With so many cameras hitting the 40-megapixel mark (or exceeding it) and with 4K video and beyond becoming the norm, the best external hard drives are an expense that content creators have to take on the chin nowadays. And that’s before you consider best practice when it comes to backing up files.

• See all of today's Amazon camera deals

If you can prize yourself away from the best camera deals this Amazon Prime Day, I’ve found an incredible hard drive bargain, the WD 14TB Elements Desktop for just $161.49. You will need an Amazon Prime membership to take advantage of this offer, but non-members should be able to take out a free trial, which can be canceled at any time.

Yes, it’s a big old lump of an external hard drive, and no, it’s not an SSD, but 14TB is a huge amount of storage, of which $161.49 is a small price to pay. This would be an excellent investment for a commercial, events, or wedding photographer, looking to further back up old catalogues of images, or for more casual users to extend their laptop’s paltry storage space. Let’s face it, Apple ain’t exactly generous when it comes to MacBook and iMac storage space. It doesn’t take much to fill up a 256GB hard drive…

The WD 14TB Elements Desktop External Hard Drive is both macOS and Windows compatible, but while it’s plug-and-play ready for Windows PCs, Mac users will have to reformat the drive before use. It’s a mechanical hard drive with USB 3.0, so don’t expect blistering SSD read/write speeds. It’s also a big lump, weighing in at 0.9lbs and measuring 5.31x1.89x6.53”, so this is a desktop-only hard drive that you’re not going to be moving around with your laptop. On that note, you’ll need a power outlet handy, because the WD 14TB Elements Desktop External Hard Drive comes with a wall-socket power supply.

This isn’t the best external hard drive for photographers on the market, but if you’re in dire need of more storage or could do with another backup, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a 14TB hard drive cheaper. If you can live with a mechanical drive, it's a great deal. Just be aware that no external hard drive is infallible. I recommend backing up images in at least three places, ideally including some form of cloud storage. It’s also good practice to keep a backup away from your computer, in case of external extenuating circumstances, such as a basement flood.

Looking for more Amazon Big Deal Days bargains? Check out the best drone deals.

In a world where SSDs (Solid State Drives) seem to dominate all forms of data storage, it's easy to forget that traditional mechanical hard drives can still be a valuable asset. SSDs are great for small to medium capacities, but if you need to storge large volumes of data, a high-capacity hard drive is far more cost-effective than a pricey SSD. Although slower in terms of read/write speeds, if you're using it primarily for back-ups and long-term storage, an external desktop hard disk drive will fulfil such duties just fine.

Features

External hard drives don't get much more capacious than the SanDisk Professional G-Drive. A range of capacities are available, starting at 4TB (which is where external SSDs tend to top out), and rising to a gargantuan 26TB top capacity. It's the 26TB range-topper that we're testing here. To put 26 terabytes into perspective, a Canon EOS R5 II recording 8K RAW video consumes 18.2GB of storage space per minute of footage. You'd therefore need to shoot continuously for a full 24 hours at this video quality to fill 26 terabytes.

[Side note: due to the confusing and arguably deceptive way that hard drive manufacturers measure a 'terabyte' as being equal to 1000 gigabytes, not the correct 1024 gigabytes, the actual usable capacity of the '26' terabyte G-Drive is more like 23.6 terabytes. At least, that's the case when the drive is used with a Windows PC, and I'm not getting into the gigabyte vs. gibibyte debate.]

There are plenty of high-capacity desktop hard drives on the market, but the G-Drive sets itself apart by being aimed at professional users who need to store "mission-critical" data. It therefore uses an enterprise-level Western Digital Ultrastar hard drive, which spins at 7200rpm, making it faster than the typical 5400rpm speed of most modern 3.5" hard drives that prioritise low power consumption.

SanDisk claims a maximum 260MB/s read rate and an even faster 270MB/s peak write speed for the 26TB drive (the 22TB and 24TB capacities have an advertised 280MB/s read and write speed). That's not bad when you consider my first internal SSD - a Samsung SSD 830 from around 2012 - topped out at 520MB/s read and 400MB/s write, but only had 128GB of storage space.

A fast 10Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C connection ensures the drive is far from bottlenecked by its interface, and even the status LED has 'bright', 'normal' and 'off' modes - a nice touch.

Build & handling

G-Drive external hard drives have always had a premium feel to them, and this latest version is no exception. The gunmetal grey portion of the casing is thick anodized aluminium and feels exceptionally solid. On the sides are mounting holes that allow the drive to be mounted with others in a rack or cart when used in professional environments, and there are rubber feet on the base which, combined with the drive's hefty 1.36kg weight, keep it securely anchored to any desk surface.

But it's not all good news. For some reason the drive has large ridged plastic panels on the top and bottom which feel cheap and flexible in comparison to the aluminium section. Compared to older desktop G-Drives which had full aluminium enclosures, this latest incarnation, though likely just as tough, just doesn't look or feel as special.

Unlike a portable, pocket-sized external hard drive, the SanDisk Professional G-Drive requires a dedicated power supply. That's normal for a desktop drive though.

Performance

The G-Drive comes pre-formatted in the Mac-specific APFS file system. This means it's got out-of-the-box Mac and Time Machine compatibility, but PC users such as myself will see nothing appear when the drive is plugged into a Windows computer. To fix this, you'll need to search for the 'Disk Management' utility within Windows and use that to reformat the drive to NTFS.

