills drive that will get the job done at a more affordable price point, then this HDD might be a good option for you. ★★★★½
Although the Toshiba Canvio Flex is far from the fastest hard drive out there, it's one of the best value options we have found, and is certainly good enough for most day-to-day file transfer needs. With it's brushed aluminum faceplate and white polycarbonate casing, it looks the part, but ultimately it's a straightforward, no-frills hard drive.
This is a HDD, meaning it's not as fast as a newer SSD, but it comes in at a lower price. The Canvio Flex range of hard drives don't come in as high capacities as some HDDs (up to 4tb), but this is a cost-effective way of backing up a decent amount of data, even if you're not going to get blazing fast transfer speeds.
It has plug-and-play functionality and can easily connect to your tablet or iPad so you can run large applications such as Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom without using up a tonne of the device's limited storage space.
It has a somewhat dated Micro-B USB connector, but it comes with a USB-A and C cable so you won't need to source your own. The interface speed is the same regardless of which cable you use. The small form factor means it's easily portable, fuss-free, and it's backed by Toshiba's three-year warranty.
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| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Traditional, basic, fuss-free |
| Functionality | Plug and play HDD |
| Performance | Fast enough for most photographer's requirements |
Best external hard drives: Frequently Asked Questions
What is an external hard drive?
An external hard drive is any digital storage device that can connect to a computer, smartphone or tablet to transfer and store digital files like photos and videos. The term can refer to hard disk drives, which work thanks to spinning metal disks inside them, or to solid state drives (SSDs), which use chips and have no moving parts.
What is the difference between an HDD and SSD?
An HDD (hard disk drive) stores data magnetically. It works thanks to a reading arm that moves between the spinning metal disks inside it to read, transfer or record data.
An SSD (solid state drive) has no moving parts and uses chips on a circuit board to store data. They're generally considered more robust than HDDs.
Which is better SSD or HDD?
The lack of moving parts in SSDs make them generally more robust and les prone to damage than HDDs, which rely on spinning disks to operate. SSDs also have bigger storage capacities while remaining lighter than their HDD counterparts, and are less prone to skipping data. For these reasons, almost all experts agree that an SSD is better than an HDD except in unique circumstances.
Which is better WD or Seagate?
Both Western Digital and Seagate make great storage drives (both internal and external), so we wouldn't recommend one brand over another. Depending on your requirements and budget, however, an individual model from one of these brands may be better suited for you than another.
Best external hard drives in 2024: What to look for
There are dozens of external hard drive models available to buy with seemingly very similar specs, so choosing the right one can be a tough task if you don't know all the jargon that surrounds them. Below, you'll find some pointers regarding what to look out for when you're choosing the perfect hard drive for you.
There are two main types of external hard drives: Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) and Solid State Drives (SSDs). HDDs store and retrieve data magnetically thanks to one or more metal rotating platters coated with magnetic materials, while SSDs work thank to flash memory.
HDDs tend to be cheaper and can accommodate significant volumes of data, but because of their moving components, they're also more susceptible to breakages if they're dropped or bumped. So if you have a large amount of data you want to store and aren't planning on moving very often, an HDD may be the best choice for you.
If you're often on the go and want a lighter, more reliable external hard drive, the newer Solid-State Drives may be a better option. They're usually faster and more durable than their HDD counterparts, but they're also more expensive and have a more limited storage capacity.
Once you've chosen the right type of external hard drive for you, you'll want to choose the right storage capacity. The more data you want to store, the higher capacity you'll need - it's worth keeping in mind here that HDDs tend to be cheaper per gigabyte of data. Most of the models in this guide are available in a range of storage capacities, but the highest capacity model is the SanDisk Professional G-Drive, which has a ridiculous 22TB of storage.
The next thing to watch out for when choosing an external hard drive is connection types. Firstly, some drives require an external power source while others don't. If you're on the go a lot and need a portable solution, the second type will be most useful to you, but if you're just planning on using your external hard drive as an add-on to your home computer storage, a hard drive that needs an external power source should work just fine.
Secondly, you'll need to make sure you choose an external hard drive with the right type of ports for your intended use. The best way to find this out is to read the specs of the product you're thinking of buying. Most of the hard drives we've featured in this guide either connect to your laptop/computer/tablet with a USB-C or USB-A cable that is supplied with the hard drive. However, there are a couple of models with a Micro USB or other types of connection that you may want to steer clear of if you don't want to carry multiple cables.
Speed might also be a consideration when choosing a hard drive: a device's speed will be listed as 'RPM' for HDDs and megabytes per second (MB/s) for SSDs. RPM is the number of rotations per minute of the spinning platters; the higher the RPM, the faster you can transfer and access your data. Similarly with the SSDs, the higher the MB/s, the quicker the data transfer speeds.
Regardless of the type, capacity or speed of the external hard drive you end up choosing, it's important to store your data in more than one place and to back it up regularly to ensure you don't lose any of it.
How we test the best external hard drives
To guarantee you're getting honest, up-to-date recommendations on the best external hard drives, here at Space.com, we keep our finger on the pulse of emerging technology to aid astronomers and skywatchers. Each hard drive or solid state drive is given merit based on many aspects, from its construction and design, to how well it functions as a hard drive and its performance in the field.
Each product we test is carefully reviewed by either our expert staff or knowledgeable freelance contributors who know their subject areas in depth. This ensures fair reviewing is backed by personal, hands-on experience with each device and is judged based on its price point, class and destined use.
With complete editorial independence, Space.com is here to ensure you get the best buying advice on external hard drives, whether you should purchase a device or not, making our buying guides and reviews reliable and transparent.
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