To test the G-Drive's maximum possible transfer speed I broke out my preferred storage benchmark app: CrystalDiskMark. This recorded a peak read speed of 282MB/s and a 284MB/s max write speed - even quicker than SanDisk's claimed 260MB/s read and 270MB/s write rates.

Great, but a benchmarking app represents a best-case data transfer scenario. For a more real-world read/write speed test I took a single large 36.2GB video file, as well as a 25.9GB folder full of small images, and moved both to and from the drive several times to see what sort of read and write speeds you can expect during typical use:

Moving multiple small files will always take a little longer than a single file of the same total size, so reduced transfer speeds are usually inevitable. However, the G-Drive managed almost identical read speeds with multiple small files as with a single large file. Write speeds were slower with small files, but not by much. It's also impressive just how close the drive gets in general use to its claimed maximum speed.

If I have one criticism, it's that it only takes a minute or two of idling before the G-Drive goes into a sleep state. I tested the drive using a fast laptop with USB4 to ensure no USB bottleneck, with the computer's power profile set to high performance, and with the laptop connected to mains power; there should have been no reason for the drive to go into a power-saving mode so readily. But when it does, you'll need to wait for almost 20 seconds for the drive to spin back up before it will respond. You simply don't get this delay with an SSD.

Verdict

Apart from its tendency to go into sleep mode too readily, my experience with the 26TB G-Drive was positive. I found its transfer speeds to be quicker than you might expect from a traditional mechanical hard drive. It also offers so much storage space you might not come close to filling it for years, while the solid casing (mostly) exudes quality. The default Mac-specific formatting is annoying if you'll be using the drive with Windows, but it's easy enough to change once you know how.

However, this is a premium drive aimed at professional users storing valuable work, and which will likely be used as a back-up drive. It therefore needs to be totally reliable, and though it proved to be just that during my relatively brief testing, there seem to be numerous customer reviews on multiple retail websites reporting drive failure.

Naturally, for every user leaving a negative review due to having just lost all their data, there'll likely be countless others who've had no problems with the drive and have therefore not been compelled to leave any review. However, the latter is true for any hard drive, yet the 26TB SanDisk Professional G-Drive currently has an average customer star rating of just 2.3 (based on over 50 reviews) on B&H, where comparable (and cheaper) drives score better.

Sure, this is anecdotal 'evidence', but it paints a concerning picture, and though the drive is backed by a 3-year warranty, that's of little comfort if you lose irreplaceable data. So although I was impressed by the SanDisk Professional G-Drive, I'm hesitant to recommend it as your sole means of data storage.

Toshiba has given its Canvio portable hard drive range a mild update for 2025. As far as we can tell, the core specifications remain largely unchanged from the outgoing models, and instead it's the exterior design that's received a subtle rework.

The Canvio Flex is Toshiba's general purpose portable hard drive. With a matte silver finish, it's intended to be a go-anywhere back-up drive that easily connects to PCs and Macs, as well as iOS and Android phones and tablets. It's supplied with USB Type-A and Type-C cables for widespread compatibility with old and new devices.

However, the cables attach to the drive using an outdated USB 3.0 Micro-B connection - a connector that's been long superseded by Type-C. The drive's interface is advertised as USB 3.2 Gen 1, but this is simply a rebrand of the aging USB 3.0 standard, meaning that the drive is limited to 5 Gbps data transfer speed. Even so, given the Canvio Flex is a traditional mechanical hard drive at heart (as opposed to a much faster SSD) this relatively old and slow USB revision shouldn't actually bottleneck the hard drive within.

Capacities remain the same as for the previous Canvio Flex range, with 1TB, 2TB and 4TB options available. As yet no pricing details have been announced, but if the new line-up costs roughly the same as the outgoing models, expect to pay around $65 for the 1TB capacity, rising to approximately $110 for the 4TB drive.

For those who want a portable hard drive primarily for expanding game console storage, there's the Canvio Gaming edition drive. This features a dark grey metallic color with a blue status LED, plus an ‘always on’ mode for quicker resume/response times during gaming. It's supplied only with a USB Type-A cable (no Type-C cable is included), but capacities (and we'd assume transfer speeds) match those of the Canvio Flex.

Expect the new Canvio Flex and Canvio Gaming portable hard drives to be available later in Q1 2025.

Break out the cake and candles: Western Digital's My Passport series of portable hard drives is now 20 years old. My Passport drives have long been a go-to option for anyone wanting small, easy-to-use, attractive and well-priced portable storage. 

According to WD, since they were introduced in 2004, all the My Passport drives ever produced total around 180 exabytes of data storage (180 billion gigabytes): equivalent to up to 18 billion hours of HD video, up to 46 trillion photos, or up to 35 trillion songs (WD's calculations). The lineage started with the original 40GB My Passport, but today's versions now boast over 150 times that capacity, with up to 6 terabytes of storage per drive.

Read more:
The best portable hard drives
The best external hard drives

To celebrate this two-decade milestone, WD has released a special edition of its My Passport Ultra portable hard drive. The WD My Passport Ultra, 20th Emerald Anniversary Edition is finished in a matte emerald green colorway that's supposed to signify "loyalty, peace, and security".

Key features:

• Anodised metal enclosure for extra durability and impact protection
• Out-of-the-box USB 3.2 Gen 1 compatibility with Windows PC, Mac, mobile phones, tablets, and other USB-C devices
• High capacity (up to 6 terabytes)
• Included Acronis True Image software for smart backups, plus Western Digital's device management software also helps defend against ransomware attacks
• Password protection and 256-bit AES hardware encryption
• Three-year limited warranty

WD My Passport Ultra 20th Emerald Anniversary Edition drives are available to buy now in either 2TB or 6TB capacities, with prices starting at $89.99/£96.99 for the 2TB capacity.

Typically NAS storage systems are reserved for the office desktop, large unwieldy things that offer incredible storage solutions but limited portability. UnifyDrive however, has turned this idea on its head by introducing the UnifyDrive UT2 – a pocket-sized 16 TB SSD NAS aimed at creators on the go.

What is NAS storage?

NAS stands for Network Attached Storage, and it enables users to store and share data between multiple devices remotely. It can act as a less expensive personal home server that enables faster file transfers and connectivity.

UnifyDrive has taken NAS storage on the road, providing the same NAS features in a smaller more portable battery-powered form factor, aimed at creatives who need large data file transfers while working on location or traveling. The UT2 facilitates instant and secure transfers from SD/CFe/TF cards without needing an internet connection – think of it as leveling up your portable SSD!

The UT2 is powered by an '8-core CPU up to 2.4GHz, a G610 GPU, and a 6 TOPS NPU' which facilitates smooth, multithreaded processing for demanding tasks and AI applications. Flexible storage options support single-disk, RAID1, and UDR modes, allowing user customization to performance and redundancies.

UnifyDrive states that the UT2 has lightning-fast read and write speeds, "With up to 16TB of storage, and dual SSDs deliver rapid read/write speeds, ensuring swift data access and efficient storage management. With no moving parts, SSD enhances reliability and reduces the risk of data loss due to mechanical failure, resistant to physical shock and vibration".

The UT2 is aimed at 'creators on the go' and makes backing up your work on location incredibly easy with a plug-and-play design. Simply by entering your memory card and pressing one button, all of your files will be stored instantly – ideal for wedding photographers!

What's more, UT2's remote access capabilities mean that the stored files can be accessed remotely by colleagues, preventing workflow bottlenecks, and improving turnaround times. This would be extremely useful for advertising campaigns as the post-processing can be started by colleagues in the studio before you even get back from the shoot.

It wouldn't be a 2024 product release without the use of AI in some interpretation, and the UnifyDrive UT2 utilizes it for its data management system. It enables the user to search and organize files such as photos, videos, and documents offline without the cloud, facilitating secure communication.

The AI helpfully powers the search function, categorizing search terms into scenarios, faces, and scenes. AI also aids in text-to-speech and by generating captions.

The UT2 supports Wi-Fi 6, data sync, remote access, AI-powered organization, built-in battery backup, 8K content support, and 'triple mode flexibility' improves its versatility.

AP Mode enables users to turn the UT2 into a wireless router, WiFi Mode provides completely wireless access to stored data, and Flash Drive Mode turns the device into a high-capacity USB drive supporting up to 8TB of data transfer.

The Kickstarter for the UnifyDrive UT2 is live now and has already surpassed its target goal. It is still worth checking out, however, as the Kickstarter page is offering several early-bird discounts to backers.

The UnifyDrive UT2 has many more features including the ability to transform into a portable Blu-Ray player, and you can see a full breakdown of specifications on the Kickstarter page.

Editor's note: As with all crowdfunding projects, there is no guarantee that the final product will match the early depictions in the campaign – or that the final product will be completed or delivered at all. DCW does not endorse this or any other crowdfunding campaign.

You may be interested in our guides to the best NAS drives, the best portable SSDs, and the best CFexpress cards.

SanDisk has launched a new desktop storage solution: SanDisk Desk Drive. Designed to replace a conventional desktop external hard drive, the Desk Drive's standout feature is it uses solid state storage rather than being based around a mechanical hard drive. Consequently, the SanDisk Desk Drive is capable of read speeds up to 1000MB/s and write speeds up to 900MB/s, making it around 4x faster than normal desktop storage. Two capacity options are available: 4TB and 8TB, though SanDisk has suggested a 16TB version is on the way.

Read more:
The best external hard drives
The best portable SSDs

Not only does the Desk Drive offer superior transfer speeds to a normal desktop hard drive, it's also smaller, measuring just 99.2mm square and 40.2mm high. Connection is via USB 3.2 Gen 2 and a Type-C connector, though unlike a portable SSD, the Desk Drive does also require a separate power supply in order to operate. The drive comes formatted in exFAT for out-of-the-box compatibility with Windows and Mac computers, plus it's compatible with Apple Time Machine for easy back-ups. Windows users can create back-ups using the downloadable Acronis True Image software for Western Digital.

The SanDisk Desk Drive is available now, priced at $379.99/£359.99 for the 4TB version, while the 8TB capacity costs $699.99/£663.99.

The best portable hard drives are the ideal way to store, back up and archive your images and videos to keep them safe and accessible. If you're constantly on the move and need a storage solution that can move with you, then we'd definitely recommend picking up one of these portable hard drives.

Ultimately, your computer's storage is only going to take you so far. Images and videos take up a lot of digital space, and if you shoot even a reasonable amount, you'll find pretty quickly that you need somewhere to keep all this data. Even if you already use cloud storage, portable hard drives can be an excellent choice. They offer an extra layer of backup without needing to access the internet.

There are two types of drive to consider: a conventional portable hard disk drive (HDD) is a good economical choice, packing plenty of space for a low price. However, a portable solid-state drive (SSD) will offer much faster transfer speeds, while also being lighter and slimmer than conventional hard drives.

Portable SSDs used to be way more expensive than portable hard disk drives, but prices have now come down significantly. Considering how much extra speed a portable SSD delivers over a hard disk drive, we think it's worth spending a little extra to get a huge performance boost.

We're listing the best portable SSDs just below, followed by the best portable hard disk drives. If you need even more storage space, you'll want to look into the best cloud storage services or the best desktop hard drives.

The Quick List

Best portable SSDs

Best overall

With maximum advertised read and write speeds of 2000MB/s and 1800MB, respectively, this is one of the faster portable SSDs you can buy. Despite this, it's still easily portable, measuring just 9.73 x 6 x 1.24cm (3.83 x 2.36 x 0.49 inches). The RP60 is also built to be rugged: the shock-resistant rubberized casing helps the drive survive drops from up to 3 meters, while an IP65 ingress protection rating means water and dust shouldn't get inside.

Sometimes manufacturer speed claims can be overly optimistic, but we were pleasantly surprised when we tested the RP60. We recorded a maximum read speed of 2013MB/s, and a 1782MB/s write speed - almost exactly the same as PNY's advertised numbers. Real-world transfer speeds were inevitably lower, though they were still some of the fastest we've recorded from a portable SSD.

Considering the RP60 can often be found for a lower price per gigabyte than rival SSDs from SanDisk and Samsung, we think it's a real bargain.

See our full PNY RP60 portable SSD review

Best for extreme speed

If you frequently need to shift huge 4K video files, or large numbers of high-res raw stills, the SanDisk Professional Pro-G40 SSD is the portable SSD for you. Capable of transfer speeds up to 3000MB/s, it's one of the fastest portable SSDs on the market, yet it's no bigger than most of its rivals.

The Pro-G40 is also built to last. It'll survive drops from heights of up to 3m and resist crushing forces of up to 4000 lbs. Furthermore, it has an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, enabling it to withstand submersion at depths of 1.5m for up to 30 minutes.

When we tested the Pro-G40 we got impressively close to SanDisk's speed claims, recording a max read speed of 2800MB/s, and a 2604MB/s peak write rate. You will however need a computer equipped with a Thunderbolt 3, 4 or 5 connection to get these speeds. USB 3.2 Gen 2 can also be used, but transfers will be limited to below 1000MB/s.

Read our full SanDisk Professional Pro-G40 SSD review

Best value

Lexar is a brand usually associated with top-notch memory cards and card readers, but it also offers several portable SSDs. The SL500 is its latest offering and measures an easily portable 85 x 54 x 7.8mm. Build quality feels reassuringly solid, and the matte black finish looks classy.

Lexar advertises rapid maximum read/write speeds of 2000/1800MB/s. When we tested the SL500, we clocked the drive at a maximum 1067/1058MB/s using storage speed benchmarking software.

When reading/writing a single large video file – a best-case real-world speed scenario - the SL500 managed 861MB/s read and 634MB/s write. These are impressively fast speeds, but it's a pity we couldn't get closer to Lexar's advertised speeds. Your experience may be different though.

The Lexar SL500 can be had in popular 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacity options, and connects via a Type-C port.

This runs at USB 3.2 Gen2x2 speed, so you'll need a computer that supports this or the faster USB4 standard to extract the drive's full performance. You can connect to older USB 3.1, 3.0 or 2.0 computers (a USB Type C to A adapter is included), but transfer speeds will become bottlenecked.

Read our full Lexar SL500 portable SSD review

Best for style

Samsung's entry is as sleek as portable SSDs come, with a simple matte aluminium casing that oozes understated quality. Measuring only 85 x 57 x 8mm, it easily slips into a shirt pocket, and there are even three color finishes: gray, blue, and metallic red.

You might not guess it from the stylish exterior, but the SSD T7 is also rated to survive a 2-metre drop, and your data can be protected by 256-bit hardware encryption. 500GB, 1TB and 2TB capacity options are available, with each boasting hugely fast transfer speeds of up to 1050MB/s read and 1,000MB/s write.

Read our full Samsung T7 SSD review

Best for high capacities

Note: SanDisk used to call this the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2, which is the name of the SSD we reviewed. The 'V2' suffix has now been dropped, but the actual product remains the same.

This is not SanDisk's top-of-the-range portable SSD - that honour currently goes to the Extreme Pro Portable SSD - but this cheaper non-Pro version still offers excellent performance, and more capacity options.

SanDisk quotes a peak read speed of 1050MB/s for the Extreme Portable SSD. Despite testing with a blazing-fast laptop, we could ‘only’ manage a peak 780MB/s when reading a large video file (a best-case scenario) and 564MB/s when writing it to the drive. Still, that’s hugely fast, and image transfer speeds of 693/496MB/s read/write are equally incredible. It should also be noted that a portable SSD will rarely - if ever - perform as fast in actual file transfers as in a software benchmark.

Capacities start at 500GB and then double until you reach the top 8TB model. This is uusally spacious for a portable SSD, though it'll cost you nearly $1000! The 1TB and 2TB options offer the best value.

Read our full SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD review

This is WD's latest version of its long-running My Passport SSD. The new version has a smoother, more rounded design, and is slightly smaller than many of its competitors, so it'll easily slip into a tight jeans pocket.

This My Passport SSD is built around NVMe SSD technology, with advertised max read/write speeds of 1050MB/s and 1000MB/s, respectively. Refreshingly, we found WD's claims to be bang-on, as in our testing we measured 1041MB/s and 1002MB/s read/write rates in benchmarking software - very impressive.

Switching to real-world testing inevitably brings a performance hit, but the My Passport SSD still performed well. We achieved an average 651MB/s and 569MB/s read/write speed with video files, and 538/364MB/s with multiple image files.

Capacity options include 500GB, 1TB, 2TB and 4TB, with connectivity being via USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2. A USB-C to USB-A adapter is included in the box.

Read our full WD My Passport SSD review

Best portable hard disk drives

Best portable hard disk drive

If you want the most portable storage for the lowest possible outlay, a traditional portable hard drive remains a solid choice. They cost significantly less than an equivalent‑capacity portable SSD, yet are just as simple to use, with no external power supply needed.

Toshiba’s Canvio Flex is one such drive, offered in 1TB, 2TB and 4TB capacities, and designed to work seamlessly with Windows and macOS computers, as well as iOS and Android mobile devices. That broad compatibility means you can even back up files directly from your phone without involving a laptop.

The Canvio Flex keeps things straightforward in terms of design. Its plastic shell helps reduce weight — just 155g for the 2TB model tested — though the 4TB version rises to 212g, and is noticeably chunkier with a 19.5mm thickness.

Toshiba doesn’t publish official transfer‑speed figures, but our benchmarks recorded maximum read speeds of 149MB/s and write speeds up to 156.4MB/s. Those numbers are well below SSD territory, but still perfectly respectable. Real‑world video transfers were slightly slower, though not signficantly.

For anyone working to a tight budget, the Canvio Flex is an easy drive to recommend. Its build quality and performance are solid for the price, and while the USB micro‑B port may look dated, it poses little real‑world inconvenience.

Read our full Toshiba Canvio Flex review

With its silicone rubber bumper and internal anti-shock mounts, this portable drive is built for life off the beaten track. It can withstand a drop from up to 1.2m, it's crushproof to 1000lb of force, and it's resistant to rain and sand. A single USB 3.1 Gen 1 connection connects the drive to a Windows PC or Mac via a USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 socket, and a USB-C-to-USB-A adaptor is included for older computers. G-Technology claims a maximum transfer speed of 140MB, though we topped out at 128MB/s when reading a single large video file from the drive - a best-case scenario for transfer speed.

This is still a very respectable performance for a drive that's based around a conventional mechanical hard disk drive. The only downsides with all this ruggedness is the ArmorATD is noticeably - although not significantly - larger than a non-toughened drive like a WD MyPassport, and you'll need to part with almost twice as much cash for an equivalent capacity.

Speed comparison

< Prev

Read speed (MB/s)

Next >

PNY RP60

2013

SanDisk Professional Pro-G40 SSD

2800

Lexar SL500

1067

SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD

780

Toshiba Canvio Flex

149

07501,5002,2503,000

Read speed (MB/s) Data

Product	Value
PNY RP60	2013
SanDisk Professional Pro-G40 SSD	2800
Lexar SL500	1067
SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD	780
Toshiba Canvio Flex	149

PNY RP60

1782

SanDisk Professional Pro-G40 SSD

2604

Lexar SL500

1058

SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD

564

Toshiba Canvio Flex

156

07501,5002,2503,000

Write speed (MB/s) Data

Product	Value
PNY RP60	1782
SanDisk Professional Pro-G40 SSD	2604
Lexar SL500	1058
SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD	564
Toshiba Canvio Flex	156

1 of 2

How to choose a portable hard drive

1. Hard drive or SSD?

Portable hard disk drives are relatively slow and use sensitive moving parts, making them vulnerable to drops. Portable SSDs are much faster and have no moving parts, so are also more resilient.

2. Formatting: Mac or Windows?

Some drives are pre-configured for either Mac or Windows. This can almost always be changed to enable cross-platform compatibility, though you may need additional software.

3. Transfer speed

Don’t expect a portable hard drive to always perform at its best. Transferring a large batch of image files will usually take longer than shifting a single video file of the same size.

4. Well connected

All these drives are powered by their USB or Thunderbolt connection, and so they don’t require a separate power supply. Many also include cables or an adaptor to convert between USB-C and USB-A port designs.

5. Little extras

Portable hard drives aren’t just about size and speed. Many manufacturers also bundle extras like backup software, data encryption, or even complimentary cloud storage.

The best external hard drive offer huge amounts of storage, which frees up space on your computer, and makes it easy to back up your files quickly and regularly. And they're pretty easy to use too: no technical knowledge required.

Is an external hard drive the right choice for you? It might not be. If you're frequently on the go, you may prefer a portable hard drive as they're smaller and don't require a separate power supply. Alternatively, if you want the very fastest transfer speeds, then one of the best SSDs will be speedier than a conventional hard drive. The downside is that SSDs are a lot more expensive per gigabyte of capacity. On the whole then, for at-home desktop use, the drives you'll find below are your best bet.

Read on as we compare each device for affordability, speed, capacity, and ease of use, to help you find the best external hard drive.

Our top picks

• Back to the top ⤴

Best desktop hard drives

Best external hard drive overall

WD is an established name in the hard drive business, and this is our top pick among the best external hard drives available today. You'll find transfer speeds plenty quick enough for transferring high res images and HD video without too much waiting, with USB 3.1 connectivity maintaining wide compatibility with most computers.

Capacities range from 4TB to a humongous 22TB, with loads of options in between. We think the 8TB version is the best value, but regardless of the capacity you go for, WD Elements Desktop drives usually give you the most storage for the least cash.

• Back to the top ⤴

Best external hard drive for Mac

If you have one of the latest Macs, your external hard drive really needs Thunderbolt 3 connectivity to ensure the best possible performance. (Why not Thunderbolt 4? See our FAQs). Plus you want it pre-formatted to work flawlessly with Macs straight out of the box. In this case, this model from SanDisk is our top pick.

As well as Thunderbolt 3 ports, you also get up to 18TB of storage, which should be more than enough for most people. If you consider that overkill, versions from 4TB and up are also available at a lower cost.

Don't worry too much about under-shooting, either. After all, if you find yourself needing additional space later down the line, you can always use that second Thunderbolt 3 port to daisy chain an additional G-Drive.

• Back to the top ⤴

Fastest external hard drive

If you want to transfer files to or from a hard drive more quickly, its rotation speed matters. Measured in RPM, just like a car engine, most external drives are rated at 5400RPM. However there's a rarer breed of faster 7200RPM drives, and the Lacie d2 is one of these select high-performance external hard drives.

With read speeds of up to 240MB/s and linked to your computer via a modern and fast USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C port, the d2 offers a compelling compromise between spacious, cost-effective storage while maintaining a decent turn of speed.

Currently, the 8TB drive gets you the best bang per buck, though 4TB to 14TB options are available. Every d2 contains a professional-grade Seagate BarraCuda Pro hard disk inside, rated for 24/7 industrial use, further justifying this drives more premium pricing.

• Back to the top ⤴

Best external hard drive for security

No one wants their photos stolen, and with the iStorage diskAshur 2TB external hard drive, even if you misplace it, people won’t be able to access it. That’s thanks to the physical keypad which requires a PIN to be entered before you can use the drive.

It's encrypted with 256-bit AES, and you can even set it to wipe itself if it gets lost or stolen. Its rugged design means your photos are also protected from accidents, and the 2TB storage offers plenty of space for even the most prolific photographers. You do pay for this added security, though.

• Back to the top ⤴

RAID drives

Best RAID drive overall

The WD My Book Duo external hard drive is our pick for the best desktop storage device for photographers who have large amounts of photographs they want to store – while also ensuring that those photographs are completely safe.

The Duo (two hard drives are packed inside, doubling capacity) comes in 16, 20, 24, 28, 36, and even 44TB capacities, although predictably the largest capacities command serious price tags. The two drives within can be set up in a RAID 1 configuration, so your photos are automatically backed up on a second hard drive. It also comes with 256-bit AES hardware encryption, and automatic backup software (WD SmartWare Pro), and dual USB 3.0 ports.

If you like the look of the MyBook Duo but want something a little sleeker, the single-drive WD My Book (non Duo) can be had in 4TB to 22TB capacities.

• Back to the top ⤴

Best for speed and capacity

If you ever needed proof that massive storage doesn’t require a bulky multi‑drive RAID array or a full-on NAS drive, the SanDisk Professional G‑Drive is it. This is a straightforward single‑drive desktop unit, yet it’s available in capacities up to a colossal 26TB — enough space to hold roughly 24 hours of 8K RAW footage.

Plenty of high‑capacity desktop drives exist, but the G‑Drive distinguishes itself by targeting professionals who need to safeguard mission‑critical data. Inside is an enterprise‑grade 7200rpm hard disk, noticeably faster than the 5400rpm models found in most modern 3.5‑inch desktop drives designed for low power draw. In testing, we saw sustained transfer speeds north of 280MB/s — impressive numbers for a mechanical drive.

Of course, that blend of speed and sheer capacity doesn’t come cheap, and the G‑Drive is very much a premium, no‑compromise option. Our only hesitation comes from the number of user reviews reporting drive failures. That said, we encountered no issues during our own testing period.

Read our full SanDisk Professional G-DRIVE 26TB review

• Back to the top ⤴

FAQs

How to choose the best external hard drive

The best external hard drive will vary from person to person, depending on your needs. Consider how much data you need to store (1TB for basic files, 4TB+ for videos), whether speed or durability is more important, how you'll connect it (USB 3.0 is common, USB-C is faster but requires compatible devices), and if you need extra security (encryption for sensitive data). By thinking about these factors, you'll find the perfect external hard drive for you.

• Back to the top ⤴

How we test the best external hard drives

We put external hard drives through their paces to find the most reliable and well-rounded options. We use benchmark software to measure real-world transfer speeds across various connection types (USB 3.0, USB-C, Thunderbolt). We also evaluate capacity, portability, noise levels, and any included software for ease of use and security features. This ensures we only present to you the best external hard drives for your buck.

• Back to the top ⤴

Read more:
The best photo-editing laptops
The best recovery software for photos
The best budget laptops
The best portable SSDs
Best flash drives
The best desktop computers for photo editing
The best monitors for photographers

LaCie has launched two new ranges of portable hard drives, featuring an all new design by Neil Poulton, high storage capacities, and universal compatibility. LaCie Mobile Drive and LaCie Mobile Drive Secure are both clad in a sturdy aluminium and plastic enclosure made from recycled materials, while the product packaging is also made from recycled cardboard.

The drives pack up to 5 terabytes of storage - enough for plenty of 4K or even 8K content - and are formatted for out-of-the-box compatibility with PC, Mac, and iPad USB-C. A one-click automatic back-up feature is included, while the USB 3.2 Gen 1 interface and Type-C connectivity enable up to 130MB/s file transfers. That's some way short of what the best portable SSDs are now capable of, but it's quick enough to make reasonably swift progress when backing up.

LaCie Mobile Drives are packaged with LaCie Toolkit software for on-demand and scheduled backups, along with and a one-month Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps plan. A three-year limited warranty and three-year Rescue Data Recovery Services subscription provides additional peace of mind against data loss and retrieval costs.

LaCie Mobile Drive Secure differs from LaCie Mobile Drive by including additional hardware encryption, plus a lock/unlock feature in the LaCie Toolkit software, adding an extra later of security for sensitive data.

Lacie Mobile Drive Secure will be available to buy later in September (exclusively for Apple until November), priced at $99.99 for the 2TB version, $144.99 (4TB) and $164.99 (5TB).

LaCie Mobile Drive will retail at $74.99 (1TB), while larger capacities are priced identically to their Secure counterparts - $99.99 (2TB), $144.99 (4TB) and $164.99 (5TB).

• The best portable SSDs
• The best desktop external hard drives
• The best portable hard drives
• The best cloud storage for photos 
• The best monitors for photo editing
• The best budget laptops for photographers
• The best memory card readers

Having enough storage space for your stunning photos and amazing cinematic video footage is a fantastic asset to have in anyone's home studio or workspace, now you can take this to the new level on this fantastic deal on a massive 18TB external hard drive from WD with a saving $170, making this drive just $360 – that is an insane deal for a mind-blowing amount of storage. 

This desktop external hard drive from WD comes pre-formatted in NTFS for windows systems and provides users with 18TB of add-on storage for their photos, videos, music, documents, and other files. It features a 5 Gb/s micro USB 3.0 interface, which is also known as USB 3.1 Gen 1, and is compatible with 480 Mb/s USB 2.0.

So no matter your professional, storing photos and  cinematic videos or even full projects that you want to store and keep safe, but not on your main system, then this 18TB external hard drive is a great deal at just $360, along with the added benefit of saving yourself $170 – this is a win-win deal no matter how you look at it!

Read more:
Best hard drives for video editing
Best SSDs
Best laptops for video editing
Best laptops for photo editing

Looking for a big fat hard external drive to keep your photographs and videos backed up? How about a big fat deal that saves you over $40? Then we've got just the hard drive deal for you: the high capacity WD Elements 6TB Desktop USB 3.0 Drive is down to an amazing $109.99! This B&H deal is perfect for photographers, videographers or content creators looking for oodles of storage space at a fantastic price. 

The WD Elements 6TB USB 3.0 deal...

Western Digital has long been one of the most reputable manufacturers of hard drives and storage, and is trusted the world over by millions of users – many of them photographers and videographers, looking to keep their work backed up. 

The WD Elements 6TB HDD offers an enormous storage capacity, which should be more than enough to keep your files safely stowed away for some time. It boasts USB 3.0 for blazing fast transfer speeds, but also supports USB 2.0 to ensure that it's backwards-compatible with older devices. 

This sleek plug-and-play drive offers an instant boost to your desktop setup – and it looks great, to boot! 

Read more:

Best photo editing laptops
Best external hard drives: desktop storage for backing up images
The best portable hard drives for photographers in 2019

Every Monday is Cyber Monday at Adorama this month, and the latest deal is a brilliant one: the Seagate 10TB 3.5" Expansion Desktop USB 3.0 External Hard Drive is just $179.99.

Whether you need more storage for your photos and videos, more hard drive space to accommodate workflows when working with 4K video, more peace of mind to back up your files, or even if you want more space to download games on your Xbox or PlayStation, this massive 10TB drive will supersize your storage.

With drag and drop file saving straight out of the box, fast data transfer using USB 3.0 connectivity, and compatibility with both Windows and Mac, the Seagate 10TB 3.5" Expansion Desktop USB 3.0 External Hard Drive is an ideal storage solution.

Read more: 

Best external hard drives: desktop drives for extra storage and backing up
The best portable hard drives for photographers
The best NAS drive: store ALL your images, and access them from anywhere

If you're working from home, or using the current situation to get through your stack of editing, then you're probably backing up your files a lot more than usual. And if you're not, you should be!

And B&H is currently offering a cool $30 discount on a great Seagate external hard drive, so you can back up whether you're working on your desktop or laptop. You can buy the Seagate 4TB Backup Plus USB 3.0 external drive for just $79.99 – but only for today!

The deal ends at midnight tonight (11:59PM EST) or while supplies last, so get clicking to make sure you don't miss it! 

Read more: 

Best external hard drives for photographers: desktop storage to back up images
The best NAS drives
The best portable SSDs in 2020
The best portable hard drives for photographers in 2020

HyperDisk – the lightning-fast portable hard drive that's smaller than a credit card – has entered the last 24 hours of its Kickstarter campaign, having smashed its modest HK$ (US$10,052 / £7,639 / AU$14,707) target by a whopping 6,000%.

The HyperDisk is a remarkable piece of hardware for a number of reasons, both in terms of its size and its specs. Physically, the drive is only 45g with dimensions of 73.9 x 42.8 x 10.9mm – only 2mm taller than an Airpod – putting the size of other portable hard drives to shame, especially given its technical performance. 

• Read more: Best portable hard drives

Available in 512GB, 1TB or 2TB capacities, the HyperDisk claims read and write speeds of up to 1,000MB/s. To put that in context, the drive can transfer a 20GB file (a 60-minute 4K video) in just 22 seconds. The below video demonstrates the device's read and write speed. 

Using a 3.1 Gen 2 10Gbps interface and M.2 NVMe – which achieves an effective performance that's twice as fast as SATA solid state drives and ten times faster than traditional hard drives – the HyperDisk is also universally compatible with Mac, Windows, iPad and Android devices.

The fact alone that the HyperDisk is small enough to fit in a jeans pocket is reason enough to make it a must-have for any photographer or videographer's kit bag (or, indeed, their jeans pocket). 

However, couple that with the fact that it can transfer a 4K video that's 60 minutes in length in just 22 seconds, this device becomes an incredibly potent solution for both imaging and video for shooters on the move. 

Best of all, the earlybird and super earlybird prices are just as attractive as the size and performance. A 512GB HyperDisk costs just HK$669 (US$85 / £65 / AU$125), with 1TB costing HK$1,089 (US$139 / £106 / AU$204) and 2TB HK$1,799 (US$230 / £175 / AU$336)… but remember, the campaign ends on Friday!

We have a HyperDisk ready to send to our lab and we're looking forward to giving it a thorough speed test to see if it lives up to the hype.

Editor's note: As with all crowdfunding campaigns, there is no guarantee that the product will make it to fruition, be delivered on time or match initial promises or specifications. Backing crowdfunded products is done at your own risk.

Read more: 

The best portable hard drives for photographers
Best external hard drives for photographers: desktop storage to back up images
The best memory card for your camera: top SD, microSD, XQD & CF cards
How to understand everything written on your camera's memory card

Looking for a big fat hard external drive to keep your photographs and videos backed up? How about a big fat deal that makes that a bit easier on the wallet? Then we've got just spotted a great Amazon UK deal for you: the high capacity WD Elements 4TB Desktop USB 3.0 Drive is down to an amazing £69.99 – which is the lowest price we have seen this for ever before.

Western Digital has long been one of the most reputable manufacturers of hard drives and storage, and is trusted the world over by millions of users – many of them photographers and videographers, looking to keep their work backed up. 

The WD Elements 4TB HDD offers an healthy storage capacity, which should be more than enough to keep your files safely stowed away for some time. It boasts USB 3.0 for blazing fast transfer speeds, but also supports USB 2.0 to ensure that it's backwards-compatible with older devices. You might even want to buy two, so you can keep a mirrored back-up in a separate location, for extra security against losing your images and files.

Read more:
Best external hard drives for photographers

The best portable hard drives for photographers in 2019

The 50 best camera accessories

• The best camera battery

The ability to lock and unlock a device using a fingerprint is something we take for granted on many smartphones and laptops, but Verbatim is taking it to the next level with its Fingerprint Secure Hard Drive. 

In addition to the ability to biometrically secure your information, the external hard drive also boasts AES 256-bit hardware encryption that encrypts your data in real time. The only way to access and decrypt your drive is via the device's fingerprint scanner.

This makes the Verbatim Fingerprint Secure Hard Drive both faster and more convenient to use, as scanning your finger is much quicker than hammering in a password, as well as much better protected than traditional drives. 

So if you have the misfortune to leave your drive somewhere or lose it altogether, you can rest assured that no one will be able to read what's on it. 

Up to eight authorised users can be "enrolled" for shared access using their individual fingerprints, as well as a single administrator who can access the drive using a password. Since the drive doesn't store passwords in the computer or system's memory, it is much more secure than software encryption. 

The Verbatim Fingerprint Secure Hard Drive uses a USB-C 3.1 GEN 1 interface, enabling transfer speeds of up to 5Gbps (if you don't have a USB-C connection, it comes with a USB-C to USB-A cable along with a USB-C adapter). 

Another bonus is that, once a fingerprint has been registered, the drive can connect to a TV – something that traditional encrypted hard drives aren't capable of.

Nero Backup is included in the package, which enables you to easily back up or schedule auto-backups – though somewhat irritatingly, the software is PC-only. 

The Verbatim Fingerprint Secure Hard Drive, which is compatible with both PCs and Macs, is available now priced £149.99 for the 2TB model and £114.99 for the 1TB. We will update with US pricing details as soon as we have them. 

Read more: 

The best portable hard drives for photographers in 2019
Best external hard drives: desktop storage for backing up images
Lexar JumpDrive Fingerprint F35 - photo protection at your fingertips